Le Petit Parisien (CLOSED) - Aug 2010

THE CURSE OF THE RESTAURANT OF DEATH... LE PETIT PARISIEN IS NO MORE, REPLACED BY THE CROOKED WELL


Where: Le Petit Parisien, Camberwell
With who: Teacher Boy
How much: £8 for a burger, other mains between £8 and £15

Working in commercial theatre, we had one of those wonderful industry phrases, 'the theatre of death'. This  unfortunate moniker moved around the West End but the broad definition remained the same; that of a slightly out of the way theatre, away from the tourist track, that always ended up hosting riskier shows, often badly promoted 50 /50 calls by new producers with no guarantees of success. Every now and then a show would come forth and rescue a theatre from this status, step forward examples such as Mamma Mia!, which saved the reputation of the Prince Edward, previously home to a number of turkeys and Billy Elliot, prior to which, the Victoria Palace had been home to a string of different shows, none lasting longer than a year. Possibly the best example is the Shaftesbury Theatre. In a gloriously hopeful span of just under four years, the blighted venue hosted no fewer than five productions including such 'hits' as Bat Boy, Far Pavilions, Daddy Cool and a woeful reprisal of Fame starring Hollyoaks 'star' Natalie Casey and Ian 'H' Watkins (he of Steps fame). 
The same is true of restaurants. There are some sites that will see a new opening every year or so as another poor sod comes along to waste their money / live the dream. Walking past these new enterprises one has a little cringe on behalf of the new restauranteur. "Easiest way of making a small fortune guv'nor? Take a large one and open up a restaurant..." Le Petit Parisien has been clinging on gamely in such a location for some time now, and to be fair they're really trying hard. A nondescript Victorian pub on a wealthy side street (yes, we have those in Camberwell), it's been renamed and repainted so many times now it's at least a foot wider than it was built. Prior to this it was the Dark Horse, prior to that Blake House and way back in 2007, well, you get the picture. Across the road a property developer is attempting to drag Camberwell up by its bootstraps with the conversion of an old school. The owners of Le Petit P have got to be hoping they succeed, and soon.


I've been here a few times under the current ownership, and it's certainly the most pleasant in its latest incarnation, a French style gastro pub and cocktail bar. The inside is a little unwelcoming with generic faux leather club chairs in the bar and dark wood in the restaurant side. Over the summer they've got a selection of street furniture that's pleasant enough on the quiet leafy street (and yes, we do have those in Camberwell too). The service is friendly though chaotic at times and when the food is good, it's very good. 
The kitchen focusses on French and pub staples with an occasional Algerian twist. Not a bad brunch option too (especially during the summer months when you can sit outside). On several occasions recently I've recently had an excellent steak frites here, the cheap onglet cut, cooked brilliantly on each occasion with a load of taste, perfectly accompanied by a brace of lagers or a bottle of house red. They also have a well regarded cous cous night every Friday that I've been meaning to check out. My last visit was hopefully the exception to the rule. Having a hankering for a burger after a few beers with Teacher Boy, manfully struggling his way through the privation of a 6 week holiday, we decided to give Le Petit Parisien a go. It wasn't terrible, but was sadly just rather forgettable. The burger was lacking in all taste, other than a slight oily tang, it was overpowered even in taste by the, randomly square, ciabatta bun. A floppy side salad came undressed, the chips appeared twice fried and a measly portion of salsa on the side came straight from a pot. It's a lovely place to go for a summer evening drink if you're local, and not a bad option for inviting friends dubious about visiting the area, it's less gritty than most. If you're going to go for food though, stick to the steak frites...