Gay Camberwell

by Layla

We at Gay Camberwell have always had a soft spot for Elephant and Castle. Indeed, for me it was my first portal to South London, in a Camberwell-bound odyssey from a hotel on the Strand. Later it was home to the now closed Southopia, aka Chocolate Lounge, the brilliant lesbian private members' club where Roz ran lesbian film club and I met her for the first time. Also where I went lesbian speed-dating and embarrassingly subsequently had my photo plastered over a page in Diva, having speed dated the Diva editor. And I attended a gay bowling night in the E&C shopping centre's rather good bowling alley. And worked at the Department of Health's E&C building, which has a great view over the area. I'm also adept at a complicated route by bicycle that avoids the infamous roundabouts.

We have never been under any illusions about the glory of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre, but we have recently been conscious of interesting things happening within that beautiful building... First, a rather acclaimed little theatre has opened in an empty retail space. Theatre Local has been home to a Royal Court season which finishes in late August. And last week the space was used by community theatre company Mayhem who put on a rather impressive show called Elephant 21. After a glowing review from  Time Out we ventured down on Friday night. What a lovely experience. Great performances, and a show about a family history through the years in Elephant and Castle. They derived the show from oral histories from people in the area, and it was fascinating to have an insight into wartime Elephant, and changes through the years, culminating in a couple of yuppie types buying in the new Strata Tower. Funny and apt. We had a brilliant night. Topped off by prosecco and a game or ten of Connect Four in The Bear, which was very busy with a great wine bar type atmosphere.

As we left the theatre that night we walked past Mamuska and regretted we'd already had dinner - it's an authentic and stylishly homely Polish restaurant in another retail unit that has also had a good recent review from Time Out. Unusual to pull off stylish without pretentiousness but they do it well. It was busy and there was live music. A cheery Polish waitress handed us a tempting-looking menu. We decided to return the following night. Saturday night in the Elephant and Castle shopping Centre seemed an odd choice, but we had a great time. The food was absolutely delicious (and cheap). The atmosphere was quirky and comfortable. The Polish beer came in 500mL bottles for £3. I had dumplings and Roz had potato pancakes, at £5 each. Both were delicious. Just as we finished, people poured in - the after-party for the Elephant 21 cast and crew! We had a lovely evening with more Polish beer, actor spotting and vicariously enjoying their celebrations. Bravo, Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre. I was only sorry we were too distracted to go bowling!

by Layla

It was with great frustration that we accessed the Camberwell Online Blog from a remote Transylvanian village and read about one of the most anticipated events of Camberwell, the opening of the South London Gallery extension... and most excitingly, of the cafe, Number Sixty Seven. And so we zoomed down as soon as we could to suss it out.

My goodness, that cafe may be the best thing that's happened in Camberwell (since the creation of Gay Camberwell, of course). Frankly, it is excellent. And turns a visit to the SLG into a real event. Accessible either directly from the street, or by a path leading through a garden from the main gallery, it is stylish, modern, sleek, and inviting. It has four different seating areas. First there's an outside seating area in the patio facing Peckham Road, a sunny spot and more pleasant than it sounds, filled with arty gay boys lounging artily over cappucinos. Going inside, there's a sophisticated dark wood section with cushioned benches and chairs - it feels arty and looks good. Then you hit the counter for ordering food and drink. Blackboards announce a range of food and drink (we didn't spot any alcohol, alas) and they have an interesting, tempting range of both. Meringues and cake loomed temptingly on the counter, and a large bowl of salad looked so delicious that I immediately ordered it. 

Going further into the building hits the third cafe space, a bright, partially glass room with a very high ceiling and one long, elegant 14-seater wooden table around which groups of people were enjoying their lunches. 

Proceeding through that room's folding glass doors, we reached the back patio where we settled, with views of the garden in one direction, and adjacent blocks of flats in the other. It gave a real sense of place. A great mix of utilitarianist starkness and pleasing design details. 

And so to the food. I had a barley, blue cheese and artichoke salad, with delicious fresh baby tomatoes. It was excellent, if rather blue cheesey... And a fair portion for £7. Roz opted for a mezze platter of hoummous, tzaziki and such, which she declared similarly pleasing, and fair for £5.50. For dessert, I had the best Eton Mess I have ever had. I have been dreaming about it ever since. Roz had a slice of quirky but tasty courgette cake (think carrot cake, but greener). The coffee was also very good. We were very impressed. Loved the ambience too - what a fantastic addition to Camberwell. It's open Tue-Sun 10-6:30, and late on a Wednesday til 9pm. (The art was interesting too... mostly text-based, which was interesting, and the new spaces which are essentially rooms of a typical Peckham Road flat make the SLG far more versatile).

As if sampling one Camberwell establishment was not enough for one day, we decided to dine at The Tiger. We've been hearing mixed reviews about their food, but were pleasantly surprised. I had a tomato tart with rocket salad. The tart was tasty and moist, though there was slightly too much pastry involved - not the best option for dieters. Roz had the red pepper stuffed with cous cous which was delicious. £6.95 for each meal, which is very fair. And a lovely atmosphere as usual in The Tiger, which seems to have become gayer in our absence - we watched a sweet scene where a gay boy was sitting alone and a man came up and gave him his number. Then the sitting boy's boyfriend came in, the first boy showed him the number, and they giggled together. On leaving, we encountered a second gay male couple sitting outside, who could only be described as canoodling on Camberwell Green. All very sweet - hooray for the Tiger. If only they served their wine in wine glasses though...

After that day of eating, it was off to Brixton Ritzy to see the brilliant French rom com Heartbreaker. Highly recommended, even if not at all gay! 

by Layla

Our silence over the last few weeks is attributable to Roz and me having left the sunny climes of Camberwell for a rather more rainy and Dracula-studded experience on holiday in Transylvania. We returned home this weekend, just in time to catch the last of the sun and sample the delights of Frank's Campari Bar, the excellent pop-up bar on the roof of the Peckham multistory car park. Probably one of the coolest hidden venues in London, in my opinion, and surely the one with the best view of the London skyline (this year with the addition of the rather funky Elephant and Castle new skyscraper). Roz had decided to celebrate her birthday there on Sunday afternoon and we had an amusing time sitting in the sun waiting for the north Londoners to brave their way to Peckham (and find it a mere 10 minute journey from central London) and then to brave their way into a dodgy-looking multistory carpark with little optimism of finding such a great venue at the top. I was a huge fan of Frank's last year and it's pretty much the same this year. Maybe my favourite thing about Peckham! Though I also like Bar Story... the Italian restaurant... the Chinese Garden in Peckham Rye Park... Review bookshop... the cinema where we went to see Whatever Works later that evening (a total of four people in the cinema, including us - it was the night of the World Cup final)...

Of course Peckham is all very well, but this evening we were out in Camberwell. We're loving the ping pong table that's been installed on Camberwell Green (the same group who installed the piano last year) though we have sadly been unable to play on it - despite the website's claims that lost bats and balls are replaced daily, we've never been able to find any when we pass. Our ping pong bat order has now been placed with Amazon... 

We passed the ping pong table en route to the private view of a new art exhibition at the Sun and Doves. Nice to see it so busy, with arty types enjoying the pictures over complementary wine. Afterwards we popped into the Tiger to enjoy their lovely ambience over a glass of wine (Roz) and a big dessert (me). And reveled in the serenity of pubs now that the World Cup is over (hurrah!)

Of course in our absence the South London Gallery has expanded and there is allegedly a great cafe there - we know our responsibilities and will be investigating this weekend...