I made the mistake, and so, I am sure, have countless others.
So just in case there was any doubt……Camera is a great bar, but it’s also A GREAT RESTAURANT!!!!
As we found out recently, even though it’s a well-worn phrase, Camera is a secret which needs telling. The food was superb, and that’s no exaggeration.
OK, so most people will know this spot just off St Ebbes behind Sainsbury’s and a stone’s throw from Marks and Spencer as a bar. To be honest, the square footage is dominated by bar space and a great dance floor in the basement – accessed by a walkway that James T Kirk would have been proud of.
So the restaurant part could easily be overlooked. But I can’t stress this enough, the food, the service and the passion for this to succeed is phenomenal. From the passionate Swedish manageress, Maria, who embodies the zest and personality of this treasure trove of gastronomic delights to the chef who has recently arrived from Bangkok House in Hythe Bridge Street, and the savvy owners, Jake Oppon and Simon Marshall (of The Bridge and Anuba), Camera is a must.
We hadn’t eaten all day, and I had no idea what format or style of food awaited me. Fortunately I didn’t succumb to the half eaten Aromatic Duck roll which my daughter had discarded in her dance school packed lunch, as Aromatic Duck was the first thing I saw on the menu.
The ever attentive Maria gave us a quick overview. “The menu is tapas like – choose what you want, and if it isn’t enough, we will do you more.” But at an average £4.50 a dish, it’s hard not to get carried away and order the lot! From Steamed Dumplings to Sea Bass pan fried with ginger and spring onion, and from Tina’s favourite (and it lived up to expectations) Thai Green Curry to King Prawns fried in panko bread crumbs, whichever way we turned, we were rewarded for our abstinence during the day.
The first round of food only encouraged us to order more, yet for an evening meal in Oxford, and we’re talking first class food, none of your pre-heated nonsense, eight dishes with three (was it really three Tina?) Gin and Tonics, plus a couple of Asahi beers for me, we barely scraped over £50.
So for a cold beer and a couple of dishes to tide you over after work, or something to keep you going on a long night out, or dinner for two on a special occasion, Camera will deliver. With dancing and a great venue for a drink to continue the night, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better venue in the centre of Oxford.
It’s a difficult combination – bar, dancing and food. But Camera has pulled it off, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there were two queues next time we visited – one for the bar and one for this cracking restaurant.
Reviewed by Richard Rosser.
Opening Times:
Mon - Thurs 17:00 to 00:30
Friday 17:00 to 01:30
Saturday 19:00 to 01:30
