Café society at its finest

WELL-placed in the middle of Pratt Street in Camden, the heart of Greek restaurants in the area, Café Corfu shares the street between Camden High Street and Bayham Street with Sam’s Taverna.
Sam’s is truly reminiscent of the rustic restaurants in Athens. It sits 16 towards the back past the bar and charcoal grill where regulars meet for a drink and where most of the traditional Greek dishes are cooked.
Café Corfu describes itself as serving modern Greek food. And indeed they do as there are dishes not readily available at other Greek restaurants.
For example: Filafi tou voskou, wild mushroom ragout, pan-seared aubergine strips, chickpea rice pilafi and sun-dried tomatoes £8.95; Pastitsada, organic wild boar tenders in a tomato and red wine sauce served with sautéed spinach and ‘smashed’ potatoes – wedges instead of puree £12.50.
The restaurant is well designed, with cosy areas and a large bar, where patrons can gather for a drink before going to their table.
An ideal place for large parties but the twos and fours were not left feeling isolated as they are mainly sat in the front with generous space between tables.
We ordered conservatively: Psarokeftedes — salmon fishcakes with chive saltsa (£4.75), and Pikilia – a sampler of taramosalata, hummus, tzatziki and tirokafteri with grilled pitta bread (£4.95).
Excellent quality and it is a very good idea to be able to order a sampler which allows you to taste different dishes.
To follow we had Garides; tiger prawns sautéed in garlic and Santorini white wine, warm radicchio salad and smoky aubergine puree (£11.75) and Arni youvetsi; slow-roasted lamb shank, cinnamon-tomato broth, Kritharaki pasta pebbles and grated Kefalotiri cheese (£12.25). Both delicious with excellent presentation.
The Bougatsa Corfu-style – caramelised semolina custard and warm ouzo-scented pastry served in an antique Greek coffee pot (£4.50) and the Lemonopita – the preserved lemon cheesecake with raspberry saltsa (£3.95) were the right choice of dessert for us.
We enjoyed the Boutari Santorini (£16.50) which attracted our attention and lived up to its description of “crisp and lively from 300-year-old island vines grown in volcanic soil”.
Our bill came to £61.14 which included a 12.5 per cent service charge and the credit card receipt had been closed.
Our waiter Max had been so attentive that of course we topped up with some cash for the ‘pour boire’ as the French call it (somehow it sounds better than ‘tip’).
Weekends are party time at Café Corfu. On Friday and Saturday nights there is a show at 9.30pm of Tsifteteli Greek belly-dancing.
A DJ follows for those energetic guests wanting to dance the night away. On Sunday nights they have a live Greek Rembetika bouzouki band at 8pm.

Café Corfu
7/9 Pratt Street NW1
020 7267 8088
info@cafecorfu.com