Made in Camden

Awful experience.

Food is overpriced. Nothing exciting about it, very bland and one-dimensional. Bad service as well, had to ask for the 12.5 discretionary service charge to be removed. The desserts are tiny to go with the 'small plate' style, but are priced as if they are regular sized. Left the restaurant hungry.

We had a dinner here before a gig at the Roundhouse, which was very convenient. The menu is sort of invented European tapas. So we selected four dishes to share between two, which turned out to be enough. We had butternut squash and artichoke risotto (for the starch), with hake with sweet potato batons; pork belly with rhubarb and plum chutney and garlic puree; and huge slices of pumpkin 'cinnamon roasted with lime and maple dressing and crispy goats cheese'. All were expertly cooked and delicious. Unfortunately service was poor, and three of the dishes were not brought until they were cool instead of hot, but we enjoyed the meal none the less, and would both recommend it, and plan to go back ourselves. For puddings we had smashing panna cotta, with a good helping of cherry compote, and a deconstructed apple strudel with lovely fresh green apple sorbet. An interesting new dining concept. With wine and coffee, the meal for two (two courses) was £57. Excellent value for London. The restaurant itself is buzzy, bistro style, with a bar area as well. 

When I turned '21 again' a few days ago, I knew the place I wanted to go to celebrate the occasion.

Made in Camden is a new bar and restaurant in the famous music venue, The Roundhouse in Chalk Farm.

Opened in August 2010, Made in Camden has already made a big impact in the area.

Its vision, fronted by head chef Josh Katz, is food influenced by Asian, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours and a large selection of 'small plates' designed to be shared.

When I arrived, I was greeted by some very friendly staff, who were very accommodating when I asked if I could change to another table.

What hits you when you first glance at the menu is the incredible amount of dishes on offer, all sounding very appetising.

We opted for the Crisp Sea Bass and the Smoked Wood Pigeon with almond cous cous, both which were very tasty and beautifully presented.

They try, wherever possible, to source their ingredients as locally as possible. This is reflected in the drinks list which includes beers from the newly opened Camden Brewery just down the road.

I found my whole experience at Made in Camden very inspiring, from the look of the place, to the food and staff who were more than happy to help me pick from the dessert list (I went for the Chocolate Moelleux with Cherry Mousse which was stunning).

All in all I highly recommend this place and look forward to returning with much anticipation.

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Made in Camden is a great addition to the facilities on offer at the wonderful concert and theatre venue, the Roundhouse. We enjoyed a tasty early supper here last Wednesday before watching an excellent production of King Lear.

If you are eating pre-theatre I would say that booking is essential and I would advise you to turn up as early as possible. When I rocked in at 5.30 there were a couple of other, very elderly, people in the restaurant. I ordered a pint of the fine Meantime Pale Ale which I was enjoying when B arrived at 5.45. By this time the room was filling up fast so we quickly got our order in to avoid being stuck in the "log jam" getting the orders in and out. By 6.15 the place was heaving with every table and seat at the bar taken. The large number of hopeful walk in punters looked dismayed as they were turned away.

Very sensibly given the need to get through so many covers in such a short space of time, the performance started at 7.15, the normal dinner menu is not on offer until after the theatre going hordes have departed. What you get is a very cut down offering from the main menu, consisting of 2 starters, 2 mains and 2 desserts at £16.95 for 2 courses or £19.95 for 3 courses.

We started off by sharing a starter of the chicken liver parfait with plum relish and a toasted rye croute. Beautifully presented and well executed this was a lovely dish to kick off the meal and was just great for sharing. We both had the grey mullet with peperonata and Lyonnaise potato as the main which was pretty tasty but it was only just lukewarm and the potato was overcooked and had a slight grey tinge to it which was a bit off putting.

We finished by sharing a portion of the lemon panna cotta with a rhubarb puree which had a lovely creamy consistency with a nice sharp bite to follow. By now the clock was counting down so we had no time for coffee and after managing to flag down one of the increasingly harassed looking waiting staff we got the bill, took it to the bar and found someone to pay. We then made our way upstairs to order our interval refreshments and take our seats, just in time for the start of the play.

Given the numbers they had to deal with I'd say the team here did a pretty good job. On this visit the main course was a slight let down but this would not stop me returning in future to try out the normal dinner menu which looked very tasty. I have no doubt that the standard of cooking would be up to scratch if you visited outside of the "rush hour".

All in all a really good way to kick off a night at the theatre.

I had lunch here yesterday and really enjoyed it. Roughly a month old and in place of an infrequently open cafe, Made in Camden is the onsite restaurant at the Roundhouse. But I'd confidently recommend it whether you're going to a show at the Roundhouse or not. In fact, it was explained to me that pre and post performances the dining area and bar can be quite packed but the rest of the time it's pretty mellow. So, maybe it's best to go for lunch or during an off night.

Dining with a couple of other foodies, we enjoyed a starter of baked eggs, spicy tomato, greek yoghurt and sourdough with grilled chorizo. I reckon it'd work well as a brilliant and substantial main for one too and would strongly consider ordering it again if I manage to get back there. Seared onglet steak sandwich with horseradish cream and balsamic red onion yummy too and really filling. Coffee at MiC is roasted at Caravan on Exmouth Market, and is top quality. If indeed, the vibe is mellow during the day, MiC would be a swell place to pop in for a coffee.

Quick and friendly service and a pleasantly casual atmo add to the reasons I'd be happy to suggest this restaurant to friends that live in or frequent the Camden/Chalk Farm area.