Last Updated on January 4, 2026

Contemporary French food in Borough Market

February’s restaurant of the month is Camille, a new contemporary French restaurant on Stoney Street, Borough Market, from the team behind Ducksoup, Little Duck and Emilia.

Inside and out, Camille looks convincingly like a typical French bistro but do not come here expecting the usual steak frites and coq au vin. Instead one finds oneself entering a world of trotters, brains and tongues – and many other things too. Our first thought on studying the menu was “France meets St John” so we were unsurprised to discover that head chef Elliot Hashtroudi used to work at St John. 

Camille’s website describes the restaurant as “a reflection of imagined jaunts through regional France”. I like the idea of imagined (and real) jaunts around France and its cuisine, so I knew Camille and I were going to get on.

Although very newly opened when we visited on a rainy evening, Camille was already filled to the brim and offering a warm, inviting atmosphere. We quickly ordered two glasses of sparkling rosé to start our night. The Mosse – Moussamoussettes 2021 turned out to be a deep, dark pink, unusual and deliciously dry. 

All of the still wines are available by the bottle, 500ml carafe and glass. We chose a carafe of the Domaine Batard – Langelier Muscadet to go with our meal. This smooth white was perfectly drinkable but lacked the oomph of the rosé (which I’m still thinking about). 

But, anyway, one shouldn’t get too attached to a particular wine at Camille. They plan to mix things up on a weekly basis and change their wine menu, all sourced from small independent wine-makers.

There’s an à la carte menu at Camille and also a specials board (which we incompentently failed to notice from where we were sitting behind a pillar). There is not an awful lot here for the vegetarian and a vegan would have to subsist on green olives and bread (without the butter) alone.

We weren’t brave enough for the brains or the trotters so started our meal by sharing a selection of dishes from the “snacks” area of the menu. The Smoked Eel Devilled Eggs were a fantastic start to our meal – filled with smooth, mustardy whipped yolks and topped with juicy slices of eel. 

The Cured Pig’s Cheek & Périgord Walnuts was essentially very superior ham, finely slivered, with melt-in-the-mouth fat under a cloud of grated hard cheese. The Périgord walnuts had been grated to near vanishing point. This was particularly enjoyable with the baguette and a thick spreading of butter, creating a full-on saturated fat incident.

The only fully meaty main on the menu was the Magalitza chop with radicchio and blood orange. It sounded great but it was only available as a dish for two to share. That said my companion’s Langoustine Cassoulet turned out to be pescatarian unfriendly. It contained all the usual bacony bits to be found in this classic French stew. I wondered if the langoustines were entirely necessary but was quickly shot down by my companion. She had initially thought they might not be robust enough to cope with the deeply flavoured cassoulet but she was wrong – a great combination.

I chose the Cornish Sole and Snail Butter, which sounded promising but turned out to be a slightly strange dish. Sole is one of my favourite fish but in combination with the copious rich (and tasty) sauce and the mush of the snails this was texturally all a bit wrong. Plus the sauce had continued to cook the poor fish beyond its natural point of deliciousness. The only miss of the evening.

Now the Potato Pavé and Hay Mayonnaise was a memorable plate of food – combining layers of the potato’s many possible textures from posh crisp to soft middle (think dauphinoise without the cream) and topped with excellent mayonnaise. I hope this becomes a permanent fixture on the menu. It would certainly lure me back to Camille.

The only vegetable side on the menu here was a salad – the Folx Farm Bitter Leaves & Grand Jura Gruyère – and I’m very glad we ordered it. It was a refreshing counterpoint to our rich mains and the potato pavé. There was a mild sharpness to the vinaigrette and a good mix of fresh leaves with different flavours and textures.

My companion was flagging slightly by this point but thought she could just about manage a single canelé. This was a very good example and, as an added bonus, came topped with a rich prune mousse.

I was quite determined to have room for dessert and there was no way it wasn’t going to be the Yorkshire Rhubarb Mille-Feuille. This was as good as it looked, combining fancy French technique with the flavours of a classic British nursery pudding.

Camille is not cheap but nor is it ridiculously expensive by current London standards. Mains, for example, range from £22 to £30 and the cheapest bottle of wine is £45. 

Camille is obviously getting off to a good start. It’s small, cosy and very friendly and I think it’s going to be a great new addition to the busy restaurant landscape around Borough Market. 

Camille

2–3 Stoney Street,
Borough Market
London
SE1 9AA

Tel: 020 3794 8958

Check out more recommendations from our restaurant of the month series covering our pick of the new openings each month