Friday 23 September 2011

Campania Gastronomia

So if there is any spot more coveted in London than a walk-in table at Polpetto, it could quite possibly be an outside table at Campania for Sunday brunch. This Italian cafĂ© is on a strategic corner of Columbia Road, where the market begins (or ends), with all those little shops selling prints, scented candles, teas, garden implements and other general ‘loveliness’. 


Whether you’re just here for the flowers, or for a full on Sunday potter, it’s hard to beat the people watching from Campania. Yes you’ve got the predictable Shoreditch posers in skinny jeans etc… but it’s a little more diverse here. It’s definitely East London’s pocket of tweeness so you see lots of sweet (yet trendy still) nest builders as well as the obligatory beggars roaming around. Loads of gays, lesbians, cockneys and folk-rockers make the street scene pretty good for nosing and, well, perving frankly.

So where better to have a simple brunch (£9) of scrambled eggs, pancetta rashers, Neapolitan sausage and fresh sourdough?


The slightly inundated waitress tells us the Neapolitan sausage is as it says – a sausage from Naples. All cleared up then…

The pancetta is perfectly salty for my hung over taste buds, and the bread is delicious. The handful of rocket makes me feel virtuous, the fresh OJ is great and the coffee’s fantastic  too.


I guess they offer more here in terms of evenings, the inside looks all rustic chic - and I do like the coffee/sandwich hatch - but I’m in seat 1A here and receiving the green eyed, unsubtle hoverings from all the would-be occupiers of this table. And on that note, I order another long black, sit back and enjoy the view…

Food – 7/10
Drink – 8/10
Service - 6/10 (friendly but a bit wobbly)
Value – 6/10
Tap water tales – 8/10 (carafe brought)  
Staff Hotness – 7/10 (cute Italian girls)
Campania Gastronomia on Urbanspoon

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