Arizona

Arizona
2 Jamestown Road, Camden NW1

0845 345 1727

A blackboard proudly claims that Arizona is “Camden’s friendliest hangout”. Cynics might question why it doesn’t refer to itself as a restaurant. They’d have a point.

The restaurant is decorated in the traditional London sub-pastiche Tex-Mex style of dark wood and earthy colours that suggests Dulux must do a shade called “Cantina Orange”. The beer is cold though, and jugs and cocktail pitchers come in at a smidge over pub prices. It’s not difficult to see the appeal then.

However, any appeal will swiftly be undermined by the eating experience.

Stuffed mushrooms were grey and rubbery and – possibly fortunately – contained no flavour but Taquitos – mini tortillas of cheese, minced onion and spinach – weren’t bad. Presentation is dreadful though; think myopic16-year old trainee with a bag of salad and a nervous tic.

Mains were where my digestive system met a challenge it, ahem, rejected. I’ve been to good places and thought twice about ordering pork but, with two or three Sols working their buzzy magic, I ordered the medallions of pork, lamb and chicken. These were dull and dry, and “assisted” by lacklustre salad and soggy potato wedges. Steak Fajitas at least tasted okay, but had the consistency of leather. Ironically, the best thing we ate all night was the chocolate fudge cake, and that clearly came fresh from the packet.

As a bar, Arizona has its place in the world. As a restaurant, it sucks.

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