Unseasoned professional

A rib of beef in the oven was a bring-out-the-bunting treat that was near enough fetishised in our home. Salmon, prawns and scallops came out to similar fanfare. Veal was saved for wedding anniversaries, I presume, because in our divorce-ridden family it was never eaten. Game was quite common, though it was more likely fortuitous roadkill or woodland potshot - more bambi, rabbit and pigeon than grouse and woodcock.

With treats in mind, my sisters shared some king prawns as a starter at The Camden Arms. They came on a square, black plate. 'Posh presentation and the biggest, kingiest prawns I've ever seen,' Georgie said as she popped one in her mouth. Then, 'But tasteless.' 'Like DFS?' I said. 'Yes, promises luxury from a distance, but up close tasteless and cheap.'

Ben had fennel-and-celeriac soup. He said he liked its pared-down flavour - it was basically just fennel, celeriac and water. I know Rowley Leigh doesn't use much more in some of his soups, but I didn't think The Camden Arms was squaring up to him with my soup of two peas and fresh mint. It tasted like, and I suspect was, frozen peas, mint and water. There was no dimension to its flavour, no stock, no seasoning. Careful peppering and salting made it interesting enough to finish.

A lack of seasoning savvy was to define this meal: thick, gravelly, flavour-less beefburgers seasoned only with shards of snappy green chili, and very smooth fishcakes that tasted only of potato and fish smoke. Amy said her fish pie was 'not too wet and satisfyingly light'. This was by no means bad food, just ordinary. Frozen chips had little potato taste. My smoked mackerel salad was a foolproof dish, a nice enough portion of supermarket fish on a bed of bag leaves.

When a mediocre meal does not leave anyone feeling bloated, it gets a pat on the back, and not because it's bilious. The food at the Camden, particularly those soups, could even be termed healthy.

There's a funny little wine list. We had a nice buttery Macon Village and an English wine with that strange cat-pee quality to it. The most expensive on the list is a £50 Montrachet, a nod to the Camden Square dwellers a short walk up the road.

The Camden Arms decor is out of the deluxe gastro template: loud, quirky wallpaper, pastel neon strips along the windows, black walls and black varnished wooden floor, interesting lighting and a spiral staircase disappearing up to an art gallery. Kind of chunkily funky - and definitely better seasoned than the soup.

The Camden Arms
1 Randolph Street, NW1 0SS