The Kerfield Arms in Camberwell is one of only two pubs in London to have received a Michelin star this year. We find out why.
Camberwell in south London is a borough on the rise with a host of independent businesses and plenty of green space, setting up a neighbourhood primed for viral bakeries and indie book shops.
Its attractions include Toad Bakery for seasonal pastries, Silk Road Restaurant, and Lala Books, previously Grove Lane Deli, just down the road from The Kerfield Arms, which opened 11 months ago.
What was known as the Crooked Well for 14 years, before closing its doors in December 2024, has now been refurbished and branded back to its original name from 1863.
The trio behind it all is Rob Tecwyn, Adam Symonds, and head chef Jay Styler, who have had previous success with Hoxton gastropub The Baring, showing that practice makes perfect when it comes to pub lunches.
Receiving a Michelin star at the beginning of this year, just nine months after opening, the owners of The Kerfield Arms commented on Instagram that the star wasn’t something they set out to achieve, and that they will remain a place with plenty of room for drinkers and walk-in diners – not something one would traditionally associate with a Michelin rating.
They currently offer a £12 lunch special, or £15 with a glass of beer or wine, which sits on the cheaper end of the Michelin-starred meal spectrum.
With most roughly sitting between £100-£150, their recent star isn’t steering the pub’s founders away from affordable pub dining, but how much of it can remain truly a pub?
Despite thoughts of white tablecloths and silver service, as you’d find at The Dorchester and Hotel Cafe Royal, other Michelin-rated restaurants, The Kerfield Arms, offer a more relaxed approach to the star-studded rating system.
Although the rating system is kept mostly secret, it broadly covers five factors: quality of ingredients, mastery of flavour and techniques, representation of the chef through the dining experience, harmony of flavours, and consistency.
When you walk into The Kerfield Arms, the room feels light and airy despite the dining room and pub space being almost at capacity. High ceilings and banquette seating give the space a relaxed and low-key atmosphere, inviting for solo diners, small groups, and young families.
Whilst the outside offers a slightly more traditional approach to a pub, with the infamous green tiling and smokers’ area, the inside offers little memory of grumpy locals and carpeted floors.
On early arrival for my booking, I was invited to enjoy a drink at the outdoor tables, just in time for the afternoon sun. Choosing between the hoppy pale ales on offer, it’s a gastropub after all, I landed on a pint of ‘Wanna go to the sun?’ from Lost and Grounded Brewers. My friend chose a non-alcoholic option of an AF Lager from Utopian Brewers.
It was at this point that we were told that the non-alcoholic beer was not included in the lunch special, and we proceeded to be wrongly served an alcoholic beer – a bumpy start, but luckily the sun was shining, and moods were high.
After finishing what was, for me, a deliciously hoppy and bright pint in the cold spring sunshine, and an apprehensively consumed non-alcoholic beer for my friend, we headed inside for – spoiler alert – a fantastic lunch.
The kitchen changes its menu weekly, giving the confidence of a pub that has been open for years, not 11 months. This week’s lunch special was grilled pork collar glazed with bacon, accompanied by Jersey Royal potatoes and a parsley sauce.
Whilst perhaps not being the week for vegetarians, their à la carte menu is also available, offering alternatives like crab cavatelli, bisque, and pickled purslane, or Cornish pollock with Jerusalem artichoke.
The pork was wonderfully sticky, dressed with the saltiness of bacon and paired with a powerful but fresh parsley sauce. Whilst delicious, the serving of Jersey Royals here felt almost comical, with not even three whole potatoes on the plate. However, it is lunch time, and I do appreciate being offered the opportunity for portion control – sometimes.
With this, I ordered the white wine that was available on the lunch special – a glass of Stocco Friulano from the Friuli Grave region of Italy. Its notes of apricot and honey, served in a perfectly chilled glass, made for a light and refreshing pairing to the sticky and slightly sweet pork collar.
The service throughout put us, and what felt like everybody else, at complete ease with no rushing of tables despite the full dining room. Their one-cover lunch service gives space for diners to feel relaxed in their lunchtime indulgence, especially those who include a tipple or two.
As time seemed to stretch out in front of us, we mopped up what was left of the parsley sauce from our plates with the bread and butter we ordered as an extra £3 to the lunch special.
While we spoke of how perfectly soft and spreadable the butter was, we made the firm decision to order dessert with choices including a creme caramel, Yorkshire rhubarb and custard doughnut, and, well, to be honest, after that we didn’t need to read further.
Given that it is the perfect season for Yorkshire rhubarb, we landed on the doughnut for £9 – although I will be going back for their Creme Caramel.
Sprinkled with an almost iridescent purple dusting of dehydrated Rhubarb, the doughnut arrived with a gasp of excitement from our table and a joy of delivery from our server. Not shying away from its rhubarb and custard filling, this light but indulgent dessert gave us no buyer’s remorse and left us only wanting more.
Digesting slowly, as is the only way after a mid-week, midday lunch out, with a double espresso, tables around us were filled with seemingly happy and relaxed diners. Echoed in the friendly but attentive service, The Kerfield Arms feels like a homely venture for those looking for an elevated and slightly special meal that doesn’t break the bank.
With small details like hand-embroidered napkins and embossed cutlery, it’s the finer details here that remind you of the Michelin-level of dining that this gastropub has achieved.
However, with this level of detail, it seems the pub itself has been sacrificed. Whilst the space outside is enticing for a midday pint, the interior feels less inviting.
Sitting somewhere between an elevated pub and a low-key restaurant, The Kerfield Arms finds itself in a unique position of being able to offer up exciting seasonal ingredients at an affordable price.
Our bill, including the £7.44 service fee, came to £33.47 per person. Whilst not overpriced, if you’re looking to spend £12-£15, you need to have strong intentions set and perhaps not be incredibly hungry.
However, if you want to do something closer to breaking the bank, you could instead spend your £12 on just a scotch egg at The Harwood Arms, the other London pub with a star – it is a venison scotch egg, after all.
Featured image by Alice Dunlop.