Camper - Menlo Park downtown

Americas - USA West San Francisco Bay Area
1

We had a rather excellent meal at Camper in Menlo Park a few weeks ago. I am usually cooked out by Friday and it’s good to get out of the house and have someone more competent than me take over the cooking, service and cleanup :slight_smile:

We chose to order some of the appetizers and make a meal of these.

  1. Butternut squash soup
  2. Shishito peppers with honey vinaigrette
  3. Mixed greens salad with bulgur and a superb aioli-like dressing
  4. Corn bread with jalapeno butter
  5. Shoestring fries - perfect texture and shape with spicy light mayo and home made ketchup

The wife ordered fresh lime soda and I had a hard cider with the meal.

Every thing we ate was superb. Texture, layering of flavor, presentation was top notch. All the dishes were thought through and presented with care. Service was great in terms of timing and demeanor. We’ve been back once after this visit, and Camper is on the dining out rotation for sure.

I heartily recommend this place if you haven’t been yet.

2

Restaurants on the Peninsula are often overlooked compared to their counterparts in San Francisco even though many of them offer good dishes which reach similar levels of quality. Camper in Menlo Park is one of these places which is more recognized as a neighborhood place but actually delivers on many levels - good appetizers, great house-made pasta, excellent desserts and good cocktail program.

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Mix of our Market Haul Vegetable Pickles

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Natural Levain Sourdough Bread, Whipped Wild Ramp Butter

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Mediterranean Olives marinated in Roasted Garlic and Spices

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Blistered Sugar Snap Peas and Shoots, Hazelnut Granola, Muhammara Sauce

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Crispy, flash-cooked Brussels Sprouts, Cajun Crunch Seasoning

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Wild Mushrooms Tartine, Whipped Ricotta, Porcini Furikake, Pine Nuts, Miner’s Lettuce

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First Local Asparagus, Distefano Burrata, Artichokes, Pea Shoot Pesto, Croutons

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Red Wine Strozzapreti, Braised Solano Lamb Sugo, Pistachio Gremolata, Mint, Olives, Garrotxa

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American Wagyu Cheeseburger, Pickled Green Tomatoes, Gem Lettuce, Secret Sauce, Shoestring Fries

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Duroc Pork “Katsu”, Cabbage, Sugar Snap Peas, Crispy Leeks, “Bulldog” Sauce

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Creekstone Bavette “Greg’s Steak”, Mole Negro, Crispy Sunchokes, Green Onion Salsa Verde

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Olive Oil Mochi Cake, Blood Orange, Harry’s Strawberries, Mascarpone, Bee Pollen

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Caramelized Milk Jam Pudding, Dulce de Leche, Whipped Chantilly, Candied Pecans

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Smoked Guittard Chocolate Cremeux ‘Smores, Toasted Graham Tarts, Burnt Meringue

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