Club Camargue: 24/F Regent Centre, 88 Queen's Road, Central. Phone 525-7997. Hours: A little flexible but generally midday-2.30 pm and 7-11 pm Monday-Saturday; 6-10 pm Sundays and public holidays. Decor: Small but nicely laid out. Plain and simple but for the odd provincial, barn-door type features. Cuisine: The name suggests French, but dishes are broadly continental. Good value set lunches. Clientele: Loyal following of mostly expatriates. Service: Varies according to nationality and personality.
Reservations: Recommended for lunch. Cellular phones per table count: None. Smoking policy: No non-smoking section. Overall value for money (out of five):31/2 plates.
CLUB Camargue is, in that club sort-of-way, a place you get introduced to by a regular of the restaurant.
As is the case with many other Hongkong restaurants with premises several floors up in soulless buildings accessed by cramped lifts, it is not the sort of place you stumble across.
It felt established, which is more than you can say for the rash of restaurants so self-consciously designed - and then get a shelf-life. Sensitively put together and lacking any pretension, or thankfully a theme, the decor in Camargue didn't fall into adesign category ending in - ist or -esque, and the menu was written in a hand supporting the idea that creativity should be left to the chef.
It was also brief, with dish descriptions to the point, yet it still managed to be full of things people enjoy eating.
The wine list catered for people liking good-value Australian chardonnay as happily as those who habitually drink the chateaux of Bordeaux.