We were in need of breakfast!
The waiter/owner was generally unfriendly. This could have been overlooked but our cooked breakfast which we had been greatly looking forward to after a long night out, featured blackened sausages, greasy fried bread and a practically uncooked fried egg. Also, there were no baked beans! The pot of tea was excellent however.    [15 Jan 2001 07:08:07]

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     ­Anonymous   

The Owner Replies
It's a pity your anonymous reviewer didn't read the menu ... we in fact don't serve baked beans, it attracts a particular kind of person, clubbers and the like are not our kind of customer, we don't serve blackened sausages, uncooked eggs, and yes fried bread is greasy, it is fried!! I also suggest to you that after 20 years in the restaurant trade, and finding people being rude to me and my staff, people with attitude are treated with indifference.
and if your anonymous reviewer, had been unhappy (which I am sure they were not) this would have been dealt with.    [26 Aug 2001 18:09:49]

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Recommended Dishes: authentic thai food

     ­Harry the Owner   simhen at aol dot com

I know the cameo well. The food is pretty good and your first review is undeserved. But the comments on unfriendly staff are totally justified.
The remote moodiness of one of the owners is a local legend. If there was more local competition this little cafe would not survive.    [13 Dec 2001 02:34:09]

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     ­Jim   

Shy Cameo
I have eaten at the Cameo at least once on each of my personal trips to the Scarborough area for the last 10+ years. I contribute to both Hardens and the Zagat guide as I have to do quite a bit of business entertaining and I travel on business. The food at the Cameo is traditional English, properly cooked and reasonably priced. The place is a gem as there are not many of them about. There is no doubt that traditional English food from the staff requires traditional English courtesy from the customer.    [30 May 2002 08:49:55]

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Recommended Dishes: All.

     ­Mary Nurse   

Real truth
My name is Jacques (33) and I moved with my wife from Paris to Scarborough 10 years ago. Coming across this site and reading reviews for the Cameo restaurant I couldn’t have left without saying a few words.

I regard the owner’s reply to Anonymous and would doubt both Jim’s inputs about “local legend” & competition because as a local he should know better. Restaurants and cafes come and go – does the fact that Cameo stays (after 20 years) mean anything to him?

Even though the restaurant is not in our neighbourhood we’ve been visiting on regular basis. That means we are satisfied not only with food served but also with the ambience and service. We’ve been treated well no matter who’s serving us and never noticed someone else being treated differently. Staff and customers are all decent people and we also witnessed owners of other small businesses from the neighbourhood eating there.

There are always wide range of meals to choose from, everything’s fresh, delicious and tender steaks (our favourites!), beautiful wines, decent music playing in the background… and the cook is an artist! Prices are lower compared to other restaurants and portions bigger. And waiters ARE always on top no matter the number of customers and how busy they are. Also, there are many special musical evenings throughout the year and nights when the Thai menu is served.

So, our all support to Cameo and invitation to everyone who’s been reading this to come and experience by themselves! We’ll keep coming that’s for sure - because here we feel at home, like back in Paris.    [13 Aug 2002 18:22:31]

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Recommended Dishes: Lamb with rosemary & apricots

     ­Jacques & Jean Marreau   rjanovs at yahoo dot com