It’s Wednesday night and we are lucky to get a table. Canteen is buzzing with the city crowd. The atmosphere is flirty as thirty somethings find their tables for the evening. The sleek and modern design of Canteen and its classic pub nosh food perfectly accommodates the city set.The place is crowd friendly with its canteen style seating (communal tables and booth seating). All chrome, wood and glass, Canteen has all the pretense of contemporary city dining, only it’s more relaxed and the food, more traditional than urban fusion.
The menu that doubles as a place mat outlines the philosophy of Canteen: seasonal eating with an emphasis on sustainable and local produce. The food is also additive free. We like it.
We select what we consider to be perfect British nosh: fish and chips, pies and the Canteen roast.
Fish of the day is skate. It arrives heavily fried atop a generous serve of chips and a jar of tartare sauce. The chips are cooked to perfection but the delicacy of the fish gets lost in the batter. We contemplate sending a SOS.
The menu that doubles as a place mat outlines the philosophy of Canteen: seasonal eating with an emphasis on sustainable and local produce. The food is also additive free. We like it.
We select what we consider to be perfect British nosh: fish and chips, pies and the Canteen roast.
Fish of the day is skate. It arrives heavily fried atop a generous serve of chips and a jar of tartare sauce. The chips are cooked to perfection but the delicacy of the fish gets lost in the batter. We contemplate sending a SOS.
The pork belly proves a better choice. Served with a roasted apple, it is well cooked but nothing to rave about. Both dishes would have fared better with a side dish.
The well celebrated Canteen pies prove a better choice – the mushroom and beef pie is very good. The pastry is light and crisp and the beef, very tender. Served with mash and kale, it was delightful. The leek, cheddar and mushroom pie didn’t quite hit the same mark. We appreciated the sweetness of the leek and the seasonality of the ingredients but more cheddar was needed to bring a sharpness to this dish.
At Canteen, desserts are straight from the pages of Enid Blyton and have us all reminiscing about childhood books and remembered cakes and sweets.
Treacle pie served with Jersey cream was perfect. The cream was buttery in colour, rich and heavy. Pure indulgence - there's nothing like good produce. The steam ginger pudding with pears was another favourite. The vanilla rice and jam was good but more enjoyed for its nostalgia than its taste. We couldn’t finish the fruit crumble and custard – we were just too full.
The service is professional yet suitably relaxed. There is no hovering of staff and no sense that you are being rushed.
Those in the know have heralded Canteen as the future of dining. We’re not sure. Yes the design work is outstanding and the slow philosophy hits the right mark. Any restaurant committed to serving the best of national produce with good provenance deserves all the accolades it gets. The food needs to be more consistent. That said the approach is spot-on.
Would we recommend Canteen – absolutely. We’d go again on a Saturday when the Spitalfields market reopens.
2 Crispin Place, Spitalfields London, E1 6DW UK
T: (+44) 0845 686 1122
E: info@canteen.co.uk W: http://www.canteen.co.uk/
The service is professional yet suitably relaxed. There is no hovering of staff and no sense that you are being rushed.
Those in the know have heralded Canteen as the future of dining. We’re not sure. Yes the design work is outstanding and the slow philosophy hits the right mark. Any restaurant committed to serving the best of national produce with good provenance deserves all the accolades it gets. The food needs to be more consistent. That said the approach is spot-on.
Would we recommend Canteen – absolutely. We’d go again on a Saturday when the Spitalfields market reopens.
2 Crispin Place, Spitalfields London, E1 6DW UK
T: (+44) 0845 686 1122
E: info@canteen.co.uk W: http://www.canteen.co.uk/
