Canteen

Went here on a weekday with a work group for a goodbye brunch for our interns. There were plenty of tables and I liked the simple, minimalist look of the place which gave it quite a trendy feel.
I got the impression that the waiters don’t bring over more menus other than the one or two on the table which I thought was odd, so with 7 of us in the group we had to ask for more.
However, when my eggs royale turned up I wasn’t bothered as it was delicious, the eggs were cooked to perfection which is key. If you add a drink to the mix then I’d say it is a little pricey but the the jugs of water that are brought to the table as standard is a nice touch.

A great little restaurant in Spitalfields market area.
It’s quite unassuming from the outside and the name of the place isn’t too great, but nevertheless the staff were really friendly and attentive and the food very good.
We went for an early lunch, so I ordered macaroni cheese with tomatoes and bacon-​it was delicious. Sadly my phone decided not to play ball, so no photos of that;(
My friends orders scones with jam.-The jam apparently is home made on site, which is quite rare these days.
my other friend order fish fingers — which were real fish goujons, not the processed stuff you might expect.
The only downside was the waitress trying to charge me £50 instead of £15-​always check before putting in your PIN!

Good service and food. Eggs benedict were good. Fish fingers great! Nice not to have to que up to get in on a busy Sunday morning

I like pie.
Canteen have award winning pies, so when it was suggested as a lunch venue I was very happy!
I should point out that they have other things on the menu, but as most of us ordered pie I’m focussing on that (I believe the fish dish was very tasty).
Pie of the day was chicken and mushroom, I ordered mine with mash rather than chips because MASH. We ordered drinks and some cheese straws to tide us over. The beer choice is pretty good, Bitter & Twisted for me, which worked well with the very cheesy, flaky cheese straws which were nice but a little bit on the dry side.
And then it was time for pie!
The pies are individually baked and of a good size, not too much that you end up feeling stuffed and, unlike other places, they were actually pies, not the ‘stuff in a bowl with pastry on top’ abominations other places dare to call a pie!
I was a little disappointed by the portion of mash, but that’s probably just because my love of the potato is so high. The mash was good, thick, not too creamy and well seasoned. The accompanying cabbage and gravy were ok too, a nice crunch to the cabbage and the gravy was well flavoured.
The pie itself was tasty, but for the much touted ‘award winning’ mention I had expected better. It wasn’t bad, the crust was flaky, the filling tasty but it was just a pretty good pie, not sure it was worthy of an award.
The main reason we were there was to meet up with some friends so, from that point of view it was an excellent lunch! (I’m lucky that I am friends with some very lovely people). Service wise we were well attended, and overall it was a good meal.
3 stars feels a little harsh but to give 4 I’d need to have been more impressed than I was. It’s a nice space, with competent friendly staff and good food, but it’s nothing particularly special.

Perhaps not the most imaginative choice, but Canteen has become a bit of a tradition for a mid-​week dinner catch up with a friend. Less fast-​food-​y than some of the other chains in Spitalfields Market, Canteen offers attractive set menus for early diners — without rushing.
Last night’s visit was a bit of a disappointment, though, with my first choice of wine out of stock — and my chosen desert not available either. Seasonal icecream turned out to be vanilla …

Cela fait la 2ème fois que je vais dans cette cantine située sur la place du marché Old Spitafields. La cuisine britannique est revisitée, les produits sont frais et bons, on peut y manger des pies, des fish and chips mais aussi des grillades, des plats de poisson ou d’agneau donc il y a en pour tous les goûts. Les desserts sont simples des bread puddings, des mousses au chocolat. Les prix sont un peu élevés 15£ pour un plat 5£ pour un dessert mais c’est le prix de la qualité. L’accueil était meilleur quand j’y suis allée il y a 2 ans mais reste correct. J’essaierais sûrement l’adresse de Baket street

This may be a chain but it is a good chain —
and a reliable bet for good British food.
They have the full line of «normal British stuff»
not all of which we have had.
I give particular kudos for —
a) the onger steak.
cheap steaks are very hard to pull off.
(most french steak frites are inedible and i have had as many wretched cheap steaks in britain and in latin america as i can stand) .
Canteen does a first rate «cheap steak». It has an excellent char on the outside — and red and tasty on the inside and is tender.
(You usually get tasty OR tender but not both — and you rarely see chars except on shoe leather.)
b) the carrots and swede (always a balancing act to keep the swede taste but not have the mash taste so strong as to be overwhelming)
c) totally decent breakfasts
d) totally decent coffee
e) fish and chips that are absolutely first rate. a very delicate tempura like crust on a huge serving of fish of the day.
(but then there is a lot of good fish and chips in upscale british places)
other people have complained about service here — but the service we received was excellent.
overall a strong place.

Had lunch here today with a colleague, we were both after some comfort food after a late night.
We both ordered fish and chips, which was Haddock, and an Artichoke salad. Everything was fine but a little bland, perhaps under seasoned?
For desert we both choose apple crumble and custard, which was disappointing. The crumble had been microwaved, some of the apple was volcanically hot. The Custard tasted of nothing, very odd
Lunch was something of a let down.
Lu

Had their special roast meal of the day. It was well prepared and tasty. The tables and such could be a bit cleaner. My table was quite sticky, and my dishware kinda iffy. Made me wonder what might be going on back in the kitchen as well.

It was the first time either of us had been to Canteen. My girlfriend had booked online from Austria and I’d travelled down from Manchester. When we first looked in the door it was empty. It looked like a small café and at first we thought we had the wrong place. So we walked around the block. When we returned having found no alternative we walked in. We then saw one staff member who led us to the interior which was a bit like the Tardis. It’s not immediately obvious from the front door but the restaurant is quite extensive and expands out as you walk toward the rear of the smaller first bit of the building.
The staff were friendly and the food was great. Having power points under the table was a nice touch. The wifi was also good. It’s surprising how many places get the wifi wrong. I think their wifi password was bangersandmash from memory. I appreciated the comedy value.
The scones were divine as were the sandwiches. They were so good in fact we asked for the recipe and they obliged.
They only lost a star because when we asked for another pot of tea the waiter forgot and after 15 minutes of waiting we had to prompt another member of staff.
I liked the vibe in Canteen. It was unhurried and had a retro café feel to it without the negative aspects of a greasy spoon. Not dissimilar to the Ace Café.

Good British food and friendly service. A nice place to stop for a bite to eat while shopping at Spitalfields on Sunday, although it’s better to come on the early side as it can get a bit of a queue. I enjoyed the soup of the day with soda bread. The side leaf salad was particularly tasty.

Food was very average. Had a Sunday roast (beef) and at £15 I was expecting something decent but was left disappointed.
Portion size was reasonable with a massive and tasty Yorkshire pudding but that is where the positives end. The beef was stringy and chewy and the potatoes were like bullets which is normally an indication of reheating.
Service was friendly but not enough to convince me to return.

It has its location going for it, in the heart of Spitalfields — which makes it super convenient — but not a whole lot else. It’s quite expensive for what you get I find, although it is usually decent fare. I like their pies here — but some of the other menu items can be a little hit and miss.
I’ve not had the roast here — I’m told its very good indeed.

Canteen was one of my usual haunts when I would be in London for business several times a year. They feature an updated menu of British food, all high quality and quite good, with several vegetarian options. The décor is modern and fun, and the atmosphere is lively without being too overwhelming.

I have to admit, i’m not a huge fan of British food. I only like British food when its home made. Like a good roast made at home. you get the picture. But my mates wanted to come here, so we did.
And given that your in the new overpriced crappy trendy area like Spitalfields, your pretty much guaranteed this chained restaurant is going to be crap. But I kept my gob shut, sometimes I can be an over bearing mouthy twat, who is often wrong. he he
This time I wasn’t. It really was crap! My friends got the breakfasts and couldn’t believe that you get a typical fry up but half the size of a normal one and quadrupal the price.
Everyone’s chips were also burnt, i have to admit, i did like that. But I know its a mistake and they should have made new ones.
So for 5 people, our total bill was 120. Hmmm, it was just pub grub!!!
Not a fan of this place, but i’m also not a fan of pub grub so it comes off as a bad start for me anyways

For what it is Canteen was pretty good. I’d guess that its a reasonably reliable spot for traditional British cuisine in a contemporary environment. One item I really enjoyed was the Scotch Egg. Though the chip are not thick they are still pretty good.

New Years Day myself & 3 friends chose Canteen for late lunch and arrived to find the place was full inside, but the friendly & attentive staff invited us to wait as a table was paying and ready to leave, so we chose to stay. We were shown to our table and the waiter took our order, an hour later our order arrived !! To mark the special day I ordered Grapefruit Champagne to drink, at £7 a glass I was surprised the Champage arrived quite warm, however it still hit the spot after a heavy NYE !! When the food finally arrived I found mine was very dry, friends were equally unimpressed with their choices. I was personally surprised by the less than enjoyable standard of food as the surroundings are quite impressive, clean & stylish and the waiters were good at keeping us informed to which we smiled sweetly while slowly wasting away.
We were lucky to be given a booth by the window, with nice comfy cushions to ease our wait, however I didn’t envy the diners in the middle section of the room who sat on chairs with no backs and looked quite uncomfortable, I also don’t relish sharing a dining table with strangers which the middle section would have been open to.
Canteen do have an information booklet which I perused at leisure — the information contained within deserved 5 Stars as I learnt they only purchase their meats from farms where the animals have lived a happier life outdoors. Eggs are free range — the word Organic came up a lot, this is important to me and I hope these claims are true. Visually Canteen makes you feel you’re on to a winner, the busy staff are reassuring therfore it comes as a disappointment when the eventual service & food standard falls below expectations. I wouldn’t return or recommend to friends following my one & only experience which wasn’t value for money.

The original Canteen before they started springing up in other places around London. They do OK meals but I like the idea of serving traditional British food more than I like their British food.
I do not like their portion sizes though and think that if it were proper British food you’d get a lot more for your cash than you get here.
(I do quite like their recipe book though)

I was very pleasantly surprised by this market eatery. I would have liked a bit more choice on the menu and some slightly lower prices but my unusual squash, fennel and barley dish was both healthy and delicious and the wine I drank was a particularly good red.
The staff are helpful and are tolerant to special requests when it comes to modifications you might request to the available dishes.
Probably gets very busy on certain days.

Un lieu idéal pour qui aime les Fish & Chips. Les bonnes adresses de ce genre deviennent rares de nos jours. Ce plat emblématique du prolétariat anglais a tendance soit à disparaitre, soit à s’embourgeoiser honteusement. Possibilité de manger également d’excellents pies et stews. La bière y est de bonne qualité. Le public fait d’habitués est connaisseur et l’accueil est très courtois. N’hésitez pas à demander conseil !
Pour ma part, j’ai découvert ce lieu en y prenant un petit déjeuner… et je suis revenu le midi pour y déjeuner tellement j’avais été charmé par ma première visite matinale…

With all the hype surrounding Canteen’s crusade to promote proper British grub I think I built my expectations a bit too high. Although the food was nice, I wouldn’t say it was award winning. My macaroni cheese was tasty enough and my boyfriend enjoyed his chicken and chips but I’m not sure either meal merited their price tag.
I’m not a big fan of the minimalist look they’ve gone for with the décor either. When you’re served a mountain of mac and cheese you really need to recline in a proper chair afterwards and work up the energy to walk it off. Long tables and bright lights make it feel like the worst sort of canteen, one you might find in a hospital ward or a run down school. Our service was a bit patchy and although the waiter was very pleasant, he got our drinks order wrong twice and then brought us the wrong bill!
I realise that this review sounds a bit negative but it’s based on the principal that whilst this is a good place to eat, it’s not the best. If you’ve read as much about this place as I had then you might have heightened expectations– lower these a little and you’ll really enjoy it here.

I may not be British by birth but by gosh I appreciate some good British grub. Ergo, Canteen is one of my favourite local restaurants. A relatively upscale establishment specialising in high quality British food, and just about the best place for Sunday brunch. Period.
Located smack bang in the middle of Spitalfields Market in London’s East End, Canteen on a Sunday morning is a maelstrom of media types, yummy mummies and the historic area’s requisite tourists. Aesthetically it is the love child of an industrial looking bachelor pad and a particularly quaint Scandinavian country abode.
With its emphasis on clean, seasonal, locally sourced food and additive free meat, Canteen should easily satisfy most aware foodies’ ethical imperatives while serving the kind of hearty, fail-​safe food you wish your mum could master.
Case in point: Canteen’s breakfast and all day menu which ranges from low G.I. austere — toast and marmite, porridge — to classically decadent — bacon, fried eggs and bubble and squeak — to by-gosh-this-is-the-best-I’ve-ever-had Eggs Benedict.
At £3.00 for an orange juice prices can be steep but quite frankly who cares when the food, and your post-​meal conscience, is as clean as this.