Kentish Canteen

I’ve visited Kentish Canteen on several occasions for brunch, which is well cooked regular brekkie fare. Very delicious, (although the salmon in the Eggs Royale is somewhat flavourless flaked salmon, not smoked salmon) but quite expensive if you want to add anything (£3 for a few slices of avocado?!) You’re looking at around a tenner for Eggs Benedict and a coffee, so if you want an extra coffee/​orange juice/​avocado it really does start adding up. That said, it is one of the better breakfasts in the area so I do keep going back…
Now on to dinner… The boy and I visited on a Thursday evening, it was fairly full but we got a table. The staff were all REALLY pleasant and attentive and the décor is great but not too trendy, so it felt relaxing. We shared the wings to start, as we are both huge wings fans, and WOW. I’ve tried wings all over the world and these blew me away. Seriously. GET THE WINGS. I’d say better than the wings at Meat Liquor/​Hard Rock/​anywhere else ever. Seriously yum. I then ordered the sirloin steak, which was a perfectly cooked medium rare. I found the wedges a little heavy, and the portion of bernaise sauce a little measly, but it was all extremely delicious. I couldn’t fault the cooking one bit. The boy also seemed pretty chuffed with his fish and chips, thumbs up from him as well… We then shared a chocolate cheesecake to finish, which had a gorgeous texture and lasted all of about 2 minutes, so must have been pretty good!
To top it all off, we then got 2for1 cocktails at Shebeen downstairs (also really worth a visit)
The food here is great, although you’re not going to get the BEST cut of steak or any exceptional ‘flair’, and the price is a little high, hence the loss of a star. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the location is perfect (right by Kentish Town tube). I just wish there were more restaurants of this standard in the area. GO!

Enjoyed a really nice meal at the Kentish Town Canteen recently. I ordered cod with sauteed potatoes. It was great to have a fresh chunk of fish and the vegetables were perfectly cooked. My friend ordered BBQ chicken with chips which was also nicely cooked, this was served with a flavourful sauce.
The food is good but overpriced for the small portion I received. Service was patchy.

We went there on a balmy evening last week and it was very hot inside. As we don’t smoke, we didn’t sit outside. It’s beyond me why they didn’t put the air-​con on. A couple sitting by the window moved farther back to avoid the sun and another couple sitting near us was complaining about the heat as well.
Waitresses were very friendly and attentive, but the male staff was a bit gruff (I gather the restaurant was run by two male — father & son??).
Peir Peri Chicken came with excellent sauce and was juicy, but it needed to be charred a bit and skin to be crispy. It was supposed to be half the chicken, but the leg and the wing were missing. Roast Cod was fresh and came with roasted vegetables/​potatoes. Again the flavour was nice, but the portion was very small. The chef demonstrated good skills, but in order to justify the prices, he/​she needs to pay more attention to detail and increase the portion.
They have a potential to be a very good restaurant and I hope to see some improvements in the near future.

The Kentish Canteen was fairly busy for a Wednesday night! This is one of my locals, although truth be told, I haven’t been here very much. To my surprise, the place has improved since my last visit about 6 months ago. The interior was cosy and welcoming, the staff friendly and attentive.
I opted for the Char Grilled Lamb steak with potatoes, curly kale and rosemary jus. It was the best I’ve had in a while and fair value. My friend had the Gorgonzola & Walnut Gnocchi. It looked a bit dry but when asked, she said it tasted nice. We split a side of purple sprouting broccoli but when it arrived, it was more like broccolini. Nevertheless, it was a tasty side!
If you have a Tastecard, you get 50% off with a booking (which is what I did), making it an even better deal. Pre-​book your tables on Monday and you get 50% off food (check out their website). Perfect time to give it a go :)

Very good food beautifully done.
The décor is great and the staff very capable.
This restaurant is part of the smarter trendiness coming to Kentish Town and I will be going there again.
Most of the staff were friendly, but one lady serving our table did not give that extra personal lovable friendly service, so that is why I could only give it 4 stars.

I’m writing this about the basement cocktail bar, Shebeen, which doesn’t seem to have a separate listing.
I’ve gone twice — once with my partner and once with a small group — and both times scored a private side room, so points for that. The décor is lovely and it really does feel like a drinking den.
However, I’m deducting points because of my cocktail confusion. The first time I went, I ordered something called a Chammy Chammy Ya, which is made with soda water, so it’s carbonated.
The second time I went, I got a different drink at first, but got a Chammy Chammy Ya afterwards — it was a completely different drink, but the waitress insisted it was correct.
Meanwhile, my friend ordered two Brambles — and got two different drinks, one after the other!
I wish I could give it 3.5, but decided to give it a 3 because the cocktai lconfusion is just baffling.
Meanwhile, I’ve been to the Kentish Town Canteen upstairs and really do like it. Plus, the half price Monday dinners are a bargain.

I went here recently for brunch. I ordered a burger, the other members of my party ordered breakfast. The food took absolutely ages to arrive. My burger was hot and tasty, however one breakfast arrived cold and had to be sent back. The breakfast didn’t include a tea/​coffee as in other cafes. The service was friendly, but very slow. They added a 12.5% service charge onto the bill, which is absolutely ridiculous for a café.
It looks great from the outside, but there are plenty of other less great looking cafes along the road which servce the same food at a reasonable price. I doubt I’ll return.

This place is clean, modern and inviting which contrasts with most of the other restaurants in the area. However the food is slightly too expensive and not all that exciting. I went here with my girlfriend on a Monday when they offer 50% off, and at 26 quid for two tasty burgers, a shared starter, drinks and service, I left very happy. Service is friendly and I will likely go back, but definitely on a Monday or with my Tastecard.

The place looks so inviting and warm but it is just ordinary. Nothing at all exciting to speak off in terms of menu selection or execution. Service was fine, food was ok, I didn’t find it overly pricey, but wasn’t excited about my fish cakes and my friend’s burger looked standard. Wouldn’t rush back here…

Wow. I’m surprised by the huge number of scathing reviews! I quite liked Kentish canteen, and it was a complete bargain when we used a tastecard!
The good (ish):
— The burgers were huuuge! My other half loved his, but I was a little underwhelmed by the teeny amount of blue cheese in mine… I only tasted cheese-​joy in one or two bites.
— Mac ‘n’ cheese — Yum! This side dish was perfect for sharing. I didn’t know I love mac ‘n’ cheese until I tried this!
— If you have a taste card, it is cheap as chips! We spent £25 on all our food and drink (including tip)
— The cocktail bar downstairs sounds cool, and is 50% off all cocktails on Mondays…
Less good:
— Our ‘rocket and parmesan salad’ didn’t have any parmesan (!) after we questioned it, they brought some out from the kitchen to sprinkle on… but the waiter was pretty grumpy about the whole thing, so we felt bad for receiving the wrong order.
— As others have mentioned, the booths are a bit teeny. It’s hard to fit when you’re a couple with long legs!
All in all, it was a nice evening out, amazing value (with the tastecard) and we both found it hard to walk home as we were so full!

Oh. How I wanted to love this place. It looks so nice from the outside, and the first time I went I thought the food was the bee’s knees. Either I just got lucky or I was high on the euphoria of recently moving to K-​Town from Balham (no offence, Balhamites). But having been back a few times since, it’s never lived up to expectations. The food is on the pricey side for the area, and frankly you can get a much better class of fry-​up at the many caffs in the area that don’t have as shiny paintwork. So, I guess it depends of what you’re looking for, but I think that Kentish Canteen is a classic case of style over substance. I’ve had very average moules frites, a very average Sunday roast and something else so average I can’t even remember what it was now.
There’s a speakeasy-​style hidden cocktail bar downstairs from Kentish Canteen, but on that I cannot pass judgement, as the entrance scares me. A bit like Rio’s ‘health spa’ just down the road… (NW5 locals, you know what I’m talking about).

Wow is this place bad all around.
My chorizo tasted sour, and was served with. sweet potatoes.spinach.and corn.
No thanks.
9÷13÷2012 never forget.
Not worth writing anything more about this place.

Perfectly good food for the location and price. I wouldn’t make an expedition but I’ve not had anything bad here. Service is quick and friendly.

Perhaps I’m just greedy but the portions here barely touched the sides and I went home hungry.
The Shebeen/​bar downstairs is a nice recent addition.
I will go back to Kentish Canteen, but not if I’m feeling hungry!

I’ve been here a couple of times for a generally pleasant experience. Each time was for lunch and the place has never been full but never empty either. There is a good location just next to the station and big windows that fill the room with light. The décor is very relaxed and open making it quite good for people with children.
Being here is much nicer than being in one of the other cafes near Kentish Town Station which are mostly pubs or greasy spoons (though there an awesome pub round the corner called «The Vine») so I think for the area the place offers something different.
The main problem for the place is the price, with reasonably nice (if not slightly small and bland) food and whenever I’ve been, middling to good service one cannot charge good restaurant prices. More than £10 for two eggs benedict and a coffee is simply too much.
When I went today, the cushion in the bay I was on wasn’t attached properly so whenever I leaned forward the whole bench cushion slid with me. Very frustrating!
In summary a place with a nice ambience and location but with extortionate prices for tiny amounts of middling food and service.
PS They have a new underground cocktail bar that they were advertising today; seemingly they want to cash in on the recent trend for «speakeasy» type drinking. Maybe good, maybe bad who knows but I’m willing to bet it’s expensive.

Now I heard about the Kentish Canteen from others who had great things to say, and this positive word told me that it was something I should check out for myself.
I was a bit disheartened to find that the prices were quite steep, the portions light, and the food nothing to write home about.
Meeting a friend there for brunch, we ordered a selection in order to really try what they had to offer. The pastries were OK, the tea overpriced and cold and the meals were so simple a child could have been working in the kitchen. And when I say simple, I mean they spent no time on flavour, ingredients or presentation.
Long story short I was both hungry and a bit poorer having left here. Too bad.

Very good food, nice interior and friendly staff, but pretty expensive! Small menue but interesting dishes. We had the lamb rump and the chorizo and shared a desert (45, — incl. 2 beers) Both very satisfying and plenty, although portions seemed too small at first.

gros bof
on m’avait conseille de manger la si j’etais dans le coin pour un bon meal mais deception:
chilli, lemon, crab linguine sec (et leur lemon, c’est juste une tranche de lemon sur le cote), une salade de roquette, peppers et anchois, sans aucun assaisonnement ni anchois donc sans grand interet
Ma pote a pris la glacé a la clotted cream and fresh strawberries, pas mal.
PAR CONTRE
OVER customer service:
quand au moment de payer, j’ai dit que je n’avais pas eu d’anchois dans ma salade et ma pote, qu’il n’y avait pas assez de fraises dans la glacé, le gerant a tenu a nous refaire la salade a emporter et nous a donne mini sac de fraises a emporter!
NICE TRY
mais nous de reviendrons pas…

Decent brunch place in Kentish Town! Very laid-​back and relaxing atmosphere inside, perfect for lazy Saturday or Sundays. There’s outdoor seating, but not recommended as the road in front is rather busy.
Foodwise, my eggs benedict was cooked perfectly — but then again, eggs benedict isn’t that hard to get right! The hollandaise sauce was good, and I thought I would never say this, but there was just too much of it with the eggs.
Pricewise it was slightly on the pricey side, but if you’re looking for a bit of a more civilised and posh breakfast or brunch around Kentish Town, you can’t go wrong with Kentish Canteen.
The London Insider

I came here for my last team-​outing at my previous job. I was sorely disappointed in the selection and with the actual end products. I ordered a salad and chips (well…I tried to balance it out, at least!). The salad was ridiculously small for the near £5 I paid for it and the ingredients were just a bit odd. It was the beetroot salad and Im unsure what didn’t work in it, but something was just wrong.
My co-​workers got the fish and chips and one complained about her fish looking undercooked. Another had a different type of salad and said, while tiny, was pretty good (I think it was butternut squash). Still, at £5 a pop for less than a tea cup of salad… I wasn’t impressed.
Meh, won’t go back here. If I want to pay exorbant prices for tiny amounts of food, I’ll go to a Gordon Ramsey shop.

I have to say, of late, I haven’t had many great dining experiences but the handmade butternut squash ravioli here is delicious. Kentish Canteen was sold to me by a colleague who told me that The Times had written a piece that was to make the place the next Breakfast Club.
It took me a while to get down here and sample the food, but I’m guessing it’s more of a breakfast/​brunch place than dinner. That said, it was packed when I went on a cold Thursday evening, so perhaps that Times review is better than I thought it was.
I had the puy lentils with grilled chorizo, and whilst it was, quite tasty, I have no plans to make it a favourite eatery of mine. That said, my friend had the ravioli (see above) and it really was amazing. But I didn’t find too many choices on the menu and the chips, hand cut though they were, were a bit undercooked.
The seating is also, not very well though out, the tables are too close together and crammed in (depends where you sit, obviously) and the benches are straight with a hard back, forcing you to lean forwards on the edge of your seat… for a whole entire meal… not too comfortable. The service was a bit slow and mediocre, but perhaps I need to have brunch here to see the benefits. That ravioli was pretty good though.