Ben's Canteen

Went there tonight with my brother. Thoughts: a. you HAVE to get the scotch egg. b. we had venison pie and the beef and ale stew with mash and veg. Both seriously tasty, not too salty, good portions. c. I'm not joking about the scotch egg, it's runny! and the meat round the side is something else. d. great presentation and attention to detail.

Thought it'd be good but didn't expect it to be this good.

We went to Ben's Canteen for dinner last weekend. The atmosphere was great and staff were welcoming. There was 6 of us and we had a great night. the full english breakfast scotch egg was a big hit! I loved the British Beef Board which was amazing. I am a local and had never ventured down st john's hill that far. I am so glad that I did, I will be back!! Time out should really revisit this hidden treasure!

food was amazing, great beer/wine selection, service was relaxed but attentive. lovely lovely feel to the place. will definitely be going back.

Just been to ben's canteen & have left heavy hearted after expecting much better. We had a party of 6 & since entering we're left for massive periods of time with no hello
Nor help. The food on the whole was average, most of our party were left dissapointed with starter and main. My scotch egg was good but incredibly oily whilst my main of beef stew & dumplings was a huge disapointment. Something expecting to be rich & filling was thin & not really a stew. I wanted to enjoy this place but sadly must agree with the poor review & say there are a lot better in the area so go elsewhere.

Bens canteen is lovely. such a bright, airy and nice place. my girlfriend and I often stop in for the odd drink (she lives nearby)
the food is nice too.

Wow this could be about another restaurant, I suppose in a way it is because that was when they just started. This place is GREAT! We discovered it when they started doing later boozing but brunch is its real speciality.

I think the Time Out guys should revisit the place as its a lovely little set up now.

Sorry my last comment I left just now should have had 5 stars!

I discussed this with some friend's and we all agreed that we thought it a little unfair that the review was conducted quite so soon after opening. True, you shouldn;t open unless you're ready but there's only so much preparation you can do and opening to the public for the first time is only ever going to throw up some unexpected problems that throw a spanner in the works. I appreciate that various "chain" restaurants probably have this process "down pat" but this isn;t a chain restaurant. It's an independent local restaurant which is supplied by local businesses and provides a product tailored to the local community.

It would be nice if Time Out could give Ben and his team the beneift of the doubt and the chance of a fair review by going back at some stage. The two star review is a blatent injustice to a fantastic new restaurant.

I respect Time Out's independence though and hence highly value their reviews. I hope they will do the right thing here.

Totally agreed with the below comments. I think this review is a little out of date. I went as soon as the place opened and have been back a few time since. As they've settled into things the service has no problems, the menu has expanded and Ben's Canteen is rapidly turning into a great little place. They've just started doing a pop up pulled pork bap place outside their butcher's, Dove, which are delish! Highly recommend checking this place out. They're all so friendly too!

I love this place - bright, breezy, great service (teething problems aside) and superb food and coffee with great value prices. What's not to like?

I concur with previous comment, all teething problems have been solved. I live just off St John’s Hill and this addition to the neighbourhood is excellent and that’s not just for house prices. The Hill was calling out for something like this.

Atmosphere is brilliant, food is excellent (Ben source’s his food from his hero suppliers. Dove the butcher on Northcote Road is one of them which is another plus) and the booze is top quality (we had a smashing white for a very reasonable £22). I also regularly pop in for a solid Big Ben breakfast and a Brewed Boy coffee (by far the best in the area) on the weekend and with all those papers you can sit there for hours.

Hope my enthusiasm has come through on this comment – pop down there and enjoy everything Ben has to offer.

Yeah this review's from pretty early after opening and true it wasn't great initially and we, locals who wanted it to suceed, were pretty disappointed actually - but there were some obvious teething probs and now I'm happy to say it's filled a hole in the area for a decent gaff with a nice atmosphere and lots going for it so... this review was right, but I dunno if it is so much now?