Kentish Canteen

I eat at Kentish Canteen regularly and find it such a great, special place. The food is AMAZING, the menu has just changed and the food is of such an exceptional high standard for the prices they are charging. I had the freshest sole on basil mash with a delicious sauce and topped with Samphire, beautifully presented and stylish. Staff are very friendly and know their stuff. I was even invited downstairs for a complimentary cocktail to see their new bar. A super addition to Kentish Town. They do need some draughts beers though.

My partner and I had dinner here on the 14th February (Valentines day) and the service, atmosphere and ambience was perfect! The bill was surprisingly cheap, considering that we had ordered a bottle of wine in addition to our two amazing belini's, which were offered as if complimentary but unfortunately not. We're returning with our friends on the 17th March for dinner and I can't wait. I would definitely recommend this restaurant - great location, cheap food but of good quality! Thumbs up.

The service was really bad - appalling (staff bumped into me and made me feel like i was in the way. They were rude to each other in front of us and when I paid using the credit card machine I discovered later that they had added more onto my bill (on top of the service charge) without me knowing (as they asked me for my PIN, I did not check the amount). I will never go there again. Food not up to scratch either.

I have eaten at the Kentish Canteen four or five times and live locally enough that I’ve been able to enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner there. As evidenced by the repeated visits, I’m a fan. The general ambience is informal, welcoming and comfortable. This is a place to enjoy good food with the minimum of pretentiousness (the clue is in the name!) and without being rushed, rather than let’s say, to indulge in a very leisurely lunch or a particularly prolonged evening. There are more than enough good pubs in the area if you plan on settling in for a longer session.

As I have mentioned, the food is good. The menu changes regularly and on each visit I have been torn between two choices. There is plenty of variety to suit all tastes and everything I’ve tried has been well-prepared and delicious. The cooking is generally Continental (for want of a better description). You will find a mixture of traditional favourites, though often with an interesting interpretation or addition (on my last visit for example I had risotto with artichoke tempura). Breakfast is, as mentioned in the review above, a treat. The selection of drinks and wines on offer is similarly varied.

The service is adequate in my experience and the staff if they are not given to attending you personally are at least numerous. I like the fact that the owner is often on hand to speak with you or indeed to serve you.

If I have one criticism, it is that slightly more thought could be put into the service of individual tables. As an example, I ordered cheese for two to share for dessert which arrived with three oat cakes – the addition of a single biscuit being surely not too much to ask for in order to suit the number of diners. This is however a minor oversight.

In summary, this is a great venue which does what it does very well and for a reasonable price.

I recently ate at kentish canteen with a group of 4 friends. Such a lovely place to eat. Friendly and un-prentious with delicious food. We started with a combination of the salads which were so beautifully displayed on a counter in the centre of the restaurant. I chose the fish a chips; pan fried hoddock with pea puree, skinny fries and the most delicious tatare sauce. It was so nice I ordered a second side of fries to dip in what i had left!!!
The service was friendly, quick and helpful. I even got to meet the owner Wendy who was so lovely and clearly so passionate and proud of what they have achieved.
I would recommend Kentish Canteen to anyone looking for a friendly, fun, tasty , affordable dining experience. This is a little gem!!!! There should be more places like it!!!!!

Such a lovely local place for dinner. It is great value, very good food and lovely people but I can't understand why it is not packed all the time? It is consistenly good and also interesting food. Had a lovely Christmas dinner there on 14th December, excellent all round!!

Excellent place. I regularly go there once or twice a week for their cooked breakfasts, which are several cuts above your average fare from many a greasy spoon cafe. They are versatile in their food offerings and so are also good for restaurant-esque lunch, snacks and evening meals; it's also particularly good in the summer when you can sit outside in an enclosed area and watch the world go by; even the close proximity to Kentish town road and barely perceptable glimpse of hampstead heath don't detract from this recent addition to the area for me. The Staff are always friendly and courteous, especially to the parents of messy kids who actually bother to apologise for leaving the place with a pile of crumbs around them, so despite objections they aren't anti-child at all, only anti-discourtesy. They only steer babies towards high chairs so they can store buggies at the front entrance in a way that doesn't get in everybody elses way, including the staff, which bearing in mind that space is limited, seems a reasonable request. Weekends tend to be very busy so this is worth considering before going, but generally well worth a visit or seven.

Wonderful addition to the neighbourhood! Always had friendly and professional service with super food. Also have good special offers. Bit gloomy on a wet Monday evening but the candles def help!

the food was pretty good- but the portions were tiny, and i can't believe how over priced this place is! not somewhere to go if you're feeling the pinch...

FANTASTIC!! Great food, great service, even better price. Best place i've been to in ages

My duck dish was ok but the portion size was very mean. For £13.95, I was still hungry afterwards. It was supposed to be apple braised, but I couldn't taste the apple. The 'black bean and pancetta cassoulet' was a complete oversell, nothing like a cassoulet at all. Service was friendly, but the food was exceptionally slow to come out - we waited 30 minutes for our food to arrive - the restaurant was not even half full. My friend's burger was burnt, even though he had asked for it medium rare. They were happy to correct it, but having waited 30 mins for the food, that was a bit much. I would have to say that it was very average.

I hired out the downstairs space of Kentish Canteen for a birthday celebration for my Mum and I must say how impressed I was with absolutely everything. The ambience of the downstairs was perfect, nice lighting that could be dimmed to suit your needs. The service from the staff was very good and our party was well attended to. The food was great also and is very reasonable in price. I would highly recommend KC to anyone looking for a good evening out just to eat or for a party venue. Special mention goes out to the owner, Wendy who was really attentive to our needs. Big thumbs up to Kentish Canteen!!

I am a local Kentish Towner and absolutely LOVE Kentish canteen! We have been almost every week since it opened and have had consistently great food and friendly, efficient service - it is a very professional, slickly-run restaurant. I pop in for brunch (love the scrambled eggs and smoked salmon - they smoke it themselves on the premesis), the larder salads are innovative and half the price of other places. My only complaint is that the tables are a little close togehter - maybe it is because they are small and very reasonably priced?? Anyway I hope they survive in the present climate as it is just what kentush Town needs.

Average Breakfast! Sloppy eggs, no toast, no offer of more drinks and to top it off HAD to pay 12.5% gratuity after asking twice for the bill!!! Was looking forward to coming here but on the whole am quite disappointed.

Have been many times now and couldn't recommend enough. Food has been excellent every time and had a different dish every time. Service is good and very friendly.
Great.

My freinds and I went here for dinner on a Friday night a few weeks ago. Like most people's reviews, we could fault the food. Probably had the best stew I have ever tasted and the decor, setting and atmosphere all added to the experience. Nice to feel like you are eating somewhere where the local history is important. The service however wasn't great - we had to wait 40 mins for a table outside in the cold then we waited another 40 mins between starter and main course. Maybe its a rouse to get you to buy more wine (we did obligingly...) The food is so amazing though that I'll def go back - just when I've got a lot of time on my hands!

Nice food. Apalling service.

I love the food here (although my partner said his hamburger wasn't that good - whizzed rather than ground). But if you go, make sure to deduct the service charge and pay the tip in cash. The staff don't get them otherwise. This really ought not to be happening any more - I'm tempted to boycott.

This restaurant is extremely disappointing. Ordered two soups with bread and waited over 20 minutes for it. The food finally arrived in a poor state (stale bread, soup slopped down the sides of the bowls). Could barely catch the waitress's attention to complain, even the manager was rude and lazy.
The whole experience was abysmal - we will not be returning.

This is great for Kentish Town, the food was very nice but the service was so slow it was frustrating. It is probably great if you've got a couple of hours to spare at lunch time or go in the evening but trying to squeeze a lunch break in was bad. I've left it for two visits before I post anything because I thought it might be teething problems the first time but no...I would venture further up the hill to the Bull and Last and still get back to work on time and not frustrated.

Very disappointing if you want to take a baby, buggies are not allowed in after 12.30pm, and although they have high-chairs, they are not baby friendly at all and get very upset if your baby or small child drops so much as a crumb.

Great service. Friendly, smiley helpful staff. Inviting. food was deliscious. Will be going back!

I am so happythis restaurant has opened. I live locally and this place is just what Kentish Town needed. From the moment you walk in you are greeted with a friendly set of efficient and capable staff who make you feel at home in this delightfully decked out Canteen. The brunch menu is superb and excellently priced with the best eggs florentine I have ever tasted. The standard of produce is exceptionally high and I was told that the amazingly tasting tomatoes were slow cooked over night....these little touches make for an amazing brunch. The evening menu is quite simply delicious and very reasonably priced. My favourites include the parmesan crusted chicken and rocket/aioli and the goat cheese, pea and mint fritters...my boyfriend is a fan of the excellently priced home made burger and the steak. The wine list is well priced with several wines available by the glass and the larder salads and selection of juices are also very good. In short, I have visited this place at least 15 times since it opened and the level of consistancy, service and excellent food is outstanding....

I ate with some friends at this fantastic new place, the decor & feeling of the place is great, modern but different, bright and cheery.
As there were over 6 of us we got a good sample of the menu & consequently swapped dishes around, all great, fresh tasty & WELL priced. Good friendly unobtrusive service too WELL DONE

I think this restaurant is fantastic and I really hope it survives. It is reasonably priced and the menu offers a select but varied selection including interesting vege dishes.