London Restaurant Reviews - Canteen

Fish and Chips @ Canteen, Baker Street

Fish and Chips have got to be one of the main reasons why I love this country so much. A fresh, chunky piece of cod deep fried in a light, crisp batter, served with hand cut chips and smothered in plenty of salt and vinegar gets my vote every time.


Interestingly, our national dish was introduced in the UK by Portuguese Jews, with the first ever chippy being opened in 1860 by a Jewish immigrant called Joseph Malin in the East End of London. The Portuguese love of all things deep fried also resulted in the introduction of tempura to Japan.

I admit I had an unfounded prejudice against Canteen ? I am not sure if it was because of the sleek Wagamama-like decor, or the fact that it is now a mini-chain of four restaurants across London. But when I was invited by Jenny of Sauce Communications to an evening of ?Fish and Chips? at the Baker Street branch, I decided to give it a try.


The event was hosted by Canteen?s co-founder and head chef Cass Titcombe, the author of ?Great British Food?. Cass shared some of his top tips on how to prepare ?Fish and Chips?, including his own batter recipe, how he fries the fish, advice on the type of potatoes to use and how to prepare chips.


All the fish used at Canteen is purchased from responsible and ethical South Coast day boats, and hence fish availability varies daily. ?Fish and Chips? is priced between £10.50 and £13.50 depending on the catch of the day; these are normally cod, haddock or plaice.

We had cod and pollack deep fried in batter and also a fillet of plaice prepared in breadcrumbs. The batter was light, crisp and not greasy, and both fish were chunky and fresh tasting. Interestingly, the plaice in breadcrumbs was the most popular choice across the table.


Maris Piper is Cass? potato of choice and his chips are double fried before being served. The chips did not disappoint ? they were crisp on the outside but deliciously fluffy inside, and I could have eaten twice as many as there were on my plate.

To accompany our main courses, we were served traditional mushy peas @ £3.50. Cass added bicarbonate of soda to the marrowfat peas which were soaked for 12 hours thus helping them to retain their beautiful green colour. The tartare sauce was freshly made on the premises, tasted excellent and was a real step up from its jar equivalent.


Perusing the food menu, I was impressed to see that Canteen is an ?All Day Dining? restaurant, serving breakfast through lunch, tea and dinner. In addition to ?Fish and Chips?, the menu includes other British classics like ?Devilled kidneys on toast? @ 7.25, ?Steak and Chips? @ £16.75 (28-day aged, free range 250g rib-eye steak) and ?Eton Mess? @ £5.50 among other old time favourites.

The drinks menu is well thought out and reasonably priced with wine bottles starting from £12.50. There are 5 wine options below the £20 mark in each of the white and red categories. In keeping with the British theme, three types of Meantime beers (one of my favourite London brewers) are sold on draught and are priced between £3.70 and £3.95 per pint.

Cost: this was a complimentary meal but I have quoted prices of all dishes I had. I estimate that a 3-course meal would cost in the region of £25 excluding drinks i.e. pint of prawns @ £7 + fish and chips @ £12.50 + Eton mess @ £5.50.

Likes: no-fuss British cooking, fresh, good quality ingredients, reasonably priced food & wine menus and Meantime beers on draught.

Dislikes: in my personal opinion, the decor is somewhat bland and impersonal.

Verdict ? Good quality, comforting British dishes at reasonable prices in four London locations. Canteen is helping to make British cooking an appealing eating out option for locals and visitors alike. Recommended.