I went here with a large group of friends and the general thoughts were good but I was not impressed with my food at all. I ordered the fish and chips and the fish was just soggy and the batter was soft. The chips were good, but that's no hard is it?
Price was too high and I felt very disappointed with the standard in comparison to the price (£13.50). I could get a much better fish and chips for much less, from the chippy.

Very poor restaurant.

Bad service (very slow).
The meals are not in rate with the price.

Nice outfit, but that's about it too!

I will never go back there.

Just returned from lunch at this restaurant with 10 colleagues. I would avoid this restaurant like the plague unless you like less than mediocre food and very slooooow service. The quality of the food in no way meets the expections set by the styling and interior of the place. Definitely a triumph of style over substance when it comes to food.

This is in no way a criticism of the serving staff who were courteous and relatively attentive, but the kitchen and head chef need to take the brunt of the restaurants failure. The main meals were served up a good 1hr15 mins after the order was placed and at least 45 mins after the starters. For a lunchtime outing this in itself is a problem. Most of my colleagues complained about the food but to be fair this could probably not be said of the entire menu. My fish,chips and mushy peas left me on the verge of wretching. Everything was overcooked and over seasoned, apart from the peas which tasted like warm gloopy dishwater - no flavour whatsover and disgusting texture.

On top of all of this the place is way overpriced - ok you expect city prices in the middle of the city but coupled with the quality of the food this is an insult to customers.

Take my advice and steer clear UNLESS you are having a glass of wine or beer and avoiding the food altogether. Do not be tempted by the simple food/menu into thinking you will get some quality home cooked style meal!

We went Monday night for a meal. Service was excellent, prices very reasonable. But importantly the standard of food was very poor. Disappointing meal, and unfortunately we won't be returning.

We went to Canteen for lunch due to it receiving top marks from MasterChef's Gregg Wallace (on BBC1) for food quality. The premise to this restaurant is that they buy top quality British ingredients and I, for one, am happy to support a restaurant that promotes local produce.



We had a table in under a minute. That was the highlight of the whole experience. It took about 5 minutes to get a waiter to come to our table to take our drinks order and a further 15 minutes to get them. Another 20 minutes passed before I got sick of waiting for someone to come and take my order. In the end, I had to summons a waitress to the table.
The food took 35 minutes to arrive.



When the food finally did arrive, my salad was served on a bread plate and I could count the number of pieces of rice sized bacon on one hand. The poached egg was rushed and not even cooked properly. My wife's bream was a similar story. On top that that, the food was cold (both plates).



The cost of the pleasure totalled £23.50p. I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for and I am always happy to pay good money for good food but Canteen are taking the mickey.



The menu states there is a discretionary (more like compulsory) 12.5 per cent service charge. I complained to the manager as the food was mediocre at best, the service was rubbish (you get more service at McDonalds and that is no exaggeration) and the prices are astronomically high for the quality.



Compared to Giraffe next door, Canteen leaves a lot to be desired. It is a real shame as the premise of the restaurant is a noble one, let down by the food quality and the staff.

I ate at Canteen yesterday at 4pm and there can't be many places in London where you can eat a quality meal at any time of day. Go for the Canteen classics. I had the pie and my partner had fish and chips, which were both perfect for a chilly afternoon.

We were early for our 8.15 table at Canteen and, despite there being a choice of tables, we were given one closest to the drafty door. We pointed this out to the waitress but were told they were fully booked, and this was our designated table. We asked to be moved or to see the Canteen manager. We are fully booked, was all he would say, with no effort to accommodate our genuine request.


After a very short time another table became available elsewhere that would have suited us. We requested this but were told this table was for somebody else who had just arrived. So was our crime to arrive early? Were we not mates of the management? To have stayed would have meant having to endure an insult to my party.

I have been to Canteen many times and have encountered an extremely attentive Manager who introduces himself on the phone and in person, so you can always call upon him. There are friendly and knowledgeable staff and superb service. I've visited Canteen with friends for many birthdays, my family for good home cooking and with my boss - to impress.


Their devilled kidneys are the talk of town and are certainly not to be missed and if dining with friends I would order a selection of everything and just dig in, as you will want everything!

Canteen has very poor service and the arrogance of the chef put me off my food. Canteen is not for anyone that dislikes pretentiousness.

Canteen is a fantastic restaurant which offers well sourced, and well executed food, at reasonable pricing levels. Try Canteen.

I went to Canteen for lunch with four girlfriends and had the meat pie which was one of the best I have ever tried, while my girlfriends had smoked haddock and sea bass. The food had an excellent taste and the staff gave a professional service. One of the supervisors was lovely to us. I also spoke with the Chef in charge and I think he is one of the best professional chefs in London. Thanks Canteen chefs and waitresses for that great lunch.

I had a good impression of Canteen until when we were slightly unsatisfied with one dish, the waitress took it back to the chef, who was very adamant that his food was perfect, and loudly said so over the kitchen counter.



I think it's a shame, that a good team of people had someone like that in charge of them - someone with no professionalism.



At the end of the day, Canteen is not offering anything that no one else can make. Quite honestly, I refuse to put up with this quality of service, I will never go again.

We visited The Canteen last Saturday. There were four of us, two of us ordered the Roast Beef which was OK - but nothing better than a normal pub could offer on a Sunday lunchtime. My wife ordered Haddock that, although they swore blind was fresh, was thin, dry and without any flavour whatsoever. My mother's Sea Bass was again over cooked and the chefs even managed to mess up a salad!



The wine however was good, but maybe that's because the chefs had nothing to do with it!The staff were mixed bag, there was a girl who wished she was elsewhere and a young guy who was very helpful! My advice would be, there are some good restaurants in East London - unfortunately the Canteen is not one.

Canteen was very good. Food was excellent, service was friendly but the day's specials go quickly. I'd recommend Canteen but not for a romantic dinner a deux.