It might look a little too Islington for some locals but the well-sourced and well-priced fare should keep this relatively new spot on Kentish Town Road filled.

The Venue
Just up from Kentish Town tube, the Kentish Canteen sits somewhere that feels a little more like gritty Camden than it does the more salubrious parts of Kentish Town. Indeed, the plentiful alfresco tables can only offer views of the grey traffic that rolls incessantly past but inside it’s a much more colourful affair, with swathes of vivid limes, red and oranges making things feel nice and vibrant, if a little lurid. One wall is taken up with a huge photographic homage to the surrounding area (always good to get in with the locals), and there’s plenty of window at the front to ensure passers by can peek into somewhere that’s certainly attractive enough for them to think about ducking in.

The Atmosphere
The word certainly seems to be out, with warmer evenings seeing those alfresco tables filled, alongside a fair few tables inside too. The relaxed feel of the place makes it somewhere where nippers are welcome, so you can expect to see a smattering of small smiles in a crowd of young professionals, daters, after-workers and even a couple of older folks tucking in with youthful vigour. Staff are friendly and efficient, and seem to be pretty well versed on the menu.

The Food
With an emphasis on sourcing decent ingredients, and then keeping things relatively simple on what’s a smallish menu, the Kentish Canteen serves up generous amounts of accessible and tasty fare. They might be a tad too liberal with the oil and butter on some dishes, but for the most part, this is pretty darn good – and great value to boot.

A larder sharing tray (£15 for two people) is a great place to start, offering as it does the chance to try the big and enticing bowls of salad that greet you on arrival, as well as some really rather magnificent (home-smoked) salmon served with a load of lemon and chilli. A perfectly passable Greek salad comes with Kalamata olives, plenty of oregano and good quality feta, whilst the Cambridgeshire asparagus dressed in hollandaise showcases why it’s important to source well – they’re big and pack some serious flavour. The Naanjing black rice is the pick though, perked up no end by mango, pepper, soy, sesame and ginger.

A crab, lemon and chilli linguine (£9.75) is perhaps the best of the mains, and even though there’s a tiny touch too much olive oil, the linguine is cooked perfectly, there’s plenty of crab, loads of lemon and just about the right chilli kick. It is, however, huge, so be prepared to miss dessert. The hake (£13.50) would be perfect were it not for a heavy hand with butter on the new potatoes and oil everywhere, but it still remains an impressive dish with quality fish, a cracking green sauce and an attractive salad on the side. For dessert, a lavender crème brulee (£4.25) flirts with being brilliant, but has to stay at very good thanks to the shyness of the lavender, whilst the passion fruit cheesecake (£5) is indulgent, yet actually pretty light.

The Drink
Following a similar theme to the food menu, the wine list isn’t huge, but there’s obviously been a lot of care and attention put into it. Whatever you choose won’t break the bank, with a perfectly decent house white coming in at £14.95 for the bottle on a list that rises steadily up to a well-priced 2009 Chablis at £33. Kronenburgs, Coronas, Morrettis and London Prides should keep the beer swillers happy, and if they don’t then the bottled lager from down the road should – the Camden Town Brewery knows its stuff.

The Last Word
It might look a little like Ottolenghi on acid, but this newcomer is certainly worth trying. Even if the food isn’t perfect, it’s still very good indeed, and, at these prices you really would be churlish to complain anyway.

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