Canteen

I like the impetus behind Canteen - honest, well-priced British food, sourced as locally as possible and with animal welfare and sustainability in mind. I was meeting two good friends for dinner and a well overdue catch-up in the Liverpool Street area, and I was able to gently persuade them in the direction of Canteen. Although the communal tables gave us pause (this was going to be a girly catch-up, the first since Gen had her second baby and Claire's first night away from her daughter in many moons), I was charmingly obstinate enough to insist we could still pull off intimacy while sat among several others.

I had accidentally eaten two lunches that day (funny how those accidents can happen), so I skipped a starter. Claire and Gen shared the potted duck with picallili and toast, which actually was generous enough to share between 2 people. I sneaked a forkful of the duck when the ladies took a break from it, and found it very smooth yet meaty, and rich from the generous smear of duck fat on the top. For the main, I was tempted by both the pie of the day (what a wonderful thing to see on a menu) and the braised lamb with mint, peas, and potatoes. Again, wearing my healthy/two-lunches hat, I opted for the lamb. It was also a generous serving, with plenty of all the bits on offer. The lamb was down-right succulent, the peas were crunchily fresh, and I was pleased with the hunks of fresh bread on the side, to sop up the juices. I sometimes find potatoes a bit overwhelming in a stew (too heavy and starchy) but these potatoes absorbed the braising flavors without disintegrating into mush - they met with my approval.The company clearly helped me to enjoy myself, but both the food and the service at Canteen did their part to make my night a delight. I will admit that my food-eating skills took a back seat to my chatting skills that evening, so as much as I enjoyed my dinner, I also look forward to going back to give the food top billing on my evening out.