Canbury Arms, The

Jonathan Fresco (30 April 2008)

I heard good things about the food at The Canbury Arms, but was pleasantly surprised at how good it actually was. The tables are ranged around the bar, which creates an intimate feel. The fresh flowers, muted modern decor and smiling staff add to the chilled out ambience. I was entertaining a colleague, a food lover, and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the menu and wine list. We plumped for a Lebanese mezze plate and courgette blossom pea, and Manchego risotto to start. The service was brisk, the ingredients were fresh, and the food was beautifully prepared. My colleague declared the risotto as 'melt-in-the-mouth delicious'. For the main course, I had the salmon, pollock and dill fish cakes with chips, and he chose the Scotch ribeye, onion rings and peppercorn butter. Both the dishes looked and tasted amazing. The fishcakes were huge and although it broke my heart, I just couldn't finish them. We finished with a bottle of Shiraz-Malbec from the well thought-out wine list. The bill was reasonable, well below London prices and the whole experience exceeded my expectations.