Canteen

Paul (9 June 2007)

We went to Canteen for lunch due to it receiving top marks from Master Chef's Gregg Wallace (on BBC1) for food quality. It was a Saturday afternoon (1.30pm) and the restaurants were all quiet (except Giraffe next door) as the market is shut on Saturdays. We usually frequent Giraffe as the food and the service are first class. Their prices there are also a bit more reasonable compared to Canteen's but we thought we would try something different.

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.

Getting seated was a very quick affair. We had a table in under a minute. That was the highlight of the whole experience. We had a quick look at the drinks menu and decided what we wanted to drink. 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 our drinks. Bare in mind that the place was pretty quiet and overstaffed, plus all we asked for was two cokes. If we were asking for a cocktail, I could probably understand but two drinks that involve nothing more than opening a bottle cap and putting a piece of lemon in a cup should be delivered to the table in under five minutes, especially when you are sitting right next to the bar.

Another 20 minutes passed before I got sick of waiting for someone to come and take my order. The waiters and waitresses just walked around aimlessly staring at the diners. In the end, I had to summons a waitress to the table. The girl that took our order was really moody. I ordered the watercress and bacon salad with poached egg. My wife ordered the bream. The waitress then snapped at my wife for not ordering any sides (it doesn't come with any). Seeing the side dishes, you are better off saving your money - a small handful of chips will set you back £3 plus service charge.

The food took 35 minutes to arrive. While we were waiting, the staff patrolled and stared to make sure you don't do a runner, or at least that is how they make you feel.

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). It just did not feel like there was any love or passion going into the food, even though there are five chefs on board. The flavourless food was pretty much dumped on the table and the waitress went back to "patrolling" the tables.

The cost of the pleasure totalled £23.50. 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.

After enduring the experience, as soon as we finished eating, I asked for the bill. The first waiter agreed to go and get the bill but never bothered. Fifteen minutes later, I asked for the manager and asked him for the bill. He finally presented the bill ten minutes later. Surely these people want to get paid??

The menu states there is a discretionary (more like compulsory) 12.5% 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. The manager suggested I come back in two weeks as they are making changes to the attitudes of the staff and the quality of the food but as they say once bitten, twice shy. I suggested he go next door and dine there to compare the experience. He suggested that they are too funky for his clientele. At no point did he apologise.

Compared to Giraffe next door, this place 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.