Canteen, Spitalfields, E1

Canteen

2 Crispin Place, Spitalfields
London, E1 6DW
0845 686 1122

Rating: 2 stars (out of 5) previously 3 stars

The word Canteen makes me think of school. I remember the canteen at school serving a variety of mainly English and globally inspired dishes with it's daily salad bar and puddings. I had plenty of choice when I was at school and it wasn't all that bad as the kitchens improved dramatically by the time I was in sixth form. The Canteen group of restaurants are informal with all day menus serving up British cuisine. We've had good experiences many times before and had always considered Canteen to be a safe if slightly more expensive than average option in Spitalfields.

I started with the soup of the day, Pea and Ham, which is generously portioned with two pieces of multi-seeded thick brown bread with two little portions of butter. I prefer a little more vibrancy of colour in my pea and ham soup which was more a muddy green with the smallest visible signs of ham. Unfortunately for the peas and blended ham in the soup, the saltiness of the soup was simply overpowering. I am not one that has ever sent a dish back but I was only able to endure just over two-thirds of it.

For my main, I chose to have fish and having had the lemon sole on a recent visit, I chose the Plaice, Chips and Tartare Sauce. My dish arrived with overwhelmingly large piece of Plaice which completely dominated my plate spilling over the top and bottom sides of it. Surely a larger plate was in order. Salt on the mind, my waitress had to mention that my fish had already been pre seasoned with English sea salt. Great big massive chunks of it. And again, the salt was overpowering and the delicate plaice almost indistinguishable from the salted batter.

I chose to finish with an espresso whilst my fellow diner had a dessert. The espresso being the best choice of the night after the wine - a bottle of Sancerre 'La Vigne Blanche' (Henri Bourgois, 2006, Fr). A fruity wine with a really delicate and floral fragrance. A £7 bottle of wine marked up to £30... I've seen this wine for anything between £24 and now £30 in restaurants.

I must say that I like what Canteen is trying to do, serving up honest British grub made with daily fresh ingredients sourced from good producers, but unfortunately on this occasion it was unable to please on any level and two starters, two mains, one side, a bottle of wine, a dessert and espresso the bill came to over £80! I will not be visiting again in a hurry.