Our friend, Jo, of Jo Butler Flowers has started a pop-up florist in the Canteen. Every Thursday she pops in and leaves some lovely flowers which you can buy.
Now chaps, this represents something of an opportunity. Pop into the Canteen on the way home from work, maybe meet a mate or two for a cheeky beer and perhaps something from our chip menu, and have a lovely time. Now the clever part, buy some flowers and take them home to the missus and score untold brownie points. Guilt free beer.
Last week was the St John’s Hill Fabulous Feast, a week long celebration of food and drink. It reminded us that St John’s Hill is a seriously good spot for food and drink.
You’ve got The Plough, Powder Keg Diplomacy, The Birdhouse, The Fish Club, Adulis and more… all of which surely makes it a wee bit more interesting than Northcote Road and probably the most exciting street for bars and restaurants in Battersea, especially as it’s a stone’s throw from Clapham Junction?!
So, what do we here at Ben’s Canteen bring to the street?
Well we see ourselves as an all rounder, we aim to serve you a top notch coffee with brekkie or brunch, something tasty for lunch, a treat for tea and a cracking dinner with drinks being served via our bar all day and night.
Chiefly, we see ourselves as an alternative to the pub. Don’t get us wrong, we love a boozer but we got a bit bored of tap after tap of beer (most of them generic continental lagers) and numerous big screens with Sky Sports News on loop but where do you go to escape that? Whilst keeping everything equally relaxed? That’s what we strive to be.
We want to be that place where you can drop in on your own or grab some friends and catch up over drinks and simple but super tasty food. We love the fact that Clapham Junction is just a short stroll from the Canteen as it means you should be able to persuade your friends who live that little bit further away to drop in and hang out with you.
To help become this place we serve breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner every day. We serve British food, done well. We’re infamous for our All Day Breakfast Scotch Egg and the BC Burger has been named as one of the Top 10 in London.
Obviously to become your alternative to the pub we need plenty of booze, we’ve tried to make it interesting and a little different. So, we work with small independent brewers, such as local boys Sambrook’s. We’ve put together an interesting wine list that features some English wine, not least a sparkling one in the form of Primrose Hill by Chapel Down. We’ve put in a special Gin shelf which features gins from small London distillers such as Sipsmith, SW4 and Portobello Road.
Remember, that unlike a lot of new trendy hangouts, you can actually book a table at Ben’s Canteen - click here to reserve yours now.
For those of you who have been fighting yourselves to try and work off the Christmas excesses, forget it. January has been and gone, now is the time to start enjoying the good things in life again!
Here are a few really good things you’ve been missing out on at the Canteen.
All Day Breakfast Scotch Egg
pic courtesy of @WomersleyFoods
The leading light on scotch eggs, David J Constable, gave this super tasty orb, 5 out of 5. Click here to read his review.
The BC Burger
pic courtesy of Burger Anarchy
As Burger Anarchy discovered, this super tasty burger they tried (and photographed) has #doublebeef action as we slide in homemade corned beef in place of bacon to make it a more British burger.
British Beef Board
Sticking with the beef theme, we’ve introduced a tribute to British Beef, read how our chef makes it by clicking here.
Beer
Once they touch your lips they taste so good. We’ve got a great range of craft beers for you to try, such as The Kernel Pale Ale and IPA and Wandle and Junction Ale from local brewers, Sambrook’s, and we’ve matched them to dishes on our winter dinner menu.
Right then enough from us, we’ll leave you to book in for good times and to capitalise on the detox being over. Enjoy.
Another busy week at the Canteen and that means there is lots going on this weekend for you guys…
We recently launched a beer matching menu to go with our British Winter Dinner Menu and we’re so keen for you to come and try it out that we’re giving away free beer until the 25th Jan.
Our selection of beers,
How to claim
So start thinking about whether you’re going to have the rib-eye steak with Darkstar Imperial Stout or say Venison Pie with a bottle of Kernel Pale Ale and then click here to book a table.
Beer matching at Ben's Canteen
Stacey, the lovely Kiwi girl who cooks up on the bar from Weds-Sun, has revamped our small plate selection for tonight. New for the menu is mini cod and chips and portobello mushrooms with grilled halloumi. Our amazing truffled egg toast also makes a return to the menu for tonight as do our labne balls.
Meantime appear not to have delivered our London Lager, unless they do the decent thing and bring in the good stuff at any moment, in its absence though it gives you the chance to work through our beer list – there are some absolute winners on there!
Don’t forget that tomorrow we’re doing our free running club and on Sunday it’s pie night from 6pm.
Finally, has anybody tried our cheeseboard since we updated it? We’d love to know what you think of the Ticklemore or the Old Winchester?
Small Plates
Enjoy small plates as bar snacks or starters or choose a selection of plates as your main – tapas style. Each plate is cooked to order and will be served as it’s ready, don’t wait to get stuck in!
Mini Cod and Chips: £5.95
Butternut Squash Bites: £3.95
Roasted butternut squash bites with a blue cheese dip.
Chilli and Lime Prawns: £4.50
Chorizo and Manchego: £4.95
Cheese and Tomato Toasts: £2.95
Smoked Montgomery cheddar and vine tomatoes on toast.
Portobello Mushrooms with Grilled Halloumi: £4.25
Bread and Dips: £4.75
Sourdough with homemade aubergine caviar and beetroot and walnut hummus.
Labne Balls: £3.95
Lebanese soft cheese with a herb and spice rub.
Truffled Egg Toast: £4
London bloomer filled with truffled egg yolks and grilled fontina cheese.
Cup of Soup: £2.95
Carrot and coriander.
Chicken Skewers: £4.95
Harissa chicken skewers with mint and cucumber yoghurt.
Pork Pie: £5
Traditional or pork and stilton with chutney and mustard – pies are from the award winning Mrs King.
Scotch Egg: £2.50
Cheeseboard: £7.25
A selection of cheeses from Northcote Road food hero, Hamish Johnston.
Charcuterie Board: £5.95
Big Plates
World Cup Burger and Chips: £12.50 (add bacon £1)
Two Dove the Northcote Road butcher beef patties on a ketchup and mustard base, topped with smoked Montgomery cheddar from Hamish Johnston and gherkins. Served with chips.
Cod: £12.25
Oven roasted cod with chickpeas, chorizo and tomatoes.
Moules: £9.95
Belgian style moules (white wine, cream and shallots) with chips.
Gammon, Egg & Chips: £10.25
Gammon steak (via Dove the butcher on Northcote Rd) with hand cut chips, egg and caramelised pineapple.
Sirloin Steak: £15.50
Sirloin steak with dauphinoise and roasted tomato and a choice of chipotle or herb butter.
Bangers and Mash: £9.95
Wild boar and apple sausages (via Dove the butcher on Northcote Rd) with mash and gravy.
Chef Kirrin’s Burger and Chips: £9.00 (add Montgomery cheddar/Dorset Blue Vinny, £1.50, add bacon £1)
Home made burger with English mustard, ketchup and toasted fennel. Served with chips.
Pork Belly: £14.25
Confit pork belly on colcannon with roasting juices.
Linguine: £7.95
Linguine with fire roasted peppers, vine tomatoes and basil.
Beetroot and Goats Cheese Salad: £7.95
Roast beetroot, goats cheese and mixed leaves salad.
Sides £3
Chips, Mash, Spinach with lemon and garlic butter, Green Beans, Broccoli, Side Salad
Desserts
Jude’s Ice Cream. Choose from Salted Caramel, Raspberry Ripple, Vanilla, Double Chocolate or Rum and Raisin. £1.50
Roasted Plum Crumble with Crème Anglaise. £4.95
Retro Coke Float (Coke with a Scoop of Jude’s Ice Cream). £2
Classic Cheese Cake. £4.95
Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream & Berry Couli. £4.95
Eton Mess. £4.95
Affogato (with a scoop of Jude’s vanilla ice cream). £3
Oh and as much as we personally hate to share, we really don’t mind if you want to share your desserts, we’ve got plenty of spoons.
Cheeseboard £7.25
Old Winchester, Stinking Bishop, Strathdon Blue and Ticklemore Goat’s Cheese
Our cheeses come from Hamish Johnston, a local food hero on Northcote Road.