Tag Archives: Burger

The dragon is coming

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On the 13th Feb we’re having a Chinese New Year feast of sorts. Basically our friend (and one of the founding staffers at Ben’s Canteen) @brewedboy is putting on a one off homage to Mission Street Food. These guys were pioneers and true street food warriors, creating stripped back, gourmet food or as they might say umami bombs. Anyways, they went from taco truck to opening a restaurant within a functioning Chinese restaurant – so that’s the link to Chinese New Year – and they massively inspired Rob to start his Brewed Boy coffee cart, hence the homage.

The menu is gonna be crazy good; deep fried pork belly tacos, duck fat fried rice with confit duck, our burger topped with coffee braised beef short rib and a side of tobacco onions, a chocolate bar terrine and a whole lot more – click here to see the full menu.

When we were planning this event we immediately thought it would be super cool to have a Chinese Dragon in the Canteen but where on earth where we going to get one from? Step forward Rob’s Mum and Aunt, they’ve rather wonderfully agreed to make one, from plastic milk bottles, and as you can see the dragon is coming.

Chinese New Yr at Ben's CanteenThis one off dinner, on the 13th Feb, is a ticket only event, click here for full details and to book your tickets.

 

This weekend at Ben’s Canteen

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Oh hello it’s a rugby weekend and in our part of London, that’s a very big deal. Build up for the opening weekend of the Six Nations with  brunch and Bloody Marys. We’ve teamed up with Sipsmith to bring you their take on a Classic Bloody Mary,

Bloody Mary

and Tiff, our superstar behind the bar, has also made a Brunch Thyme Mary (a Bloody Mary using lemon thyme and rosemary infused vodka) and a Bloody Good Kick (chilli and garlic infused vodka), which is quite an apt name for this weekend eh.

We’ve also recently added a Marmalade Martini, a range of Hot Chocolates (Mint, Chilli, Gingerbread or with Amaretto) and we’ve got all new smoothies; Strawberry Delight, Blueberry Bliss and Pineapple Surprise – we now only use a little yoghurt, making them even healthier – to set you up for a big weekend.

Also, this weekend,

  • We have a new dinner menu! It’s full of dirty burgers (e.g. the Big Benny Melt – a burger topped with mac and cheese) and hot dogs but we’ve also added in some lighter options such as the Benny Benny Chicken which is a chicken breast with salad and a mayo free slaw, and a Mackerel Nicoise to balance things out.
  • Dinner now starts early, join us from 5pm and on Fridays and Saturdays the kitchen is open until 11pm, meaning you can join us for late night bites.
  • Book in for an early dinner, from 5-7pm and we’ll give you some  extra value in the shape of a free glass of wine and 2 courses for £18.
  • You can book a table online or by calling us on 020 7228 3260.
  • We’re proud to run SW London’s busiest (and we like to think), best brunch - join us every weekend from 9am-4pm. We don’t take bookings for weekend brunch but tables do become available quickly, grab a coffee and/or a bloody mary at the bar whilst you wait.
  • Make your weekend last longer by joining us for the Sunday Night Saver - all burgers and sandwiches for a flat tenner, that’ll help banish the Sunday night blues.

Big Benny Melt

And other stuff,

Ben's Canteen, Best Local Restaurant 2012

This weekend at Ben’s Canteen

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The snowpocalypse has hit! And as you can see it’s starting to settle up here on St John’s Hill.

Snow on St John's Hill

So, settle in is exactly what you should do this weekend. De-ice with a Sipsmith Classic Bloody Mary,

Bloody Mary

 

our new Marmalade Martini or a Hot Chocolate with Amaretto or if you’re doing the whole dryathon thing then get stuck into Allpress Coffee or a We Are Tea cuppa (and if you don’t need warming up, a smoothie – we’ve got a whole new range, fresh for this weekend).

Also, this weekend,

  • We have a new dinner menu! It’s full of dirty burgers (e.g. the Big Benny Melt – a burger topped with mac and cheese) and hot dogs but we’ve also added in some lighter options such as the Benny Benny Chicken which is a chicken breast with salad and a mayo free slaw, to balance things out.
  • Dinner now starts early, join us from 5pm and on Fridays and Saturdays the kitchen is open until 11pm, meaning you can join us for late night bites.
  • Book in for an early dinner, from 5-7pm and we’ll give you some  January value in form of a free glass of wine and 2 courses for £18.
  • You can book a table online or by calling us on 020 7228 3260.
  • We’re proud to run SW London’s busiest (and we like to think), best brunch - join us every weekend from 9am-4pm. We don’t take bookings for weekend brunch but tables do become available quickly, grab a coffee and/or a bloody mary at the bar whilst you wait.
  • Make your weekend last longer by joining us for the Sunday Night Saver - all burgers and sandwiches for a flat tenner, that’ll help banish the Sunday night blues.

And other stuff,

Ben's Canteen, Best Local Restaurant 2012

New Dinner Menu at Ben’s Canteen

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If you’ve been into the Canteen, during the day, recently you may have spotted Ben tucking into plate after plate of food (not that unusual some might say!). He undertook this arduous task so that you guys could enjoy a brand new dinner menu and it launches tonight.

As it’s January and the economy is a stagnant beast we’ve worked hard to try and reduce the overall cost of dinner and we’ve also changed our 2 courses for £20 offer to 2 courses for £18 and a free glass of wine.

You can see the whole menu by clicking here, meanwhile here are some of our early favourites.

Small Plates

The Fish Tacos rock and the All Day Breakfast Scotch Egg remains totally epic.

Bigger Plates

The Benny Benny Chicken is for those of you looking to be a wee bit healthier, it’s carb free and our rainbow slaw isn’t made with mayo which is much nicer and kinder on the scales. On the flipside, the blue cheese hollandaise with our new flat iron steak (a super tasty cut of beef) is luxurious and a decadent treat.

Burgers & Sandwiches

The BC Burger (recently named as one of the UK’s top burgers by ShortList) is untouched (although we did recently improve it by switching bun, it’s way better) but we’ve added a couple of new, frankly dirty, burgers too. Come and check out the Sloppy Ben (basically we pour on chilli con carne and cheese) and the Big Benny Melt (the burger is topped with mac & cheese) and indulge in good filth – feel free to ask for additional napkins.

Big Benny Melt

Big Benny Melt

We’re super excited about the new Sea Dog (basically a posh fish finger sandwich loaded with mushy peas and homemade tartare sauce) and our All Beef Hot Dog is a winner, especially if you add chilli and cheese!

Salads

We’re loving the Mackerel Nicoise – great fish and a great salad.

Sharers & Sides

We’ve made our Mac & Cheese vegetarian friendly and we’ve introduced two new veggie sides in the form of Spicy Sweet Corn and Smokey Roasted Cauliflower (delish).

Desserts

Just before Christmas, Ben took a trip to Lille and Bruges and fell in love with Speculoos which is kinda like a ginger biscuit but a bit more cinnamony – this is good news as we now have a Speculoos Cheesecake on the menu and it’s lovely. For desserts we’ve sourced the best salted caramel ice cream we could find, it’s from our friends at Gelupo (the best ice cream place in town, go check it out on Archer Street in Soho).

Hungry now?! Click here to book or call 020 7228 3260.

This weekend at Ben’s Canteen

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Blimey it’s getting a wee bit chilly isn’t it eh?! Warm up this weekend at the Canteen with brunch, dinner and drinks – we recommend you try a Sipsmith Classic Bloody Mary, our new Marmalade Martini or a Hot Chocolate with Amaretto or if you’re doing the whole dryathon thing then get stuck into Allpress Coffee or a We Are Tea cuppa (and if you don’t need warming up, a smoothie).

Also, this weekend,

  • Dinner now starts early, join us from 5pm and on Fridays and Saturdays the kitchen is open until 11pm, meaning you can join us for late night bites.
  • Book in for an early dinner, from 5-7pm and we’ll give you some  January value in form of a free glass of wine and 2 courses for £20.
  • You can book a table online or by calling us on 020 7228 3260.
  • We’re proud to run SW London’s busiest (and we like to think), best brunch – join us every weekend from 9am-4pm. We don’t take bookings for weekend brunch but tables do become available quickly, grab a coffee and/or a bloody mary at the bar whilst you wait.
  • Make your weekend last longer by joining us for the Sunday Night Saver – all burgers and sandwiches for a flat tenner, that’ll help banish the Sunday night blues.

And other stuff,

Ben's Canteen, Best Local Restaurant 2012

ShortList Magazine’s Best Burger Search Hits Ben’s Canteen

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We’ve always loved ShortList Magazine, when we had an office job we used to read it each week and longed for the day when we owned a restaurant that could be featured in Pints & Pistachios (as the pic below shows, this dream actually came true), and now we love them even more. Why? Well they’re conducting a search for the UK’s Best Burger and they only went and gave our BC Burger 4 beautiful stars! See below for the write up….

Pints & Pistachios, Ben's Canteen

“To paraphrase the eternally wise Frank Debin, this is the kind of burger that will make you want to drop to your knees and thank god you’re a man. That’s because each masculine-sized layer – a gargantuan (clearly genetically modified) tomato, richly delicious burger sauce, lettuce with an autumn leaf crunch, melted smoked cheddar, a handmade beef patty topped with a topside of Orkney beef that’s been slow cooked for 8hrs – wildly lived up to expectation on our visit, and, if not for a last minute crumble of the lightly toasted bun, it was close to perfection.”

Shortlist's Best Burger

And guys, we’ve changed our bun, so we reckon we’d now be in with a shout at 5 stars. Anyways, enough reading, book yourself in for dinner and come try the BC Burger for yourself.

 

Canteen Weekender

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St John’s Hill is looking very Christamassy with all the trees lit along the street and the festivities are starting to kick in. At the Canteen, we’ve already hosted a bunch of Crimbo parties, and we have plenty more coming up – if you want to have yours here, then click here for details of our menus. Or keep it casual and simply pop in for a mince pie, from the Bad Boys Bakery in Brixton Prison, and a Gluhwein (pimp it with a shot of Amaretto to feel extra festive).

If you’re looking for a different sort of Christmas then you must come to our Tropical Christmas dinner on the 19th – we’ve teamed up with Yummy Choo who runs Mauritian Supper Clubs, it’s going to be quite an event, especially with 2 cocktails included in the ticket price!

In other hot news – Sunday Roasts are back! Join us from 12 on Sunday for roast beef and roast chicken (our normal brunch menu is also be available).

Below is a little list of what else is going down over the weekend and coming up…

  • Friday: we’re very much open for brunch but we are closed in the evening for a private party, sorry about that but do come and join us for the rest of the weekend.
  • Our kitchen is now open all day, come and chill on the hill and join us for brunch, dinner and drinks from 9am. Note, dinner now starts at 5pm.
  • If you do join us for an early dinner then you can get a little extra value with our 2 courses for £20 and a free glass of wine (available from 5-7pm).
  • And for those of you who don’t do early, our kitchen is also open later now on Fridays & Saturdays, you can get some munch bunch until 11pm.
  • Sunday Roasts are back in the Canteen – join us on for roast beef or chicken from 12pm (note we run the normal brunch menu alongside it).
  • You should also try out some of our new cocktails, our Bacon Bourbon Old Fashioned has just been featured in GQ Magazine, we’re also big fans of our Sipsmith Sloe Gin Negroni and the Damson in Distress (with Damson Vodka).
  • We’ve started a movement to make your weekend last a little bit longer; the Sunday Night Saver - get any of our burgers or sandwiches for a tenner.
  • Still looking to organise a Christmas party? Check out our menus, starting from £15 per person. We do still have some availability, especially for lunch.
  • We’re now serving Allpress Coffee, absolutely top notch stuff, and for tea fans we now serve We Are Tea, like our coffee, it’s top drawer and helps to make our brunch the best in SW London – join us from 9am each day.
  • Speaking of brunch, have you picked up your midweek loyalty card yet?
  • In need of a present? Check out the Colporter pop-up and Flights of Nancy bags too – leave the Canteen with a full tum and some awesome pieces for your home.
  • Something to bust the January blues; Ryan Stafford will be Mixing It Up at Ben’s Canteen on the 23rd Jan. Ryan is a former Masterchef: The Professionals finalist and super talented – check out his menu and booking details here.

Ben's Canteen, Best Local Restaurant 2012

This Sunday at the Canteen

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This Sunday is going to be fun.

We’ve got the St John’s Hill Festival going on which will see the street filled with stalls, dancing and entertainment. For the event we’re teaming up with Sipsmith and setting up a stall with their top notch Gin & Tonics whilst Ashlaigh will be cooking up Summer Cup Cupcakes. By the way, make sure you take part in the raffle – there will be just one winner but it’s a mega prize that includes a free dinner at every restaurant on the Hill – buy your tickets at the bar.

St John's Hill Festival

Of course we’ve also got brunch, starting from 9am, normally the kitchen would close at 4pm (until dinner at 6pm) but we’ll be serving all day on Sunday. That means you can kick back with a lovely Square Mile coffee, have a Bloody Mary and treat yourself to some lovely munch such as Eggs Benedict, our huge Full English or one of our newer brunch items such as Huevos Rancheros.

Ben's Canteen Brunch

Now we know it’s a Sunday and that can mean the Sunday Blues start to creep in – to try and combat this we’ve started the Sunday Night Saver. Join us for dinner from 6pm and get stuck into the epic BC Burger or any of our burgers and sandwiches (French Dip, Chicken Burger, Po Boy, Mushroom Burger or the Pulled Pork Bap) and their accompaniments for a flat tenner. Oh also, it’s Happy Hour from 5-7pm… that should help keep the blues away a little.

BC BurgerIf you can’t face a full meal on Sunday Night then we’d also recommend some of our sharing dishes such as the Mac & Cheese with Bacon, the epic All Day Breakfast Scotch Egg, our take on Buffalo Wings and of course our Chip Menu – try the Chilli (Con Carne) Cheese Chips, outrageous!

 

Jubilee Brunch & BBQ

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It’s Jubilee time and we think it’s going to be just splendid. Here at Ben’s Canteen we’ve decided to celebrate by doing our famous brunch every day and then from 2pm we will be running a BBQ (no burnt sausages!).

Jubilee at Ben's Canteen

We’re particularly excited about the BBQ, here’s the menu (note, some items will be available for takeaway which you can take to the park or munch on the move)…

The Grill

Ben’s BBQ Rib Roll

BC Burger

BC Chicken Burger

Asparagus with Berkswell Cheese, Sun Dried Toms, Rocket & Balsamic

Mackerel with Fennel & Rocket Salad

Rib-eye Steak with Onion Rings & Ben’s BBQ Sauce

Herbed Chicken with your choice of salad from below

Salads

Mixed Leaf Salad

Mixed Green Bean, Hazelnut & Orange

Tomato & Red Onion

Extras

Pint of Prawns with Dip

Grilled Corn with Butter

Grilled Vegetables

Ben’s Boston Beans

Ben’s Slaw

Potato Salad

Hand Cut Chips

All Day Breakfast Scotch Egg

Desserts

Lemon 3 Ways – Cake, Curd & Ice Lolly

Jaffa Cake Trifle

Upside Down Cheesecake

Sundaes & Ice Creams

Chocolate & Fudge Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Strawberry & Fudge Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Ice Cream: Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry

BBQ Drinks

Sipsmith Summer Cup

Homemade Lemonade

Homemade Ginger Beer

So, here’s the recap.

Sat, Sun, Mon & Tues: 9am-2pm Brunch

Sat, Sun, Mon & Tues: 2pm-close BBQ

If you’d like to book a table then please click here or call us on 020 7228 3260.

Also, we’re going to be running the BBQ menu from Wed-Fri night ahead of the Jubilee and to hell with any rain that maybe forecast, we’re British and we will BBQ. God save the Queen!

Ben’s Canteen Weekender

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Ah the weekend, everything is going to be better.

Here’s what’s going down at the Canteen…

  • We run a super popular brunch but we wanted to spice it up some more. So, we’ve created a Bloody Mary menu – come and try it out this weekend.
  • On the subject of booze, we’ve never been so excited about a shelf, behold our Gin Shelf.
  • Ditch those Sunday blues with our  Sunday Roast. We serve it from 2pm every Sunday. Enjoy Roast Orkney Beef, Pork Belly or Roasted Chicken with roasties, cauliflower cheese and broccoli, greens, root veg mash and yorkies.
  • Don’t forget that next week is The Fabulous Feast food festival on St John’s Hill. We’re launching it with a pop-up dinner from Ben Spalding (now sold out) and then every night we have a £15 menu available.
  • Next week will also see Murderous Cupcakes in the Canteen, 8pm Sunday night.
  • To celebrate our burger being named as one of the Top 10 in London we made a film of it being made - click here to watch. We serve it all day on Saturday and Sunday so you’ve got plenty of time to come and take it on.
  • Time and Leisure just nominated us as one of London’s best local restaurants, if you like us then would you be so terribly kind as to vote for us here?!
  • Also, Ben recently got interviewed by our friends at Le Cool, click here to read the interview.
  • To add to our British food, done well ethos and British beers we’ve added a selection of English wines (British wines means something else), including a cracking sparkling by Chapel Down. Come and run the rule over them this weekend and let us know what you think.
  • We recently introduced a Retro Lunch menu, served from 12pm to 4pm Mon-Fri. Our current favourite from the menu is the chicken in a basket – you can actually eat the basket! Don’t forget we also serve brunch every day, not just at the weekends.

London gins