Tag Archives: drink

Food & Wine Matches

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If you’ve ever flicked over to the back page of the wine menus at the Canteen you may have noticed the Food Matches wheel.

Food & Wine matching at Ben's CanteenThis isn’t meant to be a mega comprehensive guide to food and wine matching – it’s just meant to give you a bit of an idea (perhaps help you sound a bit more impressive in front of your mates?!) and to encourage you to try a bottle of something you might otherwise pass up. Earlier this year we discovered the ‘Friendly’, an Austrian wine, and it’s a belter. With this spirit of happy discovery we decided to put together our food matching wheel. Here are a few of the suggestions…

Chicken

  • Casa de la Ermita Viognier
  • De l’Hospitalet Pinot Noir
  • Journey’s End ‘Haystack’ Chardonnay

Fish

  • La Cote Flamenc Picpoul de Pinet
  • Furleigh Estate Jurassic Coast Bacchus Fume
  • Dinastia Vivanco Rioja Blanco

Beef

  • Tilia Malbec
  • Chateauneuf du Pape, Chateau St Jean
  • Costieres de Nimes Syrah/Grenache St Louis La Perdrix

 

Happy Hour at Ben’s Canteen

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An early drink, straight after work, so often the catalyst for good times… and that’s exactly what we like to encourage at the Canteen.

So, we’ve decided to launch Happy Hour, well technically hours as it runs from 5pm to 7pm, Monday to Sunday.

  • Meantime London Lager: £3 a pint
  • Meantime Pale Ale: £3 a pint
  • Saint Lager: £2.5 a bottle
  • 175ml glass of Cote a Cote (white wine): £3.5
  • 175ml glass of Il Banchetto Rosso (red wine): £3.5

Don’t forget that we also run 2-4-1 Tuesday Cocktails and Fizzy Fridays.

Happy Hour at Ben's Canteen

We want this to be the most fun Happy Hour in South West London, so grab your mates and bring them to St John’s Hill in Battersea. It’s only a few minutes walk from Clapham Junction, so it’s super simple to get to and from the Canteen. See you soon for good times.

2 Courses for £20

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At Ben’s Canteen we like to offer our customers value as well as super tasty food and drink. With this in mind, if you book for dinner between 6 and 7pm Mon-Sat then we will offer you 2 courses for £20 and a free glass of white wine.

To book please click here.

2 Courses for £20 & free glass of wine.

  • Offer includes starters, mains & desserts
  • £3 supplement for British Meat Plate and Cheeseboard
  • Free glass of wine, 175ml of Cote a Cote Blanc or Il Banchetto Rosso

BC Burger

Eating and Drinking in Clapham Junction, Battersea

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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?

Ben's Canteen, St John's Hill, Battersea

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.

Ben's Canteen Burger

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.

Gin shelf at Ben's Canteen

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.

Ben’s Canteen – The Weekender

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This week has been all about The Fabulous Feast on St John’s Hill – and this weekend sees the street’s celebration of food and drink go up another gear with all sorts of events and activities taking place, including a bunch of pop-up stalls.

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

  • We’re going to keep our kitchen open all day on Saturday, normally we close it between 4 and 6pm but not for The Fabulous Feast.
  • 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.
  • Sunday night, at 8pm, will see Murderous Cupcakes in the Canteen, we think it’s going to be fun, you should come.
  • We’re getting massively into Sipsmith’s Summer Cup, this genuine rival to Pimms is making us feel all summery in lieu of any actual sun.
  • 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.

London gins

The Fabulous Feast at Ben’s Canteen

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As you should all know by now, The Fabulous Feast is coming to St John’s Hill – a week long celebration of food and drink, starting on the 14th May.


Here at Ben’s Canteen we’re doing the following,

  • Monday 14th May: Celebrity chef Ben Spalding is doing a one night only pop-up dinner. Sadly (well wonderful really) we’ve sold all the tickets.
  • 15th-20th: Every night you can dine with us for just £15 by ordering our Festival Special, Ben’s Board: Potted Ham, Beef Slider and Chips and an Eton Mess.
  • 19th: Melfar Meats will be setting up a mini-farmers market in the Canteen, selling their wares and showing you how to make sausages from 4-6pm.

We’re expecting St John’s Hill to be an even livelier place during The Fabulous Feast so it may be wise to book, click here to reserve your table at the Canteen.

The Fabulous Feast on St John’s Hill

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The Fabulous Feast on St John’s Hill – a week of food & drink celebrations.

Dates: Monday 14th – 20th May 2012

During this special week, the restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes invite you to eat out on the Hill and perhaps to try something new. Each of the venues will offer set menus to diners for just £15 per head.
On the Saturday (19th May), the street will play host to an “Open Kitchen” when the Hill will be filled with LIVE food & drink events such as demos, tastings, workshops, talks and classes. Venues will take this opportunity to showcase their food & drink offerings, introducing their cuisine, demonstrating cooking processes, meeting suppliers and producers and much, much more. Plus! there will be a selection of visiting food & drink stalls and a mini farmers market, hosted both inside and outside the food & drink venues.The opening event of this week-long “celebration” of food & drink, will see a celebrity chef visit the Hill to cook a pop-up, evening meal at Ben’s Canteen. The super talented Ben Spalding will delight diners with a delicious 4 course meal, served in a supper club style (everyone will eat at the same time: 7.30pm) – places must be booked in advance for this special event and cost just £50 per head.

Features of the Open Kitchen Saturday 19th May:

FishClub: Attend the “School of Fish” as the owners of the Hill’s award winning fish & chips restaurant will host 4 workshops, running throughout the day. Small groups may learn how to prepare, cook and serve a starter or a main dish. Get your pinny on and learn how to cook and pick their fresh crab starter or the skill of filleting fish, to create one of their popular main dishes: mackerel & beetroot salad. Attendees must book places in advance – there will be a charge to attend these fishy master classes and you can choose to eat your dish at the end of the session, or take it home with you for eating later!

Powder Keg Diplomacy: Workshop with the Chef: How to cook the perfect steak – a cooking demonstration from PKD Head Chef – Warren Beesley
PLUS!
• Victorian Conjurer, Max Somerset, entertains with his bygone era tricks
• Punch Bowl tastings – sample some potent Spring Punch recipes
• Live Jazz by the Dalston Duet 5pm-6pm

The Plough: From Thursday, 17th – Sunday 20th we will be hosting the first ever completely indoor festival! Known as “The Plough Fest”. On Saturday the music starts at 1pm with a mix DJs & LIVE bands running until closing. The Plough team will also offer face-painting and Kopparberg taste testing, for that truly festival feel!

Ben’s Canteen: Mini farmer’s market featuring suppliers and producers who feature on the Canteen’s menu.

Other confirmed events: Bread making classes at Deli Boutique, Indian cuisine tastings at the Curry Leaf, Eritrean pancake making on traditional burners at Adulis, cocktail making master classes at Knights of St John, pizza making sessions at Tutti Tucci and Sri Lankan “high tea” with the team from Experience Travel.

Editors Notes:
Members of the press (online & offline media) are invited to enjoy a complimentary £15 menu place, at any participating restaurant, during The Fabulous Feast week. All we ask is to receive a mention of this project on your blog / website / page / column, including a link to StJohnsHill.co.uk, to appear before the week of the 14th-20th May.  To take up this offer, email emma@stjohnshill.co.uk  with the live link to the mention and the date/time/venue of your choice and your booking will be arranged for you.

Open Kitchen – Saturday 19th. The food & drink stalls will be open from 11am til 5pm. Some of the events, hosted by the venues will be offered free and there are paid ones too – check the details on the street website and book in advance wherever indicated.

This project is kindly sponsored by:
Ben’s Canteen: 140, St John’s Hill. www.BensCanteen.com
FishClub: 189, St John’s Hill. www.FishClub.com
The Plough: 89, St John’s Hill. www.ThePloughStJohnsHill.co.uk
Powder Keg Diplomacy: 147, St John’s Hill. www.PowderKegDiplomacy.co.uk
plus many other fantastic businesses on and off the Hill – see the full list on StJohnsHill.co.uk

Press contact:

Contact: Emma Jane Clark

Tel: 07786 006 304

Email: emma@stjohnshill.co.uk

Twitter @StJohnsHill

Facebook.com/StJohnsHill

Carb up for our Free Running Club

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At 7pm tonight we’re starting our free running club – meet at the Canteen and our personal trainer friend will take you out for a gentle run around the Commons. We will give everybody who takes part a free drink (you deserve it). Rumour has it that Ben will be taking part – he hasn’t done any exercise for months so watching him wheeze about will be amusing.

With running in mind you also deserve a good lunch – eat in or takeaway. We’ve got great looking chargrilled veggie and goats cheese sarnies as well as butternut squash soup. We’ve also got scotch eggs and pork pies to go alongside an amazing array of treats from The Dessert Deli and The Flour Station.Treats

Toasties/Sandwiches

All day breakfast burrito. £5.50

(Chorizo, scrambled egg, cheese, chilli, sour cream and herbs)

Sourdough toast with Kirrin’s lemon curd, marmite and jam. £2.50

Ham and cheese toastie. £3.75

Mozzarella, tomato and basil. £3.75

Chargrilled veggies with pesto and goats cheese. £3.75

Nutella toastie. £3.75

Special: Truffled Egg Toast. £4

Fish finger bap. £3.25

Side salad. £1

Pastries & Treats

Croissant, £1, Pain au chocolat, £1.25, Pain au raisin, £1.50

Brownies. £1.80, Flapjacks. £2, Millionaire caramel shortbread. £2

Carrot cake. £2.75

Chelsea buns. £2.75

Muffins. £2.45

All Day Menu

Granola with yoghurt, honey and berries. £4

Yog pot. £2

Poached eggs on toast. £3.50

Caramelised banana pancake stack. £3.25

Cup of butternut squash and crispy  bacon soup. £2.95

Mrs King’s Pork Pie with mustard and chutney. £5

Salads

Daily, fresh salads £5.50

Add cornfed chicken: Free

Kids (big and small)

Fish finger bap. £3.25

Jude’s ice cream: choose from raspberry ripple, double chocolate, vanilla or salted caramel. £1.50

Coke float (Coca Cola with a scoop of Jude’s vanilla ice cream). £2

All of our bread and treats come via The Flour Station and The Dessert Deli.

Tuesday night tucker

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Today was very exciting with Brewed Boy serving up the good stuff from his coffee cart as part of our new 8am opening hours (note weekend brunch now starts from 9am rather than 10am but we could push it to 8am in the future if you guys demand it).

8amAs part of our new opening we introduced some a few more options on the toastie front – the Nutella one being a massive treat. Brewed Boy and Jimmy were also working on some new options and they should be unveiling a truffle egg toast very soon (possibly tomorrow).

Anyways, on to tonight… there is a nice little crowd in the Canteen having an after work drink and starting to think about which of our small plates to get stuck into. On the big plate front we’re guiding people towards our new belgian style moules and chips and the pork belly tonight.

Finally, tomorrow night our friend Captain Intensity will be doing cocktails – Wednesday evenings are much better when you’ve got a mojito in hand!

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!

Mac and Cheese with Bacon: £3.95

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.)

Labne Balls: £3.95 (Lebanese soft cheese with a herb and spice rub.)

Chicken Skewers: £4.95 (Harissa chicken skewers with mint and cucumber yoghurt)

Tortilla: £3 (Potato and onion omelette.)

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.

Beef and Ale Stew: £10.25

Sirloin casserole with Sambrooks brewery Junction Ale and mash.

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.

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 emmental cheese £1, 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 rocket salad.

Sides £3

Chips, Mash, Spinach with lemon and garlic butter, Green Beans, Broccoli, Side Salad

Mussels Tonight

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Rubbish day at work? Don’t worry, it’s over now! Come and relax in the Canteen, unwind over a pint or two of London Lager and then let us cook for you – tonight we’re debuting our version of Moules (white wine, cream and shallots) with chips.

We’ve also added a new small plate, harissa chicken skewers with a mint and cucumber yoghurt – these are great as a bar snack and we reckon a late summer glass of blush/rose would go down a treat with them. Speaking of bar snacks, we now have olives and pistachio nuts to go alongside wasabi peas, chilli puffs and Burt’s crisps.

In other news, our free running club starts this Thursday. Meet at the Canteen at 7pm for a 30 minute run, the session will be taken by our friend Armel who is a qualified personal trainer. On the fitness vibe, if you cycle to the Canteen then you get a 10% discount on food and drinks. Also, don’t forget that as it’s a Monday you can claim a free meal for 2.

And finally, you should become a local food her0 – you’ll see your creation on our menu and get a free meal for 4.

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!

Mac and Cheese with Bacon: £3.95

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.)

Labne Balls: £3.95 (Lebanese soft cheese with a herb and spice rub.)

Chicken Skewers: £4.95 (Harissa chicken skewers with mint and cucumber yoghurt)

Tortilla: £3 (Potato and onion omelette.)

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.

Beef and Ale Stew: £10.25

Sirloin casserole with Sambrooks brewery Junction Ale and mash.

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.

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 emmental cheese £1, 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 rocket 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

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

Our cheeses come from Hamish Johnston, a local food hero on Northcote Road.

On the board we currently have,

Lincolnshire Poacher

Stinking Bishop (much nicer than the name may suggest)

Shropshire Blue

Woolsery Goat’s Cheese