One of the best brunches in London

We received an email that made us smile… Top Table have recognised the Ben’s Canteen brunch as one of the most indulgent in London.

Top London BrunchesDoing a really great brunch is one of the reasons we started Ben’s Canteen – we were frustrated that not many places in SW London do a good one and on a purely selfish basis we wanted somewhere we could stagger to from home. We wanted a rocking eggs benedict, top notch coffee, a full english that could alleviate a serious night out with nice, spicy Bloody Mary’s and that’s what we set out to serve here every daytime at the Canteen. Judging by this accolade from Top Table and the queues for tables at the weekend it feels like we’re delivering what we set out to do.

We haven’t finished there though, we want to keep improving our brunch offering. We’ve just upgraded our smoothies, they’re waaaay better and we recently teamed up with Sipsmith to make not only a truly Classic Bloody Mary but also one made with lemon thyme and rosemary infused vodka and a chilli and garlic number too. Not so long ago we switched to Allpress coffee which is great and we’re going to start getting teas from Joe’s Tea Company, and awesome they are too. Also, we’ve got a number of new brunch dishes in development, including pancakes.

The main thing though is to do as the title says, be indulgent. Brunch is a time to relax and to treat yourself, personally we love a morning run followed by eggs benedict, a flat white, a Bloody Mary, the papers and a latte for the road. Sounds good?!

Ben's Canteen Brunch

 

This weekend at Ben’s Canteen

It’s been a super busy week at the Canteen, what with our epic Chinese New Year Feast, Valentine’s and 2-4-1 Tuesday Cocktails – so this weekend we’re suggesting you kick back and indulge yourself with a nice relaxed weekend.

Start the indulgence with brunch; eggs benedict (royale or florentine), some top notch Allpress coffee, a Bloody Mary or Ben’s favourite brunch time tipple – a Marmalade Martini – and the papers.

Bloody Mary

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.
  • And check out our new wine list, which includes some left field (but awesome) choices such as Portuguese, Croatian and Lebanese wine, alongside the more expected.
  • 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

It’s another rugby weekend and in our part of London, that’s a very big deal. Build up for a massive game for England 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.
  • And check out our new wine list, which includes some left field (but awesome) choices such as Portuguese, Croatian and Lebanese wine, alongside the more expected.
  • 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

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

Part of what makes a weekend great is a nice lazy brunch and a cheeky drink or two. We’ve teamed up with Sipsmith to bring you their take on a Classic Bloody Mary,

Bloody Mary

we’ve also introduced 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.

Please note, this Saturday we’re only open for brunch (in the evening we have a private function – if you’d like more info on private hire then click here).

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  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.
Big Benny Melt

Big Benny Melt

And other stuff,

Ben's Canteen, Best Local Restaurant 2012

This weekend at Ben’s Canteen

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

This weekend at Ben’s Canteen

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

First weekend of 2013

Happy New Year y’all! First up, we want to thank you all for supporting Ben’s Canteen last year, we genuinely appreciate it and you guys drive us on to try and get better and better. A special thank you to everyone who voted us to Best Local Restaurant in SW London & Surrey, we were absolutely thrilled to win that award.

As we said, we’re always trying to get better and that’s why amongst lots of other things we have,

We’ve got loads of plans for the coming year; look out for a new dinner menu, some exciting new wines, more cocktails, some amazing Bloody Mary’s, more funky interior design and we’ll also be working with our people to make things run smoother. As ever, we genuinely value your feedback, so do let us know what you like and don’t like (via Facebook or Twitter if you like).

Anyways, enough of that, it’s the weekend! Come and join us on St John’s Hill for brunch, dinner and drinks.

  • Brunch kicks off from 9am – it’s the busiest (and we believe) the best in SW London, join us for big breakfasts, sexy eggs, top notch tea and coffee, Bloody Marys (we also do Virgin ones for those of you doing a dryathon this January) and smoothies.
  • Dinner now starts at 5pm and on Fridays and Saturdays we keep our kitchen open later, meaning you can get a late bite, right up to 11pm.
  • Don’t forget if you do join us for an early dinner then you can pick up some January value in the shape of a free glass of wine and 2 courses for £20.
  • We don’t take bookings for weekend brunch as we get so busy, it’s the only way we can seat and serve more of you, but you can reserve a spot in the evening online or by calling us on 020 7228 3260.
  • On Sunday nights we offer the Sunday Night Saver – get one of the Top 10 Burgers in London with chips for a flat tenner (or any of our other burgers and sandwiches for the same price).
  • Finally, if you need to host a party (or small gathering) in 2013, then drop us a line, we’re super flexible and you can hire all or some of the Canteen – click here for more details.

Right, go have an awesome first weekend of the year and we hope to see you in the Canteen at some stage.

Ben's Canteen, Best Local Restaurant 2012

Ben’s Canteen, Best Local Restaurant 2012

Christmas and New Year in Clapham Junction, Battersea and Wandsworth

The Festive Holiday Season is almost here, after partying hard it’s time to kickback, forget about work and have super merry times with family and friends.

Doubtless though there will be times that you want to break out of the house and that’s why here at Ben’s Canteen we’re opening for the majority of the holiday – so come down to the place on the hill for brunch, dinner and drinks. We’re just a few minutes away from Clapham Junction and all the local buses connect to us, so you can get here from all over SW London (Battersea, Clapham, Brixton, Putney, Wandsworth and so on) without much fuss. Oh and we’re very dog friendly, so go for that big family walk, with the hound in tow, across Wandsworth Common/Spencer Park/Clapham Common and then come and warm up in the Canteen for a full blown meal or just a little treat with a cup of tea/coffee or our mulled wine.

Don’t forget, if you book in for dinner between 5 and 7pm then you can get 2 courses for £20 and a free glass of vino. Jingle Bells!

Christmas & New Year Opening Times

Christmas Eve: Open for brunch (9am to 4pm), closing around 6pm. Join us for our Xmas Jumper Party and get a free Bloody Mary.

Christmas Day: Closed

Boxing Day: Closed

27th-30th: Open as normal, so brunch from 9am and dinner from 5pm.

New Year’s Eve: Open an normal, note we’re running our standard menu in the evening but are open until 1am. No entry fee.

New Year’s Day: Open for brunch (9am to 4pm), closing around 6pm.

2nd Jan: Open for brunch (9am to 4pm), closing around 6pm.

3rd Jan onwards: Open as normal.

If you wish to book a table please call us on 020 7228 3260 or click here to book online.

Xmas Jumper

Canteen Weekender

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

Other hot news: we’re having a Tropical Christmas with Yummy Choo Eats and in January we’re doing a supper club with the super talented Ryan Stafford.

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

  • We have a lot of bookings this weekend, so if you want a table for dinner then it’s probably best to book in early – and take advantage of some extra value; reserve a table between 6 & 7pm and you can claim 2 courses for £20 and a free glass of wine.
  • Or take advantage of the fact that our kitchen is now open until 11pm on Fridays & Saturdays and book a late table.
  • Please note, we’re trying out a swanky new telephone reservation system, call us on 020 7228 3260 to give it a whirl.
  • You should 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 Damon in Distress (with Damson Vodka).
  • We’ve started a movement to try and inject some goodness into your Sundays and make your weekend last a little bit longer; the Sunday Night Saver - get any of our burgers or sandwiches for a tenner.
  • Join us for a night of shopping, cocktails and food on the 19th as we host a Flights of Nancy pop-up.
  • Celebrate Obama being re-elected at our Thanksgiving Dinner on the 22nd, click here for details.
  • Yikes, it’s time to think about booking your Christmas party. We’ve launched our Christmas menus, click here to check them out. We’re doing a set Christmas Lunch menu for £15 per person.
  • We run SW London’s busiest and best brunch, starting at 9am each day.
  • Come and check out the new brunch menu, we’ve added French Toast, Huveos Rancheros and a Smoked Salmon Bagel amongst other things. Also, we’re now serving Allpress Coffee, absolutely top notch stuff, make sure you come try a cup. And for tea fans we now serve We Are Tea, like our coffee, it’s top drawer.
  • Speaking of brunch, we now offer a loyalty card for those joining us for midweek brunch, click here for details.
  • 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.

Ben's Canteen, Best Local Restaurant 2012