Canteen

310 Portobello Rd

Notting Hill, London

W10 5TA

(nearest tube – Ladbroke Road)

BY NEAL MARTIN | MAY 23, 2025

The Food:

Mozzarella with purple sprouting broccoli, anchovies and pangrattato

Casarecce wild garlic pesto

Asiago risotto with leek and pancetta

Fettuccine sausage ragu

Rhubarb panna cotta

Chocolate mousse

The Wine:

2022 Pelassa Daniele Barbera d’Alba Superiore San Pancrazio – 90

I count them.

Eighteen.

There are eighteen people wrapped up in thick coats and scarves forming an orderly queue. It’s 11.45 am on a Monday morning. There is a frisson of excitement amongst those loitering with a mixture of intent and hunger, enduring Arctic conditions to lunch at one of London’s hottest tickets. You see, Canteen is walk-in only. No bookings. Having travelled in from faraway(ish) Surrey, I would rather not schlep into the capital to find there’s “no room at the inn.”

Canteen's welcoming façade.

So, like everyone else, I arrive early to secure a seat. It pays off, because I’m shown to a counter stool in front of the open kitchen—the best seat in the house. For the next two hours, I will sit and be hypnotised by the young chefs, capture their conversation, see their personalities up close and even strike up conversation as one of them stretches the dough. Another bonus of my counter location is that the warmth emanating from the pizza ovens is defrosting my face.

Patrons are a mixture of hipster locals lucky enough to call Notting Hill home and gastronomes coming to see what the fuss is about. Canteen is moderate in size, afforded plenty of light with large windows on either side. There is a bustling vibe. I wouldn’t come here for a romantic date. There’s a hubbub of noise and a music soundtrack that might be too loud for some, though personally, I would not touch the volume dial.

My counter seat offered a prime view of the kitchen team at work.

There is something very assured about Canteen, which opened late last summer. Its uninspired name is a bit like Morrissey and Marr calling their band “The Smiths” insofar that the banality of the name belies self-belief. That confidence is no surprise, since the team behind Canteen also runs nearby popular gastropubs The Pelican and The Hero, and two former members of The River Café team lead the kitchen. There are similarities between The River Café and Canteen. The menu here is short, but you want to eat everything. Every ingredient is absolutely top-notch. Pasta is made in-house, stored in refrigerated units lined up at the back. There is a faint whiff of flour in the air. Pizzas are spun and stretched in front of you. The dishes are polished and so damn delicious you will be plotting your return at first chew.

Where this differs from The River Café is in price.

Here, you can do as I did and order a range of smaller plates for around £15.00 each, so share that between two or more and you’re laughing.

Mozzarella with purple sprouting broccoli, anchovies and pangrattato.

Readers should note that the menu changes monthly, but this summary will give you an idea of what’s on offer. I forego the main courses and pizzas because, well, you know how pasta expands as your gastric juices try in vain to break it down. It’s easy to overindulge. The focaccia sets the tone. It’s the best I’ve eaten in a very long time, light and moist, doused with olive oil and not oversalted. The mozzarella with purple sprouting broccoli, anchovies and pangrattato (toasted breadcrumbs) is fabulous. The “mozz” is to die for…so pure and creamy, again, one of the best I have eaten in the capital. The broccoli is sweet and tender, whilst the anchovies and pangrattato lend saltiness and texture respectively. For nine quid, I doubt you will find better value in London.

Casarecce wild garlic pesto.

I choose three pasta-based dishes. The Casarecce wild garlic pesto is perfectly al dente and nuanced in flavour. It is relatively neutral in style, maybe too nuanced for those who enjoy a bit of punch in their pasta, but I find it delectable.

Asiago risotto with leek and pancetta.

The Asiago risotto comes with leek and pancetta. This is served on a shallow plate, whereas personally, I prefer it in a bowl so that I can dig my spoon in. Maybe I would have seasoned it a tiny bit more, though the pancetta is wonderfully crisp.

Fettuccine sausage ragu.

Thirdly, the fettuccine sausage ragu is, again, quite subtle in flavour, understated compared to ragu encountered elsewhere, though it means the dish doesn’t overpower. Perhaps I would have liked a little more tomato sauce, but hey, no complaints—it’s delicious.

Rhubarb panna cotta.

The rhubarb panna cotta is out of this world. Modest in size, the in-season pink rhubarb is heavenly, gorgeously sweet and tender, the panna cotta itself a little firmer in texture and exquisitely balanced. I also order a chocolate mousse with olive oil and sea salt. It is much larger than expected, an overly generous dollop, quite soft and creamy in texture. I promise myself I’ll only eat a portion. Suffice it to say that it’s demolished in a few minutes.

Food of this quality deserves a better selection of wines than the handful offered. Looking around, I am the only person in this packed room partaking in daytime libation. It seems a pre-emptive decision when setting up Canteen that wine is secondary, a perfectly omissible accoutrement. Is that not a catch-22 situation? If wine is not offered, then it is not at the forefront of customers’ minds, so do they just not entertain the idea? Is this a taste of things to come? Or not to come? Perhaps I must accept that in this day and age, when teetotalism is rising, I am in the dwindling minority. It is certainly a cause for concern that winemakers and everyone linked to wine needs to wake up to…the fact that in some quarters, wine is becoming passé.

Nevertheless, the handful of Italian wines offered are by the glass, not that they tempted other patrons to order. I am enjoying the food so much that I order a special that is not on the list, a 2022 Barbera d’Alba San Pancrazio Superiore from Pelassa Daniele. It costs about triple the price I can buy a bottle for at importers “Davy & Co.,” though to be honest, the wine is a little gem. Raspberry, tomato vine and light liquorice scents unfurl on the nose. The palate is silky smooth and very well balanced, with just the right amount of bite on the finish to keep you returning. The 15% alcohol is neatly disguised, and I request the cork so I can drink the remaining half at home, lest I stagger out into the street.

Type “Canteen” into a search engine and you will find one ecstatic review after another. The restaurant successfully combines casual presentation with quality-driven dishes, perhaps only matched by The River Café and Luca in London. It would be easy to presume that Canteen is cutting corners somewhere, given its reasonable prices, but that is clearly not the case when you see the brigade diligently prepping dishes. Service is immaculate and friendly. How nice to see a mostly young team in an age when it is challenging to recruit people who know what service ought to be. Frankly, I’ve paid a lot more for Italian food in London…but I don’t think any has quite matched here.

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