East London's City fringe at its best

10 April 2012

People generally divide into two categories: those who look to the future with excitement (and take history for granted), and those who hark back to the past (and complain that the present isn't quite enough like that).

It's tricky terrain. No one wants to deny the insight an appreciation of history brings, but nor can anyone who cares about progress simply bang on about what has gone before.

It's in this very narrow zone of elusive judgement that a great deal of what passes for current political debate ranges.

We can see it in the Brown v Cameron battle - of tradition against 'modernisation' (whatever that may be in this context) - that is going to resonate in London especially, as we're the people who not only want it all, but have to pay for the rest of the country to have it as well.

It's a conflict between renewal and stagnation. Progress versus complacency. And where better to see the results of the former than in Spitalfields, which stands proudly against the global might of the City. And a restaurant called Canteen.

Canteen may be an award-winning restaurant, but it's impossible to find. Sandwiched between anonymous-looking shops, it's halfway down a pedestrian-only street with no signposts.

If the Mayor wants to get us walking, he should spend some of our money on better signs, not only on buses that are far too long. My footballer friend, brought along to continue my education about our national sport, and I were very late.

Travelling by Tube to Liverpool Street and asking for directions, my other guest arrived on time, hot and thirsty - and asked the smiley waiter for a bottle of fizzy water. The waiter looked perplexed.

'Fizzy water? What does this mean? We have still or sparkling.' My guest is a romantic novelist and is charmed by the strangest people, but even she was perplexed by this.

Spitalfields is mostly famous for its market, held here since 1638 when King Charles gave a licence for flesh, fowls and roots to be sold in a place that was then known as Spittle Field. Spittle means spit. Not a comfortable feeling at lunchtime. Perhaps the past is best left alone.

These days Spitalfields has the real buzz of rejuvenation with gleaming, glass-fronted buildings and attractive Londoners out and about. The kind of place that would have the heritage lobby running for its converted barn. It was brilliantly hot when I visited Canteen for lunch, and all the tables outside were occupied.

Inside the restaurant was just as busy. The glass-fronted building is functional, as are the long, refectorytype tables. A real canteen would of course have had little pots of plastic flowers and food-smears, but here there were none. Canteen is cool and clean.

It is an all-occasion restaurant - a Wolseley in the east. You can have breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea and then dinner. In fact, if you stayed all day, it would be like travelling on a cruise liner. There is a list of daily specials --pie, roast, fish and cake.

My devilled kidneys on toast were perfect and the footballer's potted duck came in a mini jam jar, with a container of real piccalilli (none of us had ever seen homemade piccalilli before). The disappointment was the watercress and bloodorange salad. It sounded full of promise but was a let-down - think Gordon Brown budgets.

Mains were huge and delicious, the star being a succulent piece of skate wing. Only the chips failed to please. We left them all. After deciding to share one pudding, we ended up ordering three - all Victorian nursery food.

With coffees and four large glasses of wine (Sancerre), the bill came to £140 - so these aren't canteen prices. It doesn't have enough atmosphere for seduction nor (oddly enough) for business meetings, but that's probably a good thing.

Once we got over the fizzy water incident, the staff were friendly and helpful. The excellence of the food made it well worth the visit. And the crowd was young, happy and confident.

Did past or future win through? The answer is both. Great tradition in the midst of vibrant regeneration. East London's City fringe at its best.

Canteen
South Bank, London, SE1 8XX

MORE ABOUT

East London

South Bank

Tower Hamlets

East London's City fringe at its best

Read More