Location: London, England
Cuisine: British
Just as St. John must be understood in the context of the French House, so too must another treasure: Rochelle Canteen. Fergus Henderson and his wife Margot opened the dining room above the French House with Jon Spiteri in 1992. Two years later, Fergus and Jon left to start another restaurant venture, St. John. The French House was left to Margot and Jon’s wife, Melanie Arnold, to take over. Margot and Melanie started a catering side to their business in 1995 but continued to run the restaurant together until 2001. At that point, they were focusing on their catering business when a friend of theirs asked if they wanted to set up their catering company in their friend’s building. That building was Rochelle, a place full of studios in the converted Rochelle School. Margot and Melanie moved in and started cooking in all the different studios. Eventually, their friend said they were going to turn the place into a restaurant and gave the opportunity to Margot and Melanie. They said yes, and that’s how Rochelle Canteen was born.
As I mentioned above, the restaurant is set in an old school. It has a beautiful garden space, with just a small part used for dining, under the beauty of grapevines. It’s romantic and the perfect setting for a sunny, hot day in London, which does occasionally occur! The food served is undoubtedly British, but a fresher and lighter (a bit less French and more Mediterranean) take on a very underrated cuisine.
Starters
Victor and I first visited Rochellen Canteen in June 2023. We started off with some crisp white wine to go along with our starters, Spicy Turbot Fishcakes with allioli, a delicious green salad, and Welsh Rarebit. For those unfamiliar, a Welsh rarebit has nothing to do with rabbits, and frankly very little to do with Wales. It’s a slice of bread coated in bubbling, golden brown cheese sauce. The sauce is usually made with sharp cheddar cheese, beer, ale or stout, Worcestershire sauce and English mustard. The result is a very salty, savoury and umami-filled dish. A real treat!
On our second visit about a year later, in July 2024, we also went for some crisp, fresh white wine. We had the Sardines & Gremolata, a wonderful combo. There’s probably nothing I love more than grilled sardines in the summertime; it reminds me of my childhood when I used to visit the Azores with my family. The grilled fish went really well with the gremolata, which, in case you don’t know, is an Italian condiment/sauce made with chopped parsley, lemon zest, and garlic. It’s fresh and citrusy, the perfect way to balance out oily, stinky (but delicious) fish. We also had some flame-grilled peppers that looked very similar to Padron peppers but were a bit longer.
Mains & Sides
As I don’t eat meat, it’s no wonder I choose all the fish dishes, but my partner agrees that grilled fish is the way to go if it’s a hot summer day. On our first visit we had the Mackerel, Tomato, Lovage & Aioli, the Plaice, Cucumber & Laverbread and the Linley Farm Mixed Leaf Salad. The mackerel was grilled nicely with crispy skin. The plaice was particularly delicate and delicious. And I love a good green salad with crispy and fresh produce.
On our second visit we had some more fish dishes. We had the mackerel again, but this time it was served in a completely different way: grilled whole (look at those grill marks) and served with seaweed-type greens. We also had the John Dory, Roast Tomatoes & Green Sauce. Both dishes were delicious.
Desserts
And now for the puds! On our first visit we had the Yoghurt Panna Cotta & Rhubarb. The yoghurt addition was lovely, giving a bit of a creamy, almost cheesy element to the panna cotta. On our second visit we had it again, but this time with peaches. Both accompaniments went really well with the yoghurt, but I must say I’m a sucker for roasted peaches.
Rochelle Canteen is one of my favourite summer restaurants in London. I’m sure it’s lovely at other times of the year too, but the magic really happens when you’re sitting outside, under the grapevines amongst a bunch of people that are loving this moment and place at the same time as you.
Have you visited Rochelle Canteen? What did you think?
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