This weekend Miss G and myself met up with some friends from back in the north west at Canteen in Spitalfields Market. Canteen, www.canteen.co.uk , is a four restaurant chain in London and I think it’s great. I’m a regular at the restaurant in Royal Festival Hall so was looking forward to going to Canteen. Whilst it might not be one of the more cool venues in Shoreditch we choose it as it is dead easy to find for people who don’t know the area. The result though was that for a Saturday night the place was pretty much empty. I was ok with this though as there were 14 of us and it was almost like we had made a private booking for the restaurant. It also meant that there wasn’t a floppy fringe and pair of skinny jeans in sight

Don’t expect too much from the menu. There is no fancy food on it but what there is is good hearty English grub. Both Miss G and myself plumped for the roast chicken and chips, which was probably wise as it came with a rather aromatic garlic mayonnaise. Others went for bangers and mash, vegetable stew and the steak. I followed it up with a corking rice pudding which is always a winner in my eyes.

The venue itself is all level inside so is easy to get into in a chair. They don’t have tables for two instead opting for long tables which you sit on where there is space. You can book though and request a space at the end of the table which makes it easier to get a wheelchair too. My biggest gripe with the restaurant is that the tables are quite low and I struggled to get my knees under.

 I didn’t see if there was a disabled loo but there is one in the market about a minute away from the restaurant. Getting there is also fairly straight forward in a chair. The tube stations around aren’t accessible but it’s a five minute push from the East London line on Shoreditch High Street which I’ve already posted on how great it is http://www.rockupandroll.com/post/941281452/loving-the-east-london-line. It is also well serviced by busses, which is a bonus. My tip though is if you are going to go, make a day of it take a trip around the wonderful market and the shops around Shoreditch and Brick Lane and then finish the day off with some good wholesome grub. Once you’ve been though and see what else is around the chances are you might decide to try one of the many other eateries, gastro pubs or regular pubs in the area. Don’t let that put you off Canteen if you do decide to try somewhere else and I’d recommend making the trip down to the Southbank to try their restaurant in the Royal Festival Hall.

Can you book ahead and online                                 Yes
Step free:                                                                    Yes
Can you get a wheelchair under the tables:              Just
Disabled toilet:                                                           Don’t know
Radar key needed:                                                      Yes if you use the loo in the market Are the staff friendly:                                     Yes
Disabled parking:                                                        No