LDNReview
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Rochelle Canteen
Included In
When the next global catastrophe hits, you won’t find us in a surivalist’s bunker or raiding Costco for baked beans, because we’ll be too busy clinking glasses of crémant at Rochelle Canteen. Lots of people talk about death row meals, but this converted bike shed turned chic British restaurant in Shoreditch is our end of the world place.
To enjoy Rochelle Canteen’s bliss, first you have to get in. There’s a wall, there’s a buzzer, there’s some aimless wandering and hissing, “But that says it’s a school”. And that’s where you need to go. Once inside Arnold Circus’ garden of enjoyment you’ll be greeted like a lost dog or someone suffering from custard withdrawal, and from thereon in it’s an exercise in glorious escapism.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
British summertime is when Rochelle Canteen is in its element. There are 10-or-so tables in the four walls of the shed, but most of the seating is in the connected giant greenhouse. When the sun is shining and a plate of neon radishes with cod’s roe is put in front of you, this restaurant feels like a hazy British daydream. Intimate, candlelit dinners are also lovely, but Rochelle Canteen lives for the long lunch.
There’s a reassuring straightforwardness about everything here. The daily changing menu is black and white. Times New Roman. Plain and simple classics. From bread, through to braised squid with aioli, down to a perfect ice cream sundae. The staff—who mix cheery helpfulness and innate nonchalance—are graduates of the hypothetical London art school foundation in hospitality. They’re destined to end up at one of two institutions: Rochelle Canteen or St. John. Which makes sense, as Margot Henderson (who co-runs this joint) is married to Fergus Henderson (who co-runs that joint).
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
It doesn’t feel like concerns get much bigger than a brown shrimp being dropped onto a Shrimps jacket at Rochelle Canteen. It’s east London’s little Garden of Eden that’s a few minutes away from Shoreditch High Street Station and, whether you’re here for lunch or dinner, you’ll walk out 60 quid lighter and 100 times happier. Hopefully the world isn’t ending anytime soon but, if it is, you know where to find us.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
A Soup
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Smoked Cod’s Roe & Radishes
A Bitter Leaf Salad
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Braised Meat Or Fish
Squid Or Cuttlefish With Aioli
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
New Potatoes
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch