Wednesday 25 March 2015

Return to Rochelle Canteen

Hake, Monk's Beard & butter sauce
at Rochelle Canteen

I've written about Rochelle Canteen before but, hard as it is for me to believe, that was almost three years ago.  I liked it very much then but now Anna Tobias is in charge of the kitchen and cooking so beautifully that I have to take you with me on a return to Rochelle.

Confit Duck Leg with Lentils
at Rochelle Canteen

It's not the easiest place to find.  You're looking for a former bike-shed in an old school yard with walls too high to see over.  You do a circuit, or two, of lovely Arnold Circus and look for a door set in the wall marked "Boys".  Press the bell and you're buzzed through to the partly-lawned yard.  It's a space that used to echo to the cries and laughter of the children of the surrounding Boundary Estate.  These days the school has retrenched to a building diagonally across the Circus and the old Victorian brick building has a new lease of life housing arts and media businesses and exhibition spaces.  Rochelle serves as a "Canteen" for them and for those intrepid good-food hunters amongst us who don't mind sharing bare tables and, sometimes, high decibel levels.

Hake with laverbread butter
at Rochelle Canteen

Head Chef, Anna Tobias, arrived at Rochelle Canteen in 2013 from Rose Gray and Ruth Roger's The River Cafe.  Anna's cooking stays true to the style of Rochelle's owners - Margot Henderson and Melanie Arnold - but there's a new confidence and a particular sympathy in the handling of fish. You can expect 5 starters and 5 mains.  There's often a dish of rillettes or a terrine; maybe smoked cod's roe or brandade; when the season is right there may be a perfect plate of asparagus with hollandaise or samphire with brown shrimp.  Mains might be a gutsy Rabbit Stew; a Smoked Eel, Leek and Parsley Pie; maybe some Sweetbreads; a vegetable-based option or two; and, possibly, a simply cooked Sole or Fillet of Pollock.  Vegetables are highly valued - some of the veg, as well as herbs, are grown in raised beds in the schoolyard.  Puddings are often classics, so you might find a Lemon Posset; an Eton Mess; a Chocolate Tart; or their might be a Lemon Sponge Pudding.

Apple Fritters with Caramel Ice Cream
at Rochelle Canteen

On recent visits I've enjoyed a bowl of Brandade with a soft boiled egg and sourdough toast; a Crab and Little Gem Lettuce salad; a perfectly cooked fillet of Hake served with Monk's Beard and butter sauce; meltingly tender Confit Duck leg with lentils and watercress; another fantastic piece of meaty Hake, this time with laverbread butter; sweet/sharp Apple fritters with caramel ice cream; an Apple Galette with vanilla ice cream; and a heavenly Rhubarb trifle.

Apple Galette & Vanilla Ice Cream
and Rhubarb Trifle
at Rochelle Canteen

Being located in a former school, Rochelle Canteen is restricted to opening for breakfast, lunch and tea Monday to Friday only.  Restrictions also mean there is no drinks licence but you can take a bottle  with you and pay a very reasonable £5 corkage charge.  Handily you can pick up a bottle at Leila's Shop, a half circuit of Arnold Circus away on Calvert Avenue.

Turkish Coffee Cake & Espresso
at Rochelle Canteen

Service varies from briskly efficient to deliciously relaxing depending on how busy the room is but you never feel less than welcome.  If the weather is kind you may get a table in the schoolyard and, if  you're lucky, you might find this joyous Turkish Coffee Cake on the menu to finish with an Espresso. Expect to pay around £25-30 a head including service (excluding drinks).


Rochelle Canteen
Rochelle School
Arnold Circus
London E2 7ES
Tel +44 (0)20 7729 5677