Rochelle School Canteen

I love this place... it’s got to be the ultimate cool place to go for lunch. If you love St John, you won't be disappointed with Rochelle.

Firstly, it's really off the beaten track and nicely hidden; you need to ring the buzzer to get in. When you do go through the gate, it's like an artist's secret garden. The canteen is in the renovated bike shed of the old school - surrounded by artist’s studios and old school architecture, it's a very cosy environment.

The canteen is set out... like a school canteen. It's a bit of a squeeze and you have to share but as soon as you get settled in it's fine.

I had a rabbit paté sort of thing with pickles and toasted bread to start (sorry, can't remember exactly what it was called), it was absolutely divine and the portion was pretty big too. My husband had the broccoli and anchovies which were very nice but I think he had food envy! For mains, I had a slow cooked lamb and white bean casserole and my fella had the pork chop. I'm not a massive pork fan, so I didn’t try it but apparently it was very good indeed. My lamb casserole was nice but a little bit bland maybe... perhaps after the strong flavours of the rabbit? I couldn't fit in pudding (which is saying something), so we shared the wigmore & oatcakes; what a great finish.

The service was fine too, not too intrusive, not too laid back

I definitely recommend this place - if you like brilliant, simple cooking, in an arty setting (or not) and don't mind squishing up for lunch - it's well worth a punt. The prices are pretty decent too, our bill came to around £45 which included £5 corkage as it's a BYO (yes we felt like lushes, polishing off a bottle of burgundy on a Tuesday lunch time but it was a special occasion).... then, after lunch, you can visit some studio exhibitions or pop to spitalfeilds for a mosey…
Comment on this reader review

becsparkel
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, October 23, 2009