I remember the canteen in my primary school, an age before political correctness where the kids eligible for free school dinners were forced to queue and eat separately from the rest of the school. Thankfully those days are long gone, only surviving as echoes in the name of the Belmont Road's latest dining spot.
First impressions are good - it's a long handsome room, with bare ceiling, Edison bulbs dangling and vents exposed artfully, with solid school style seating and proper tables that haven't been cobbled together from the leavings of last week's auction rooms.
The kitchen is exposed on your right and at the far end there's a stage, presumably for the range of supper clubs that they plan on offering. As it stands, Canteen is unlicensed, but there's a BYOB policy in place after five pm, with the requisite corkage charge.
The menu comes across as sensible more than sensational, but that brings with it sensible prices as well. You'll struggle to find anything north of a tenner on the card and when you consider that the same menu runs into the evening, the prospect is very attractive indeed. There's salads, sandwiches and small plates, as well as some more substantial mains on offer.
Proper soup can warm the soul and here we're offered a bowl of something simple and homely that brightens up a rainy May afternoon and while we're trying to get away with only ordering one small plate to start off, we're soon shamed into ordering a second. And we're incredibly pleased I did when a portion of fishcakes arrive alongside a pulled pork slider.
Let's ignore pulled pork's descent into cliché and worship this beautifully burnt and seasoned morsel served in this morning's bread. It's bettered by the fish cakes though - light as a feather and served with a singing, zinging salsa with no hint of stodge.
It's not an issue to trade out the beef sandwich's chips for the sweet potato option and again, it's a simple dish, but executed well; tender, though cooked through (a rarer option would have been nice, but, honestly, I'm nit-picking.) and with more of that delicious fresh bread. The mackerel is a treat though, the potato salad accompaniment the real star of the show - light and tasty, a million miles away from the sad specimens that blight many a barbecue.
We've no room for dessert, (though we'll return for the chocolate sundae) and, save for an espresso perfectly rendered, we're done. It's a fine addition to an area already drawing in more diners and restaurateurs and all without a hint of chopping boards or tiny chip baskets.
Shane Horan
Canteen Kitchen Cafe is at 10 Belmont Road and can be found online at canteenbelfast.com, /canteenbelfast and @CanteenBelfast.
