Canteen in Notting Hill is always packed to the rafters, so news that the Italian restaurant was opening a summer pop-up in Gagingwell, near Enstone on the Old Coal Yard site, was like catnip.
The fact that both are run by the guys behind the renowned Bull in Charlbury, alongside numerous London pubs, was even more of an incentive to get down there quick.
Running as a cafe by day and a restaurant by night (Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday), Canteen is already buzzing, those in the know booking in pronto.
‘while most pop-ups have more of a transient, festival vibe, Cotswolds canteen feels like a proper restaurant’
Because while most pop-ups have more of a transient, festival vibe, Cotswolds Canteen feels like a proper restaurant, set up on the site’s former cafe, the white-washed walls, long marble tables and open plan kitchen, outdoor seating beckoning you outside.
Food-wise, it’s all about the ingredients, the menu changing weekly, whatever is seasonal taking pride of place, reminiscent of Russell Norman’s Brutto.
‘it’s all about the ingredients, the menu changing weekly, whatever is seasonal taking pride of place’
So in this instance plates of juicy, fresh huge slices of honeymoon melon with stripy Puglian Carosello cucumber, (rarely found in the UK) ricotta salata (an aged, pressed, and salted Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk whey) and mint. Unadulterated and glorious.
A simple plate of Salumi Misti – Italian cured meats, for me the mortadella the star of the show, then the mozzarella, aubergine and oregano, the cheese bountiful and plump, the aubergine soft and smokey.
Executive head chef Jessica Filvey runs both sites
Pizzas next, the taleggio, fig and thyme so delicious and different, the melted cheese buttery and stringy, the generous fig slices sweet, the thyme cutting through.
We also tucked into the tomato, oregano, anchovy, caper pizza, as it was shared out, like a Napoli, the communal eating style matched perfectly by the menu.
But then the Vesuvius, San Marzano Risotto arrived, the premium risotto rice retaining its shape with a sturdy bite, enlivened by the rich, vibrant tomato sauce, accompanied by chunks of lightly fried courgettes and their flowers.
Luckily the slice of strawberry frangipane tart with creme fraiche, wasn’t gargantuan because we’d over indulged already, but it was too tempting to miss, the pastry flaky and thick, the gooey almond filling, the creme fraiche clean and dense, the juicy strawberries doused in icing sugar. I’d booked in for dinner before I’d even wiped the crumbs from my mouth.
So yes, a massive and unexpected treat, Canteen sitting innocuously next to Chloe’s Pilates Studio, three acres of veg fields, and a sauna, hot tub and plunge pool, the latter opening in the next few weeks.
‘a massive and unexpected treat’
Chloe Horner, who ran Chloe’s in Charlbury, is helping the Pelican group launch Canteen here. “They’ve been looking for a site in the Cotswolds for a while and this ticked all the boxes. Canteen is hugely popular in London so we are running it as a restaurant at the weekends and then a walk in cafe seven days a week, with a smaller but concise menu – salads, focaccia, sandwiches, antipasti, Italian cakes and biscuits and Missing Bean coffee,” she explains.
Executive head chef Jessica Filvey runs both sites and demands the best ingredients, impeccably sourced, for Canteen‘s sharing menu mentality.
So completely different to The Bull then? “Yes, but the Cotswolds is very pub heavy and Canteen wanted to introduce an alternative, something outside of that.”
‘the Cotswolds is very pub heavy and Canteen wanted to introduce an alternative, something outside of that”
Rumour has it that if the pop up is an unbridled success Canteen may become permanent here. Until that decision is made however, it will be open until September and evening bookings are filling up fast.
Canteen, The Old Coal Yard, Gagingwell, OX7 4E. Go to https://www.canteen310.com/cotswolds/
