The Assembly House, Kentish Town, NW5

Just a quick one from me on the Assembly House, another possible food option in Kentish Town (I've been a bit more hungry in Kentish Town recently!). The entire pub was shut for ages this summer for a refit, and inside now it is even more gorgeous than before. It was always beautiful, as it's a huge old building, all mirrors and high ceilings, huge windows, wooden bars, but now it just feels like a super fancy, extremely swish sort of place to have a pint. And Kirin beer on tap! And the all important ale-selection for the ale lovers, as I have many friends who have demonstrated to me the importance of a pub having at least one good ale. But this wasn't about the drinks -  this was about the food.

So alongside this plush interior overhaul comes the fancy-pants pseudo-gastro pub menu. You know exactly what I mean - it's not sausage and mash, it's Suffolk Farmers pork sausage with West Country cheddar mash and red onion gravy. Fair enough I suppose, detail is useful, but it's disappointing when the food doesn't nearly taste as good as the description sounds.

The dining area in the back

Halloumi and chips with side salad

Tempted in by the two meals for £11.95 offer which will run indefinitely, my friend and I both went for veggie options. I had the "Hand-battered Halloumi with skin-on chips, dressed salad and red pepper and chilli dip." whereas my mate had "Caremlised shallot, Croxton Manor cheddar & Ruddles rarebit tart in thyme pastry with a caremlised red onion chutney, served with new potatoes and a dressed salad." Whew, long names! 

Occasionally pub food is greasy but just hits the spot in the right way, but this utterly missed the mark. My halloumi was an oily deep-fried mess and I would have preferred supermarket-bought halloumi dry-fried at home. It had more of the consistency of mozzarella, rather than that squeaky plasticiness I had hoped for. The chilli sauce was a handy addition at least, as virtually all the cheese's flavour and saltiness had drowned in the batter and frying process as a result, and while the chips were fine, the salad was a handful of wilting out-the-bag afterthought with far too little dressing (ironic considering the salad was even advertised as 'dressed', as if that was to be an unusual and pleasant addition). Pub food sort of needs to be greasy but this was a bit much even for me.

Things fared not too much better for the fancy long-named tart. It was small and tough, and drenched in that red onion chutney which overpowered everything and tasted like it had come out of a jar. My friend did say it was nicely cheesy, so maybe not a total loss, but the same situation again as with my deal with its side salad.
It's a shame that although the pub itself is gorgeous after being redone, that what comes out the kitchen got overlooked, but that's how it goes I guess. It's a lovely pub, mind. The staff are friendly and chatty, the interior is beautiful and the drink selection is nice and varied. Just don't bother with the food.

The Assembly House, 292 Kentish Town Road/Leighton Road, Kentish Town, NW5 2TG, 020 7485 2031

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Kentish Canteen, Kentish Town, NW5

Lunch options in Kentish Town are a shade limited if you work here every day - to say we were pretty thrilled when the Pret opposite the tube opened would be an understatement. So when the Kentish Canteen opened, replacing a long-closed restaurant, it was exciting to say the least.

Salads on display when you walk in

It has all the elements - tasteful, modern decor, with a nice outdoor patio section for dining al fresco, a great location near the tube and seemed not too expensive for the odd lunch with a friend.  And an AMAZING menu. So it should be fantastic. But it just isn't, really, and sadly I don't think I've ever come away, apart from once, feeling like I'd really enjoyed it and wanted to go back soon, which shows itself in the mixed reviews it receives.

But it does offer a good lunch deal - £10 for a dish, and a glass of wine, beer or soft drink. So it's popular with the surrounding area, and a good choice for my office if we're doing a group lunch. (I haven't eaten there in the evening time.)

It's just such a shame about the food - at its heart, it's a fantastic idea. Mediterranean food with a modern twist, small plates for making a tapas-style lunch, large sharing platters, simple dishes, brunch (including that ever-popular Eggs Benedict) all day. They also have a little rotating selection of fascinating and inventive salads like "Naanjing black rice with mango, pepper, soy, sesame, ginger" and "roast aubergine, cumin & coriander, lemon yoghurt", all displayed beautifully when you walk in.  Or you know, you can have just have a plate of chilli linguine (small or large!). I love that flexibility and variation. And the food DOES taste okay, and has the potential to be great, it just seems that it comes so close to being very nice, and then falls at the final hurdle.

For instance, on one previous visit, me and a friend went with the £10 lunch menu burger. The chips that it comes with were huge, chunky monsters and very satisfying, and the burger itself was decent enough - but both me and my friend had a completely stale bun. I have no idea how the kitchen could have overseen this, but a half-hearted attempt to toast it didn't hide the fact, which spoiled the dish.

On another visit, I found that the ravioli, which was also quite okay, was advertised on the menu as containing asparagus but didn't hold any trace as far as we can tell, which could have been the buttery sauce overwhelming asparagus's delicate flavour, but the filling was completely yellow and orange.

Onion tart, with pepper and anchovy in the back

Kentish Canteen burger with chunky chips and coleslaw

Finally, my most recent visit, we branched off from the lunch menu which seemed to have been a good choice. I went with an onion tart, which was good value at £8.99 including a side salad of my choice. I went with the stuffed pepper, tomato, and anchovy side (what can I say, I'm obsessed.)

The stuffed pepper was actually very good, but was wonderfully salty and came with the nice afterthought of a crouton of bread to mop up excess juice which I liked. The onion tart was also quite tasty, apart from the fact that I discovered the crust was a little burned - just a little, but enough to drag the meal down from 'good' into 'eh'. Meanwhile, the burger was apparently very nice this time! So who knows.

It's such a shame that the Kentish Canteen falls at the final hurdle. I can't help but feel that if they just sorted out the little niggles like this across the board, they'd be a fantastic place to eat in. And although on this instance, no burger buns were stale, and we were even given a complimentary selection of rather zingy and refreshing lemon posset desserts, I'm still a bit disappointed. I daresay I'll be back - perhaps the breakfasts are superb? - but either I have pretty bad luck in general, or it just seems to be the same failing over and over; not enough attention to detail.

Kentish Canteen, 300 Kentish Town Road, Kentish Town, NW5, 0207 485 7331

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