Friday 9 June 2017

Eating Out, London: Putney Canteen

It's no secret that I LOVE a brunch. Waking up late on a Sunday, meetings friends and drinking endless amounts of coffee at midday while mostly eating eggs and avocado is what I live for. 

In an attempt to see friends more reguarly, it's become the norm to find a new brunch spot once a month, usually around South West London, never visiting the same place twice. 

Last month's pick was The Putney Canteen, just around the corner from Putney Bridge station. One first view, it's a cute little spot with rustic interiors, seemingly popular and everything you'd expect from a London cafe/restaurant. 

The menu had everything you'd expect, from poached eggs and avo to pancakes and we were dribbling at the thought. Unfortunately, it was over an hour before we actually got to eat anything. 

After arriving, we decided what we wanted to order after about 15 minutes and waited to be served. It was a Sunday morning so you do expect it to be a little slower than normal and after waiting about another 15 minutes, our order was taken. 

Deep in conversation, we hardly noticed that our drinks were nowhere to be seen and we'd been waiting about 30 minutes. Not wanting to complain, we simply called the waitress over and stated we hadn't received our order. She promptly brought them over but the glasses were dirty and an order of apple juice was still missing. After complaining about the glass, we were told to use a straw (not the most hygienic option I've been given). 

At this point, we had been in the restaurant for over an hour and only had drinks to compress the hunger. Another half an hour had passed, with not one waiter or waitress coming close to our table. The food eventually turned up (wasn't amazing but it was the most enjoyable part of the morning), we quickly ate and made a swift exit to the bar to pay and get out of there. 

Not usually one to complain, we felt the experience had been so bad it was needed. We asked to speak to a manager and were greeted by a very unfriendly face who, after hearing about our experience, simply said 'what do you expect, it's a Sunday and we're busy?' - not quite the response we were expecting.  


It might have been a one-off but it's put me off and I won't be going back. The food wasn't good enough and the experience was awful - let's just say we didn't leave a tip!