The London List
The London List: Cantinera, SE4
Our London List shares the good 'grown-up' restaurants that welcome young kids. These are our tried-and-tested spots for success: places with people who have gone the extra mile, who have patiently helped us navigate the stressful moments, who genuinely haven't minded a little extra mess and noise, and whose creativity and delicious food put big smiles on all our faces. Today it's Cantinera, a zingy neighbourhood spot in Brockley.
Cantinera is a new and utterly delicious cantina, from chefs Celia D'Ortiz and Jake Barwood. Jake tells me he grew up holidaying in France, and Celia in her native Mexico and Spain, all of which have dining cultures where kids are welcome but they are encouraged to be involved in the full dining experience. It's intentional that they've created Cantinera to be a grown-up space for adults, but it's a grown-up space for kids too. Jake says, "Kids are welcome but there's no separate menu for them. We give them the chance - and responsibility, in a way - to try things they might not have had before and kids actually react pretty well to that."
We arrived on a Friday as soon as it opened at 5.30pm, and took a table at the back. It's tiny (leave the pram at home) but it's not cramped. The music was just the right volume to mask a few whinges from our 3-year-old. When the kids got restless (they were excited to be eating out and wired after a long week and were having trouble sitting still) we showed them the food being made through the kitchen hatch which they loved. As the chefs could see they were interested, they gave my eldest the "special task" of arranging serviettes and coupes onto plates and let her carry in our desserts from the kitchen to our table. She was chuffed to bits, of course. All round, the team made it a fun and relaxing - not to mention completely delicious - dinner date for us all.
Between four of us we shared:
2 x chickpea panisse, guajillo mayo, parsley
1 x seabass crudo tostada, almond praline, fried leeks
1 x bavette with peanut and prune mole, burnt shallot
1 x wild Sussex venison, recado negro, desflamadas
2 x fig ice cream, almond crème pâtisserie
Table water (it's BYO, and Salthouse Bottles across the road can recommend some wines to pair with Cantinera's cooking)
TOTAL: £87 + service
For in-depth expert tips from a food journalist on how she navigates grown-up restaurants with her two young boys, read our feature with Milly Kenny-Ryder here.
