Franks Canteen

We were looking for a place to brunch, and this little spot has it all: flavourful food, helpful service, an interesting menu, great coffee, and a stellar happy hour. Yes, we stayed on from a late brunch to an early Happy Hour. The Grapefruit Margarita was far too tasty to ignore. Don’t hesitate to pop in. The dinner specials all looked promising too! We all shared the potatoes with roasted garlic aioli—but you might want to keep them for yourself.

Delicious spot, had a bacon focaccia for breakfast with two fried eggs. It was quite delicious. Friendly staff. No complaints.

Really lovely dinner here on Saturday night. The food is exceptional- every dish was superb and a special shoutout to the scallops in brown butter and Cod main course, and the meringue dessert! The service was a little slow (not sure if this is usual as the staff did keep apologising) BUT it was such a nice relaxed atmosphere and we had bread and wine to keep us going so it was fine. I want to return to try the breakfast and all other dishes!

Been to this little cafe a couple of times before, a couple of years ago but had forgotten about it. Passed by today and am so happy I went in for post exercise brunch. They have a really talented chef in there. Had a brioche bun with asparagus, marscapone, roasted tomatoes, fried egg and added bacon. It was just delicious and beautifully cooked. The ingredients were really high quality. Nothing here tastes like other places, it's always a bit different and elevated. Great coffee too. Have had to abandon the place on busy days when there's been a long wait but today was nice and quiet and I got a seat easily.

We were ordered too many rich plates, so felt overwhelmed. The food was delicious, but we needed to something light and palate cleansing. Now l know l would go back and enjoy it fully

Had such an incredible meal here last night. The food was really special, so much flavour and exciting, surprising dishes. Also the front of house made the meal feel fun and exciting. It feels like the whole team are a well oiled unit and the passion really comes through and makes such a difference. I wish more restaurants were like this and I wish I lived closer to come more often! 20 out of 10!!!

We visited this café/restaurant around 11 AM and were seated right away. From the moment we arrived, the staff seemed unfriendly, almost as if our presence was an inconvenience. Despite this, we ordered breakfast, coffee, and soft drinks and asked if we could work on our laptops. They agreed but mentioned they might ask us to put away our laptops if it got busy, which we found reasonable. However, throughout our visit, the atmosphere remained unwelcoming. While other guests received friendly service, we were met with coldness—no smiles, no basic manners, and a general feeling that we were not wanted. It’s shocking behavior from hospitality staff. When we arrived, the table wasn’t reserved, and no one mentioned a later booking. Yet, at 1:30 PM, a waiter abruptly placed a “reserved” sign for 1:45 PM, giving us barely any notice before essentially pushing us out. We had been ordering food and drinks the entire time, so it wasn’t as if we were just taking up space. To top it off, we paid £47 for two breakfast buns, two coffees, and two soft drinks (including service charge), despite receiving some of the worst service we’ve ever experienced. The food was decent—nothing special—but the treatment we received completely soured the experience. If you’re looking for a warm and welcoming environment, I’d steer clear. But if you’re after an overpriced flat white and the feeling of being unwelcome, this might just be the place for you.

How have i not found this before? A delightful small friendly restaurant just down the hill from Highbury Barn. Interesting menu' delicious tasting food and attentive yet relaxed service. Great use of vegetables but for meat eaters the pork chop will give you what you desire. Will definitely be back but will have a bottle of wine not the pricey glass, as inevitably given its quality' 1 glass was not enough!

I may not approve of the lack of an apostrophe in its name, but I would otherwise wholeheartedly recommend Franks Canteen, which stands out even in this brunch-saturated corner of north London. It's a pleasant enough space to read the weekend newspapers: small, independent, with friendly staff. Far more importantly, the cooking is excellent, and several notches more imaginative than your run-of-the-mill brunch spot. The menu offers enough of the obligatory brunch staples, but crucially alongside a small selection of less predictable dishes. At my recent visit, I opted for an Italianate stufato of chickpeas, tomatoes and pancetta, served with generous hunks of mozzarella and toasted sourdough. It was a cheering dish, lashed with enough basil and olive oil to almost taste of August sunshine. It renewed my faith in brunch as an institution: rather than breakfast-by-numbers, this was food with an irrepressible sense of fun.

Frank's is a very welcome addition to the neighbourhood. Excellent food. I went for breakfast and had the pork shoulder with poached eggs, kale and hollandaise on sourdough. Delicious. Other people's food looked good too; waffles, poached eggs with salmon, kedgeree. There's a welcoming atmosphere and good music, they were playing The National when I was there which I was very pleased about. Lots of plug sockets and quick wifi make it a good place to work too, I'll be back.

I've been here once before, and inside there's a nice vibe (very minimalist decor) with friendly staff. I ordered the beef brisket stew (I believe the menu changes each week though) which was divine. My boyfriend had the bubble and squeak which he really rated too. At the end of the meal, they also brought over a snazzy iPad mini which was a nice touch. Overall, fairly good value and I'm really glad to have a new option for lunch in my local area!

I ordered the huevos rancheros. It was the best I've had in as far as I can remember. It was an explosion of flavors. Spicy beans in tomato sauce which perfectly countered with acidity. The jalapeño corn bread was sweet and slightly spicy...perfect. The poached eggs might have been a tad overdone, but the yolks were still runny enough.

I've grown a bit frustrated with this place. Firstly, they're not open very often. Only 5, sometimes only 4 days a week. And only from late morning to mid-afternoon. When we'd like to come eat here during the weekend, we find it closed because they're who-knows-where. And this past Sunday, when it was 1:45 pm, we came by to have a late lunch, and the waitress just looked at us and said "we're closed" and walked away. Mind you, the sign in the window says open until 2:30 pm. She offered no explanation and was not very friendly. My husband was so upset, I had to push him out the door not to cause a scene. Restaurants are supposed to be taking their last orders at their closing times. I don't think we'll be back to Frank's in a while until they get more hours and more polite staff.

The restaurant is a gem in an otherwise lacking area for food. It's a small local business with a burgeoning catering business attached to the restaurant/ head chef. That can mean a bit of growing pain in event/ business management but the team is genuine and well intentioned.

Went again for breakfast on my Mums birthday - delicious food, and they offered us a free pastry for the occasion, which was deemed the best almond croissant ever. Really love this place!