The Canton Arms

The Canton Arms
A trip to the NFT raises the perennial question of where to eat.  While the Southbank has several options we seem to have exhausted most of the best which leaves chains which we try and avoid.  The Anchor and Hope is a great gastropub but always has a line out the door and Livebait, a usually reliable fish restaurant, has disappointed of late (both are in The Cut along from The Old Vic).  We're left with the chains or finding somewhere in the culinary wasteland to the West on our way into the Waterloo area.  Some research digs up The Canton Arms, an old style boozer in Stockwell which has been revamped and has the added advantage of Chef Trish Hilferty, formerly of the very first Gastropub in London, The Eagle in Farringdon, and an alumnus of the aforementioned Anchor and Hope, at the helm.  It also boasts a mouth-watering signature dish: the foie gras toastie.  Well, that does it - we head for an early dinner weaving through the puzzle of the Vauxhall one-way system like the ball in the pin-ball machine waiting to be thrown out and hoping it's the right exit, and find ourselves in the heart of the Portuguese community that now inhabits Stockwell. 
We arrive to a slightly frosty welcome - we put it down to our being the first diners of the evening - but luckily the next waiter cancels it out, he is charming without being obsequious, and friendly without fawning.  The moniker Gastropub has been abused to the point of calling in the Social Services - every pub serving food now calls itself a gastropub, taking liberties with the original concept.  The Canton Arms however clings tight to the apron strings of the mothership (to mix metaphors), serving simple food in relatively dressed down surroundings at affordable prices.  Another box-checker is a good selection of ales and wine.  We order a bottle of a white wine from Mas de Daumac Gassac, a standout winery in the Languedoc region of southern France, which is a field blend built around Viognier and Chardonnay.  Crisp but with good stone fruit flavours it's an easy all-rounder of a wine. 
Of course one of us orders the Foie Gras toastie, while I go with potted shrimps.  The fgt disappoints a little - the foie gras only just surviving the heat blast of the Breville toaster - and perhaps the idea needs slightly better execution.  The shrimps are served in a preserving jar with a very light mayonnaise rather than straight butter.  A sprinkle of dill provides a nice counterpoint.  Oddly, we have both ordered the whole grilled plaice - because we like to share we nearly always choose different dishes - but when it comes up we are glad we did.  Perfectly cooked, and served on the bone, the fish are swimming in a liquor of buttery, fishy juices.  A side of tiny new potatoes help mop up the broth.
There's just time for a shared dessert of a Lemon Pot before curtain-up, and it amply satisfies the sweet tooth with it's edge of tartness.
The Canton Arms is a real find, especially in this neck of the woods, and we know we'll be back for more. 

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