All You Can Eat
Canteen, the Design District’s joyful, SelgasCano-designed food hall, has just opened. We meet the creative chefs with a knack for street food who have set up home there to find out what they’ll be cooking up and which not-to-be-missed signature dishes you should look out for. Hope you’re feeling hungry.
Ehla
Ehla offers up all things eastern Mediterranean, which means they know their way around a falafel and have a flair for whipping up technicolour salads that are pretty enough to tempt even the most reluctant. Whether you’re after something to share or keep to yourself, their nourishing fare is sure to satisfy.
Describe your food in three words:
Healthy, vibrant flavours.
What drew you to this kind of food and what do you love about it?
We both have links to Cyprus and grew up eating this delicious, healthy and wholesome food. Cypriot food consists of a whole array of cuisines from Turkish, Greek, Arabic, English and Middle Eastern, so we wanted to bring this incredible merging of cuisines to the streets of London in the awesome form of Ehla.
What’s your signature dish and what makes it so special?
The falafel wrap – everyone loves it! Some people aren’t keen on falafel until they have tried ours; we make everyone love falafel as much as we do. Our Falafel Wrap has grown and evolved with the business and it continues to get more and more incredible.
Eat Lah
Husband and wife duo Rob and Mel started Eat Lah in 2019, offering Londoners the chance to give Malaysian food the love it deserves. The menu is hooked around nasi kerabu, a flavour-filled dish served with blue (yes really) rice, alongside snack boxes for the indecisive and Insta-worthy desserts.
Describe your food in three words:
Delicious, colourful, exciting.
What drew you to this kind of food and what do you love about it?
We go back to Malaysia at least once a year and every time we go, nasi kerabu is always on the list to eat. The blue rice gets people curious and it’s a great conversation starter. We’re constantly creating new dishes with South-East Asian flavours, like pandan panna cotta and matcha bun with coconut jam. Ultimately, we just want to share food that is really delicious but not that well known.
What’s your signature dish and what makes it so special?
It’s got to be our nasi kerabu with a cham cham (mixed) topping. The most popular is nasi kerabu with coconut chicken and satay chicken and, for our veggie lovers, grilled tofu with grilled aubergine is also very yummy. When it comes to our sweets, pandan panna cotta is always a fan favourite, too.
Raastawala
Whipping up Northern Indian-inspired food from recipes handed down through generations, Raastawala (that’s ‘street vendor’ in Hindi) is a family affair. Founded by Rinku Dutt and her husband, Neelan, and father, Ron, the idea was sparked after she clocked how much the guests at her wedding enjoyed the traditional Kolkata food that was served up.
Describe your food in three words:
Gastronomic Kolkata street food.
What drew you to this kind of food and what do you love about it?
It’s food from my parents’ hometown, Kolkata, cooked with honour and love. Each dish has a story and history behind it, which I find fascinating. Being able to share these dishes and seeing the satisfaction on our customers’ faces makes all the hard work worth it!
What’s your signature dish and what makes it so special?
Our Kolkata kati roll – a soft pillowy naan, cooked with an egg and spices, filled with either our spicy lamb kebabs, 24-hour marinated tandoori chicken or cheeky chickpeas, loaded with salads and drizzled with award-winning sauces, wrapped and served to you with love. The meat is prepared according to our family recipes handed down by two generations, and our chilli and coriander chutney has been awarded three stars at the Great Taste Awards – you’ll know why it’s special once you’ve tried it.
Toasted by GB Charcuterie
These guys are charcuterie experts and know just where to source the very best cured meats and fine cheese. And, at Design District Canteen, they’re turning their attention to next-level sandwiches filled with everything from fish and chips to wagyu salt beef. As if that wasn’t enough, they’re serving raclette, too. The stuff that dreams are made of.
Describe your food in three words:
Delicious, artisan, British.
What drew you to this kind of food and what do you love about it?
I've always loved a good sandwich and it seemed the natural next step, combining amazing GB Charcuterie products with the best bread we can get our hand on.
What’s your signature dish and what makes it so special?
The pastrami sandwich. We’ve spent years working on the recipe for this pastrami and it’s definitely paid off. It’s a 12-day process from start to finish but worth it! We use great wagyu beef for the extra fat and organic timut pepper for a fruity, vibrant finish.
GUASA
Guasa serves up an irresistibly heady combination of Venezuelan arepa buns (fluffy corn buns piled high with decadent fillings), nourishing bowls and rum cocktails. A London street food stalwart dreamed up by David Gutierrez (it has an outpost in Madrid, too) that you’ll love.
Describe your food in three words:
Tasty, unique and gluten-free.
What drew you to Venezuelan food and what do you love about it?
I am Venezuelan, and I wanted to share part of my culture with the world, bring some innovations to what we do and create incredible experiences for our customers – we love seeing people’s reactions when they have one of our arepas for the first time.
What’s your signature dish and what makes it so special?
The Two Little Pigs arepa. It’s an amazing mix of flavours; roasted pork loin mixed with caramelized onions and served with grilled goat’s cheese and fresh coriander, topped up with pork belly crackling. It’s one of our bestsellers and proof that you can create mouth-watering combinations and keep them 100% gluten-free.
