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Reviews of London's Restaurants, Supper Clubs and Hotels, Wine Tastings, Travel Writing, and Home to the Japanese and French Supper Clubs in Islington
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Name: Beef & Brew Haggerston at The Duke of York
Where: The Duke of York, 33 Downham Road, N1 5AA, http://www.beef-and-brew.co.uk
Cost: A 3-course meal will cost around £35 per person not including drinks and service. Starters are priced from £3.50 to £6.75, steaks from £10 to £19.50. There is a Friday lunch and every day early bird (5.30-7.00pm) menu at £10 for hanger steak and chips or burger and chips. Desserts are ice-creams and sorbet or priced at up to £5.50 for 3 scoops, or sundaes at £6.50.
About: Beef & Brew has been operating from a small venue in Kentish Town, offering in their own words 'quality steak without the price tag' from grass-fed cattle. Owned by ex-Murano chef Jessica Simmons and former City worker Daniel Nathan, Beef & Brew's signature sirloin comes from 14 year old retired dairy cows, known as Txuleta from Galicia, while fillet cuts come from Swaldale Foods' native-breed cattle in North Yorkshire, and onglet from grass-fed Herefords. All their steaks are dipped in beef dripping before being quickly chargrilled.
Beef & Brew opened a second and larger branch at the former Duke of York pub (dating from 1822) in Haggerston in July 2018, with a more extensive menu than the sister branch.
It is a true pub-restaurant, with a bar and stools for those who just want a pint, but most of the area is given over to dining tables. With solid wood floors, the walls a harmonious blend of metro tiles, bare brick and exposed industrial ducting, its a relaxed and informal place to wine and dine. And most commendably - it is a dog friendly pub-restaurant!
What We Ate: Brisket jam nuggets (£5.50) were little cubes of well-seasoned pulled brisket, wrapped in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Delicious.
Devilled sardines (£6.75), freshly grilled in a spicy chilli rub, were bracing, served with a cooling cucumber, herb and yoghurt quenelle.
Best of the starters though was the grilled squid served with ultra-thin slices of sweet pickled fennel, and a lightly spiced Romesco sauce (£6.50). Made from garlic, old bread, almonds, vinegar and paprika, the Romesco was spicy, nutty and was the perfect accompaniment for the grilled seafood.
Having been lucky enough to sample some wonderful Txuleta mature beef on a recent trip to Galicia, we just had to try the Galician sirloin (£19.50), one with Bearnaise sauce, the other with truffled hollandaise (both £1.50). Naturally firmer than your average 2-year old sirloin (the usual culling age for beef cattle), this cut was richly flavoursome, slightly gamey, served medium-rare with golden yellow fat, and a real steal at this price for 250g of prime Txuleta.
As side dishes, the chips, gravy and beer cheese (£5.50) - similar to a Canadian poutine except with beer cheese not cheese curd - were rich, tangy and flavourful.
Smoked aubergine with honey and miso (£5.50) - an adaptation of Japanese nasu dengaku - was meltingly tender, with deliciously smoky notes from the char-grilled flesh. The lightly pickled, sweet daikon ribbon was a great garnish, adding freshness and texture.
Although the gnocchi'n cheese with jalapeños (£5.50) looked a tad dry, the interior was anything but. We loved this.
For dessert, we shared a sundae of pistachio, chocolate sorbet, poached cherries and chocolate sauce (£6.50). I enjoyed the combination of flavours here - nutty, chocolatey yet light and with aromatic cherries.
What We Drank: There is an excellent range of craft beers on draft and in bottle. The entry level wines, both priced at £19, are a Spanish Pinot Bianco - Garganega blend, while the red is a French Merlot - Grenache blend. We opted to share a bottle of Papa Figos Douro wine from Portugal (£30). With red berry fruit, fresh acidity and light tannins, this went down a treat with the Galician sirloin.
Likes: Highlights included the grilled squid with Romesco sauce and the Galician Txuleta sirloin. Beef & Brew has helpful and knowledgeable staff, a casual vibe despite the obvious focus on top-quality food, and best of all, it is dog-friendly too. So bring your pooches!
Dislikes: None
Verdict: Beef & Brew is the local steakhouse any foodie would love to have on their doorstep, and so I'm lucky to live just a few blocks away. I can't wait to return with my doggies, and next up will be one of their burgers with steak salad and a craft beer! Or perhaps I will just have the magnificent Galician Txuleta again. Highly recommended.
Name: Smith & Wollensky
Where: The Adelphi Building, Covent Garden Riverside, 1 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT, http://www.smithandwollensky.co.uk
Cost: At dinner time, starters range from £7 to £19, salads from £10 to £12. There is of course a wide selection of steaks, including British rib-eye at £38 for 400g, the tomahawk 1kg steak to share at £74, and Beef Wellington with porcini cream sauce at £39. The USDA prime dry-aged steaks come in at a higher price point, include a sirloin at 395g for £48, and a T-bone 700g steak for £78.
About: Located on the south-side of the Strand by the Savoy Hotel, the Adelphi Building in which Smith & Wollensky is situated has been extensively redeveloped.
The building, once a drab Westminster Civil Service office block, now hosts the first UK branch of the American steak restaurant, Smith & Wollensky, which opened in 2015.
Constructed with a great deal of care to create a 1920s feel in keeping with the building's exterior, the restaurant has wooden floors made from recycled railway sleepers.
There is bespoke artwork on the walls, and the seating is a mixture of soft red leather banquettes and jade-green leather chairs. I loved the gorgeous selection of art deco lights, and the bar and serving areas all topped in white marble.
The restaurant is huge, set over two floors with more than 300 covers. Since Autumn 2016, it features a fully licensed bar in the basement which is a great spot for a glamorous cocktail, with or without dinner.
But what drew me to Smith & Wollensky was their legendary top quality steaks, hailing from across the pond. Pride of place goes to the USDA prime steaks from corn-fed American cattle, imported then dry-aged for 28 days in-house.
I was given a pre-dinner tour of the kitchen and chiller room, and saw for myself the huge chunks of USDA and British meat dry-aging there. It’s a huge cost for the restaurant to age its own steaks, but this guarantees diners at Smith & Wollensky that every steak they eat is dry-aged for a minimum of 28 days.
In addition to USDA beef, there is also a comprehensive selection of steaks from British and Irish grass-fed cattle, as well as seafood and lobster platters.
What We Ate: We shared three starters – the hand-dived Scottish scallop with garlic and parsley butter was meaty and delectable with the herbed butter topped with shavings of lemon zest.
Their signature jumbo lump crab cake was equally good – with a generous ratio of crab to other ingredients, it was again meaty and full of flavour. I just wish I could have had another one!
The yellow fin tuna tartare was delightfully fresh, served on a base of cucumber, lemon, avocado and wasabi. It came with a sweet citrus ponzu sauce, and topped with a lotus root crisp.
We wanted to try a like-for-like comparison of USDA corn fed and Irish grass-fed beef, so went for the USDA 28 day aged T-bone steak 700g (£72), to compare with the Irish tomahawk (1Kg, £74).
The Irish beef was flavoursome and tender, accompanied by a perfect hollandaise sauce – rich, velvety and with refreshing acidity.
The USDA T-bone steak though was in another league – intensely marbled and with a remarkable depth of richness and flavour. This was the best steak I have eaten in years. I am told that it was aged for 33 days, rather than the usual 28.
To accompany, we struggled to make a choice as the options all looked so good, including the very tempting lobster mac n cheese, but we decided against it as we were eating enough steak for 4 people!
We settled on an utterly delicious truffled mac n’ cheese (£10), some divine creamed spinach (£10), crispy French fries (£4) and pan-fried field mushrooms (£5). I thoroughly enjoyed them all.
For dessert, we shared a refreshing coconut and passionfruit mousse, with tarragon poached pineapple (£8).
What We Drank: The wine list has a strong focus on American wines, and particularly on full-bodied red wines. There is a very large selection of first-growths from Bordeaux as well. The entry level white is a Touraine Sauvignon at £34, while there is a Mont Rocher Carignan red from Languedoc at £28.
Before dinner, we had the two house special cocktails (£16 each). These were super-sized, triple-measure American-style Martinis and Manhattans. The Manhattan was a mix of three parts Bulleit Bourbon, to half parts each of sweet and dry vermouth, with a drop each of Angostura and Peychaud's bitters.
The Martini was marvelously dry, with 75ml Tanqueray gin to 5ml dry Vermouth, stirred.
With our starters, we had a bottle of Grgich Hills Estate Fume Blanc from Napa Valley (£95) which was elegant, rich and creamy, with lemon, vegetal and mineral notes.
To accompany our steaks, we shared a bottle of The Federalist 'Duelling Pistols', from Sonoma, California (£95). This blend of Zinfandel and Syrah was a massive, powerful wine with rich cherry fruit, sweet cedar and vanilla notes, a good grip of balancing tannins, and an admirably long finish.
Likes: Gorgeous 1920s Art Deco interior, great location on quiet John Adam Street just behind the Savoy Hotel, huge wine list, and the best steak I’ve eaten for a very long time. Friendly and knowledgeable service.
Dislikes: None
Verdict: Smith & Wollensky is my steak house of choice in London right now. I cannot wait to return for more of their 28-day aged USDA T-bone steak, the truffled mac n’ cheese, and the super-sized Martinis. Very highly recommended.
Name: Boyds Grill & Wine Bar
Where: 8 Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5BY, http://www.boydsgrillandwinebar.co.uk/
Cost: Hot and cold small eats are all priced at £5. Charcuterie and cheese platters for sharing between two cost £19.95. Grilled meat or fish main courses range from £14 to £50, with most being around the £15 to £20 mark. Side dishes are £4.
The wine list is comprehensive, with a focus on classic French regions, but with a good representation of wines from England, the rest of Europe and the New World. There is a good selection of wines by the glass. By the bottle, the entry-level white is a Solano Blanco 2014 from Galicia, Spain at £21.50. The red, at the same price point, is a Tarabilla Tinto 2014 also from Galicia. Prices ascend as far as the Cos d'Estournel 'Les Pagodes de Cos' 2009 at £192.50.
About: Situated on the ground floor of the The Grand Hotel, Trafalgar Square, Boyds Grill & Wine Bar is set in a sumptuous room, dating back to the origins of the hotel, with black and white marble walls and floors, and a glamorous copper-topped bar in the centre of the dining area.
The menu, designed by Executive British chef Nate Brewster, features an extensive range of grilled meats, all cooked on a high heat, eco-friendly Synergy Grill, which claims to retain the natural juices of the meat and give it an authentic barbecue charred flavour.
Signature dishes include a Tomahawk rib steak, served with two sides and two sauces (1.2kg, £70 to share), and braised short rib sandwich with caramelised onion, rocket and jus (£10.95).
There is a range of British meats to choose for the grill, including British Wagyu beef, Scottish Black Gold beef, Welsh lamb, Suffolk pork and Norfolk black chicken. For those with fish and seafood in mind, there is a selection of small plates and fish dishes.
If you get to visit Boyds Grill & Wine Bar, the Dessert Bar experience is not be missed – for £11.95 per person, the pastry chef will prepare (and demonstrate) up to 11 different types of ice cream and sorbet using liquid nitrogen, but more on that later.
What We Had: We started with a selection of small eats (£5 each) and a glass of fine Nyetimber Classic Cuvee 2010 (£10 per glass). The salmon tartare with avocado, mango and chilli was zingy, well seasoned and beautifully presented.
Equally good were the Mac n Cheese croquettes (with Wookey Hole cheddar), served with Boyds own bbq sauce. Crunchy on the outside but cheesy and delicious inside, I love Mac n’ Cheese in any shape or form, and these were no exception.
The duck liver parfait with crispy brioche, fig and mandarin meringue was also good – I particularly liked the citrusy, sweet meringue combined with the creamy liver parfait, a revelation.
I enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek fish and shellfish goujons deep-fried in beer batter and served with a curried hollandaise much like a posh chippy's curry sauce.
We were very impressed by the eclectic and surprisingly well priced wine list, we went a bit overboard on our choices. Accompanying our starters, we ordered 3 different whites: the Austrian Gruner Veltliner, Lossterrassen Weingut 2014 (£8.25 per glass) was a good example of its kind, with apricot and gooseberry flavours. The Croatian Primus Reisling, Bolfan 2012 (£7 per glass) was rich and off-dry, with green apple and mineral aromas. Best of all was the Puilly Fuisse 'Vieilles Vignes' 2014, from Domain Patriarche, Burgundy (£10.25 per glass) - made from 100% chardonnay, this was rich and concentrated with subtle tropical fruit aromas.
The starters were followed by a scrumptious meat platter (all Boyds meat comes from British farms), including pork chop (£17), Black Gold rib eye, lamb hogget (£18), and Wagyu minute steak. Lamb is a sheep aged up to 1 year, while the hogget is aged between 1 and 2 years (over 2 years it becomes mutton). The hogget had a great depth of flavour while still retaining the tenderness of lamb.
Boyds gets its Wagyu from Sussex, where native cows have been crossed with Red Wagyu from Australia and the USA. The final product is a 28 day dry-aged, beautifully marbled and tender cut of beef.
Sides (£4 each) were assorted seasonal vegetables, Parmesan fries and triple cooked sweet potato wedges, served with lemon, thyme and Port jus, and a Béarnaise sauce (£1.95 each). The Parmesan fries were among the finest chips I have ever had the pleasure of eating - light, fluffy, crisp and cheesy all at the same time.
With the meats, we had an outstanding glass of Gevrey Chambertin 'Vieilles Vignes' 2011 from Domain Gerard Seguin (£67 per bottle). Refined and elegant, this had delicate redcurrant fruit and a surprisingly long finish.
The Chateauneuf du Pape 'Le Calice de St-Pierre' 2014 (£47 per bottle) was altogether more robust as would be expected from this hot climate area, and more than a match for the richer meats, with black berry fruit and a good grip of tannin.
One of my favourite red wines is Chateau Musar 2007, from the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon (£61 per bottle). This was an excellent vintage, with brambles, plums, leather, tobacco and just a hint of mushroom.
After dinner, there is an option for diners to have the Dessert Bar Experience (£11.95 per person), where some amazing ice creams are rustled up to order.
The Dessert Bar experience includes up to 11 different ice creams and sorbets, from a mind-boggling array of fruit creams and purées, where guests are invited to select their favourite flavours. They are then mixed with liquid nitrogen at -190 degrees centigrade, to create an amazingly light and airy ice cream. The Dessert Bar Experience can also be enjoyed on its own, without any requirement to eat dinner at the restaurant.
We started with “Dragon's Breath” – a selection of flavoured, superchilled meringues that literally froze the breath, followed by the ice creams.
Some highlights were intensely flavoured and creamy blackberry and raspberry ice creams. The Jack Daniels ice cream came on a classic vanilla base, while the lemon sorbet made with Limoncello was mouthwateringly refreshing.
We went on to have some increasingly unusual flavours - why go for vanilla when you can have smoked strawberry, smoky bacon, English breakfast tea, canned pork and picallilli, dill and cream cheese, and even smoked salmon and wasabi!
With dessert, we had a chilled and creamy cocktail of Baileys, Sambuca and Espresso that went down a treat.
Likes: Trafalgar Square location, elegant dining room, fantastic chips, a great selection of grilled beef, Wagyu and other meats. The small eats are well made and very reasonably priced. Loved the Dessert Bar Experience!
Dislikes: None
Verdict: A perfect meal for me at Boyds Grill and Wine Bar starts with their Black Gold rib eye accompanied by the scrumptious Parmesan chips and a large glass of 2007 Chateau Musar. The Dessert Bar is an experience not to be missed, and is worth a trip to the restaurant in its own right. I cannot wait to return. Highly recommended.
