London Restaurant Reviews - Chapters All Day Dining

Josper Grilling @ Chapters All Day Dining

Over the last few years, Blackheath has become a foodie destination and a hub for some excellent dining. Places like Friday Food Club (one of my favourite London underground restaurants), the micro brewery Zero Degrees, Boulangerie Jade, and more recently Chapters All Day Dining are leading the way and showing sceptical North Londoners how expertly it can be done down South.

I am always surprised when I meet Londoners who haven’t heard of Blackheath despite it being only 12 minutes by train from London Bridge and one of the most picturesque spots in London. So when I was recently invited by Douglas Blyde of Intoxicating Prose to a Bloggers Dinner at Chapters in Blackheath with The Wine Sleuth, Greedy Diva, Eat Like a Girl, and London Eater, it didn’t take much persuasion for me to accept the invitation.

Sister to the Michelin starred restaurant Chapter One, Chapters All Day Dining is a more informal, brasserie style eatery, with an understated, casual feel about it – the decor is well thought out with exposed brickwork, wood flooring, large mirrors along its walls, and unobtrusive lighting. I enjoyed the informality of the dining rooms and felt instantly at ease in them.

Chapters All Day Dining is one of the 9 London restaurants, including Chapter One, to use a Josper oven for grilling all its steaks, some of the fish and seafood starters, and also desserts. An impressive piece of machinery invented in Spain over 35 years ago, the Josper (pronounced Hosper) is both an oven and grill, a “closed barbeque” made of insulating materials capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 1,000˚C.

This dual functionality helps the food to be cooked much faster than in traditional barbeques by allowing the unit to maintain high cooking temperatures for extended periods of time. It also greatly enhances the flavour of the foods being cooked by searing them on the outside, keeping the juices locked inside whilst giving an intense barbeque/smoky taste.

On this occasion, we had the pleasure of meeting the head chef Trevor Tobin and the restaurant manager Philip Urasala who accompanied us throughout the meal and introduced the wines being matched to each course.

To kick off proceedings, we were served an assortment of delicious starters from the restaurant’s new summer menu including:

“Josper baked mackerel, spiced puy lentils and aubergine, apple puree” @ £5.25 and “Baked scallops & chorizo, sweet chilli dressing, baby herb salad” @ £9.95 - these were both sensational; the fatty mackerel and scallops had a delicious and very noticeable smoky/barbecue flavour from the Josper

“Serrano ham, salad of rocket and goats cheese, grilled sour dough” @ £6.50 and “Terrine of potted ham hock and black pudding, Piccalilli, grilled sour dough” @ £5.95 – the terrine was deliciously spicy with hints of mace and nutmeg, and having the grilled sour dough served already buttered was also a nice touch.

“Salad of warm Kentish asparagus, poached egg & Hollandaise sauce” @ £6.50 and “Salad of chicory, pear, walnuts and blue cheese” £4.95 – both salads were very good but the combination of asparagus, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce was my favourite.

“Risotto of wild garlic and crème fraiche” @ £5.25 – deliciously creamy, the rice had been perfectly cooked, remaining still slightly al dente. This was one of the best starters, and a real steal at this price.

The starters were sensational, and I suspect that the main courses on the menu, priced between £8.95 and £12.95, would have been equally good. But this restaurant’s raison d’être is its Josper grilled steaks, and to show us what Chapters is all about, Trevor served us a variety of different cuts of beef.

Our first was an 18-day dry aged Cumbrian Black Angus fillet steak, sourced from W. G Butchers in Smithfields. Beef fillet, despite being one of the tenderest cuts, is one I hardly ever cook or order – being the leanest part, it is also one of the least flavoursome. The meat had been cooked medium rare - it was also surprisingly tasty, and with a delicate seared crust on the outside. The Josper grilling had, as expected, given the meat an intense charcoal flavour. This is the most expensive meat item on the menu, priced at £23.95 for a 200g fillet steak.

The Australian, 40-day, dry aged Hereford rib-eye steak was served next. A much fattier cut, good quality rib-eye steaks usually show a good amount of marbling which also helps to make it one of the tastiest. Trevor cooked the rib-eye medium, caramelizing the outside whilst keeping the meat pink and succulent inside. At £19.95 for a 320g rib-eye steak (minimum 30-day wet age), this is the second most expensive cut on the menu.

The next meat being served was the English hanger steak, also known as skirt or onglet. Skirt steak is the animal’s diaphragm, a working muscle and therefore with a tendency for toughness if not properly cooked. Ideal for quick flash frying/grilling or for very slow cooking (braising), this is the cut of choice for many Chinese stir-fries, fajitas and Cornish pasties.

Chapters’ hanger steak had been quickly seared and was served rare. It had a dense texture and a deliciously rich flavour. Priced at £11.50, the 250g hanger steak is Chapters’ best value choice.

I really enjoyed the fillet and rib-eye steaks, and felt that the hanger steak was also excellent. The best however was still to come. We were next presented with a selection of various steaks, served on the bone, including porterhouse, t-bone, sirloin and rib-eye from both USA and UK in a like for like comparison.

Both the t-bone and porterhouse cuts have a fillet on one side and a sirloin on the other, with the main difference being that the porterhouse will have a larger fillet. The meats tasted deliciously sweet, probably due to their proximity to the bone, but also succulent and full of flavour.

The American steaks were USDA Prime Graded beef (United States Department of Agriculture). USDA Prime is the most superior grade, with Choice and Select being the second and third grades respectively. The USDA Prime steak has the highest degree of fat (much higher than its UK cousin), and is derived from younger animals.

I was highly impressed by the intensity of flavour of the USDA Prime cuts, and in my opinion, they tasted far superior to their UK equivalent. All premium steaks on the bone are priced at £4.50 per 100g and cost significantly less than Goodman’s equivalent priced at £6.25 per 100g.

The desserts are also well worth a mention, they were all excellent and well presented and ended the meal very nicely. These included:

“Warm treacle tart with clotted cream” @ £5.25.

“Valrhona chocolate fondant, raisin puree, caramelised walnut ice cream” @ £5.85.

“Coconut parfait, Josper baked banana, passion fruit sauce” @ £5.25.

A big thank you to Douglas, Trevor and Philip for inviting me to this event. For a more detailed description of the different cuts of beef, and a more technical perspective, have a read of the reviews by Kang (London Eater) and Carly (Greedy Diva).

Cost: this was a complimentary meal but I have quoted prices of all the dishes we tried. I estimate that a three course meal would cost in the region of £30 to £35 per person depending on the type of steak ordered (excluding service and drinks).

Likes: top grade meats, beautifully aged and packed with flavour, Josper grilling which greatly enhances flavour, reasonable prices and excellent wine list in a charming location. My recommendation would be a dry-aged, USDA Prime rib-eye steak on the bone cooked medium rare.

Dislikes: None.

Verdict: I cannot wait to return to Chapters All Day Dining and try more of their Josper Grilled steaks. I was very impressed and feel this is one of the best and most reasonably priced steak houses in London at the moment. Very highly recommended.

London Best Independent Cafés – Pavilion Café

Pavilion Café - Victoria Park, E9

Dr G and I recently had a Saturday morning outing from Islington to Victoria Park, jogging along Regent’s Canal. Tired but exhilarated on one of the few beautiful summer days this year, we staggered to the refurbished lakeside Pavilion Cafe for a reviving breakfast.

The lovely glass rotunda is encircled by a mishmash of tables made from old wooden benches and chairs overlooking a splendid lake and fountain. Apart from the charming location, the real draw is the food which is a real cut above what you might expect in a public park.

Delicious dishes are written up on blackboard walls, with the likes of Eggs Benedict (with ham) @ £6.50 or Royale (with smoked salmon) @ £7, and variations on English breakfast. The ingredients are all well sourced (Ginger Pig meats, Monmouth coffees) and, where possible, organic.

The only downside is the place's popularity - on a sunny day it's invariably over-run. Fortunately, there are more seats next to the lake, so it's worth taking a numbered marker and waiting at one of the tables for your food to arrive.

Normally we go for the Eggs Benedict or Eggs Royale but on this occasion, we opted to try the cafe’s cooked breakfasts. I ordered a “Pavilion Breakfast” @£8 (fried egg, bacon, sausage, mushroom, roast tomatoes, home baked beans and toast).

Dr G had the “Farmhouse Breakfast” @£8.50 (2 eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, homemade beans and toast), with two steaming mugs of orange-brown coloured ‘builder’s tea’.

The breakfast options we chose were of course fairly standard however the quality of the ingredients made all the difference - the black pudding was richly flavoured, with a gamey, spicy quality while the bacon was thick, irregularly cut and with a pleasing texture.

The baked beans were homemade, with the skin of the yielding beans still in place, a delicious, richly concentrated and herby tomato sauce, thankfully lacking the artificial taste of the tinned equivalent. The tea was good and strong as befits this kind of breakfast.

Cost: £8 to £8.50 for the cooked breakfast + £1 per mug of builder’s tea.

Likes: great lakeside location, delicious homemade, organic produce and excellent brunch menu.

Dislikes: On a summer weekend, the place is packed, the kitchen and serving staff struggle to cope and service may vary from charming to plain rude.

Verdict: A wonderful venue for a lazy breakfast or brunch after a night on the tiles. The quality of ingredients is good with prices to match. Recommended.

London Restaurant Reviews - Belgo Centraal

Lobsterfest @ Belgo’s

Just as 17 years ago when I lived in Chalk Farm and first started going to Belgo Noord, today I am still struck by the originality of the ideas introduced by this restaurant to the London food scene. Not only has it made moules frites an affordable and accessible choice, but it has also introduced a vast range of top quality Belgian beers to many Londoners.

Few people were familiar with Belgian food in the UK in the early 90s; dishes like Waterzooi and Beef Carbonnade were relatively unknown, and the concept of partnering food and beer was also novel.

Belgo also introduced us to the concept of “cuisine a la bière” where beer is used as a marinade, sauce or flavouring, and I cannot think of any other type of beer which would be more appropriate to this style of cooking. The meat in “Beef Carbonnade” is braised in sweet Gueuze, a sparkling sour beer, while the slow cooked shank of lamb is served with DeKoninck beer and balsamic jus.

The idea of preparing and cooking mussels can be a frightening prospect, but at £12.95 for a large pot, eating moules frites is no longer a daunting or expensive affair.

Belgo was also one of the first restaurants to open its kitchens to the public, when the concept of “open plan kitchen” was still to be adopted and popularised by other restaurant chains.

The design of its restaurants is as cutting edge as when it first opened. I like the combination of different elements like the exposed bricks against the copper walls, the long canteen style wooden tables and the roughly polished cement floor. These elements come together helping to create a modern and vibrant restaurant.

Dr G and I went to Belgo to try the 2010 Lobsterfest menu which is available throughout the month of June. All the dishes that we ordered, apart from the desserts, were lobster based.

For starter, Dr G had a “Red Thai lobster” @ £8.95 (half a Canadian 1lb lobster baked with a lightly spiced and nutty red Thai curry sauce).

I am not one to mess around with lobster (I prefer mine simply grilled with garlic butter), but I was very impressed by the combination of flavours in this dish - the light Thai curry sauce gave some welcome chilli notes that offset the succulent, perfectly cooked lobster meat .

The half lobster had been beautifully dressed with the intact meat from its claw sitting under the sauce at the top end of the lobster.

I ordered a “Lobster Thermidor” @ £8.95 (half a Canadian 1lb lobster grilled with a light cheese, mustard and Orval beer) – this was again delicious with the creamy, mustard sauce accompanying the sweet meat perfectly.

To accompany our starters we shared a bottle of “Chimay Tripel” @ £4.95 and another of “Steenbrugge Blonde” @ £4.35. These were excellent recommendations by our waitress, as both had a sweet spiciness, and long yeasty finish which stood up well to the Thai red curry.

We also tried the “Lobster Bisque” @ £4.95 – this is one of the cleverest dishes on any menu as little if any lobster meat is actually used for its preparation. I make this whenever we eat lobsters at home. The lobster shells are fried in butter and garlic together with a mixture of onion, celery and carrots. The mixture is then transferred to a saucepan while the frying pan is deglazed with white wine. Lobster stock is then added to the saucepan with some herbs, tomato puree, paprika and cream before sieving the soup.

Belgo’s version was excellent, with a strong lobster flavour, and a richness coming through from the brandy, tomatoes and cream. I could also taste a dash of heat from the paprika which added another layer of complexity to the soup. The bread was deliciously flavoured with caraway seeds.

For the main course, Dr G had a “Grilled whole lobster with frites” @ £17.95. The lobster had been halved and topped with garlic and Pernod butter. The aniseed flavour of the Pernod butter worked well with the sweetness of the lobster meat and garlic; the lobster was sizeable and very good value at £17.95.

I opted for “Whole surf and turf” @ £24.95 – a whole grilled lobster with garlic and Pernod butter served with a 60z sirloin steak and frites. The flavours were distinct and simple but combined very well together.

The double-fried chips were the perfect accompaniment to both dishes – they were very hot and deliciously crispy.

To match our main courses, we had a bottle of blond ale “Tripel Karmeliet” @ £4.95 and an amber beer called “Pauwel Kwak” @ £4.95. These were again recommended by our waitress to accompany the more robust main dishes and I felt they matched our choices well. Dark orange in colour, they both had a good balance of hops and malt, and a sweet, fruity nose.

The dessert menu had quite a few choices varying from £4.75 to £5.25. I ordered a “Hazelnut ice cream with Chantilly and toffee apple sauce” @ £4.75 which had an intense nutty flavour but was light and refreshing.

Dr G opted for “Creme brulee with tuile biscuit” @ £5.50 – the brulee was perfectly set and creamy, and black vanilla seeds were visible in the custard, with a delicious crust of caramelised sugar on top.

The wine list is well thought out and outstanding value with a good spread of choices varying from £14.25 to £24.95. There is only one bottle over £20 in any of the categories (white, red, rose or sparkling).

Cost: this was a complimentary meal but I have quoted prices of all the dishes we tried. I estimate that a 3 course meal during Lobsterfest (starter and main course being lobster) will cost £32 per person or £24 on the standard menu excluding drinks.

Likes: perfectly cooked lobster, great value for money, central location, fine Belgian beers and delicious double fried chips.

Dislikes: due to the low arched ceilings and informal dining style, the restaurant, particularly the Centraal branch, can get noisy.

Verdict: I cannot think of a better venue for top quality, well priced lobster dishes in London today. The whole grilled lobster @ £17.95 is comparable to fishmonger prices, and the moules frites @ £12.95 is also excellent value. A great place to try a large array of Belgian beers in a central location. Very highly recommended.