wallet beaten black & blue
The evening was billed as a return to form - a meet of the ex-Presidents for an impromptu meat club steak and anyone who fancied coming down should just turn up - Tig had the table booked for 15 (optimisitic), so all was covered.
The venue was Black & Blue in Borough Market, apparently the fifth and latest edition to the chain - there are others in Kensington Church Street, Wigmore Street and Belsize Park. The B&B guys claim there is no secret to a great steak just Scottish meat, matured on the bone for at least three weeks. Hence, the sirloin, rib-eye, fillet, T-bone & côte de boeuf that dominate the menu are pretty good. However, I think the occasion and the evening got the better of me and I failed to notice some serious issues until much later.
Before the moan, the steak was good - fillet perfectly rare and a 600g côte de boeuf that had Nico rolling out looked amazing, chips were OK - and all topped by the fact that we were served by Penelope Cruz’s younger sister made things on the surface reasonably good. However, the venue is huge - fronted by a large bar and all greenhouse glass, it only serves to attract the worst of the suits and city boys. To match this the steaks cash in at approx. £20 a shot. OK, OK, London prices and everything, but this takes the piss - marks up are all good, but when you are clearly paying to keep the suits in a style that suits, it leaves you with a less than pleasant after taste. The trouble is this is now a precadent and relatively normal steak dinners are becoming steeper and steeper.
Lesson learned though and advice steering clear of the city, unless you want to feel like an Ally McBeal extra….
Borough Market
1-2 Rochester Walk
SE1 9AF
T: 020 7357 9922