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Lodged in Whitechapel’s trendy New Road Hotel, this British chophouse mixes clashing, geometric chairs with exposed ceiling innards and mirrored panelling. A younger, smouldering Marco Pierre White holding a cleaver is blown up on the walls and menus. The playlist was almost as nostalgic as the snaps, an ’80s mashup of Bowie, Eurythmics and Spandau Ballet.
As for the food, it’s poshed-up British fare with a French accent, inspired by London’s ’60s chophouses, which served individual portions of meat to wealthy customers. This is still the case: the cheapest steak here is £26.50, but it was cooked to perfection. My French friend asked for hers blue and it was served teal, no bother, along with blistered tomatoes on the vine and a freshly made bearnaise that was liquid gold. There were decent fish and veggie dishes, too: melba toast with smoked mackerel brandade was more like pâté, coarse enough to fork but gloriously fishy.
Without much fanfare, the entire menu is pork-free and halal. If you fancy diverging from Whitechapel’s stellar curry houses, this semi-shrine to MPW has the chops and ticks the boxes.