Pottering around the spangly new Bankside commercial development in search of vittles, it quickly became clear that as Tsuru Sushi was closed and neither Leon, nor any of the local gastro-pub-ified glass boxes (nor any of the menus displayed therein) exhibited the necessary gravitas for a Saturday night's gastronomics, we'd have to potter straight back to Borough Market in search of something more substantial - if ideally less financially crippling on this occasion than the nearby Brindisa. Eschewing oysters and friends, given the neighbourhood (and my obsession with steaks), we settled swiftly upon Black & Blue, a Bankside-standard chrome-and-glass enclosure of brick caverns and bright lights promising decent cuts of beef with less-than stellar price tags.
Though the welcome was cordial, I was a bit put off by our placement right in the corner of the restaurant, even though I expressed a clear preference for other obviously free tables in the centre of the room. The hostess explained that they liked to keep those free for pushing together in case larger groups came in, and though I didn't particularly like it, it seemed reasonable from their point of view, so I wearily submitted.
As the menu was standard steakhouse fayre, I summarily ignored all but the "steaks" section and, foregoing the indulgence of a côte du boeuf all to myself on the grounds of common decency, plumped happily for the ribeye. By contrast somewhat more mysterious than its carnivorous counterpart, the wine list only stated years for a couple of its members, notably 2001 vintages with big numbers next to the pound signs. The waitress provided years for a select few we asked about, and one particular '2005' response made the associated St. Emilion Grand Cru an inevitable - and, as it turned out, impeccable - choice. Smooth, round and yet grand, with distinct blackcurrant overtones. Winner.
Onto the food, from the outer edge in. The walnut and cheese side salad was definitely dressed, despite my asking twice for it to be naked, but it wasn't an overpowering vestment, so no particular fuss was needed. Good chips, crisp and light; good, if unexpectedly fiery, pepper sauce, light on the cream and heavy on the spice. Unusually, perhaps in an access of intuition, I'd asked for the ribeye rare rather than blue, and given the graininess of the bone-side meat, this was an inspired choice. The extremely solid steak knife felt a little like it was tearing rather than cutting, and the chewing consistency seemed a tad bitty. Not the most mature piece of beef I've had; there was certainly flavour there, but it was somewhat overpowered by the peppercorns, and the overall impression of the course was, well, "that was fine". Which is a bit of a shame for a steakhouse.
Onto the home straight and a cheese selection (stilton, cheddar, white Lancashire) sat very well indeed with a berry jam and cress, and also with a perfectly reasonable tawny port whose provenance I forget entirely, but which was the only port on the list.
To conclude. Definitely a steakhouse, and part of (an admittedly small) chain; not super-cheap, but not outrageous (£56 a head including a £36 bottle of red); reasonable food, and friendly service. In fact the service is perhaps one of the main points to note here; the management clearly have a policy of employing only the most smiley, co-operative and attractive staff possible, lending a sufficiently smooth air that in conjunction with an extremely good Grand Cru, even customarily critical - not to say curmudgeonly - customers such as myself leave feeling well served. We arrived at around 7.30 on a Saturday night, and though the service felt attentive and timely, we were also left enough to our own devices that with only 2 courses we still pottered off at just gone 10, and at no point felt rushed.
On reflection the food wasn't quite as good as it seemed in the warm after-glow of such careful handling - hence the three-star rating - but it was a decent meal and a good evening. I'd go there again, if not expecting to be blown away. read more