Review: Black & Blue, Mortimor Street.

In my humble opinion, there is almost nothing more pleasurable in life than a perfectly cooked steak.

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to find a perfectly cooked steak. Many places make promises. Very few deliver. There are of course some London favourites that deserve an honourable  mention; Hawksmoor, Goodman and Hix to credit a few. But on the whole, I’m usually left slightly disappointed.

Ever the optimist though, last night a boy (yes, a real one) and me headed to Black and Blue on Mortimor Street for a good old hunk of beef. This is the newest of 7 Black & Blue restaurants throughout London, all based on American Chop-houses, that aim to bring guests an upmarket yet casual dining experience.

Interior at Black and Blue

The concept is a good one. From the moment we arrived, we felt comfortable in the large, contemporary open restaurant space. The large bar was topped with huge vases of orchids, Andy Warhol inspired Cow themed pop-art adorned the walls, and low hanging chandeliers created a lovely ambience. We were seated by the window, looking out onto a large, heated decked seating area that will be perfect (and mobbed) in Summer. The staff were really great from the outset – smiley, fast and efficient, just how it should be. They were patient while we faffed over the menu and were absolutely fine taking our starter orders and then coming back to deal with the mains.

I liked the menu too. Simple choices, well explained, unfussy. We had been advised to go for the King Prawns with Garlic Butter by a friend, so argued over which of us would have that for a minute or two, before I let him win and chose the Pate of Fois Gras with Brioche Toast for me. Both came in at £8, and both were delicious. He wasn’t 100% sure about the Brioche Toast, saying it was slightly sweet for him, but I loved the richness of it and he certainly didn’t seem to mind polishing it off. The Prawns were chargrilled in their shell (heads off) and were juicy, full of flavour and I could definitely have finished a full portion to myself.

I was tempted to go for a burger next, but am really pleased I picked the Fillet Steak (£23) instead. I love my steak rare and this was absolutely spot on – charred to perfection on the outside and perfectly pink in the middle. Boy chose the T-Bone (£26), also rare, which looked great although I didn’t get to try it. Mine was seasoned well and although it wasn’t the best Bearnaise I’ve ever tried, it was still enjoyable. The Maris Piper chips also deserve a special credit. Crisp, crunchy and delicious, I couldn’t bear to leave a single one.

Fillet Steak with Bearnaise Sauce

T-Bone at Black and Blue

I do have a little complaint about the main course, but it is a bit of a silly one. The steaks all come with a house salad – which is marvellous – but unfortunately the house salad comes with walnuts and this isn’t made overly clear when ordering. As a nut-allergy sufferer, this is less than ideal, and obviously if I’d been aware I’d have asked for a nut-free version, but it was all dealt with fairly easily and anaphylactic shock was duly avoided. Handy really, as near death experiences are almost always quite unsexy, and I wouldn’t mind seeing this particular boy again…

The House Salad (complete with Walnuts)

Anyway. Back to the good stuff. We had a rather lovely Argentinian Malbec (£27) with our meal, the smoothness of which complimented the steak and also went rather nicely with our shared cheeseboard (£8) to round everything off.

As a “date” restaurant, I think Black and Blue is a great option. There were also Businessmen, friends and an ex EastEnders actor thoroughly enjoying their dinners, so I think it would suit just about everyone (who eats meat. Not the best choice for Vegetarians).

A 3 course meal for 2, with wine, came in at around £100 which I think is perfectly reasonable for good quality food in Central London. We had a lovely, relaxed night, ate good food and drank nice wine. Just what we were looking for.

Enjoy this post? Why not click and SUBSCRIBE to TLLWTL now?!

JJ - Editor

Londoner. Excessive Tea Drinker. Foodie. Party Goer. Geek. Email jj@thislittleladywenttolondon.com.

More Posts

Follow Me:

LoveLondon Our Reviews Restaurants/Private Dining Venues This Little Lady Went to...