Food for Sir: 5 best steak frites in London
Steak and chips is undoubtedly one of the finest dinner combos known to man.
Finding a truly great steak and chips in London is, however, a bit of gamble - especially
with Angus Steakhouses plaguing the streets. The following are a selection of the finest places around town:
The Pig's Ear: just off the King's road and supposedly one of Prince William's hang-outs,
the Pig's Ear serves up an unsurpassed bavette steak and chips. The bavette cut is notoriously chewy,
however with its coarseness comes unrivalled flavour. Best accompanied by a pint of Pig's Ear ale.
Around £13. 35 Old Church Street, SW3. The Boisdale: a favorite amongst middle-aged sugar daddies, the Boisdale
is an oasis of Scottish-ness in the heart of Belgravia combining everything
that a gentleman needs in life: cigars, whiskey, fine food and jazz. Pick t
he Scottish fillet and chips, accompanied by a nice glass of red and let the
meat melt in your mouth whilst listening to the live jazz.
Around £18. 15 Ecclestone Street, SW1. 020 7730 6922 info@boisdale.co.uk Entrecote Cafe de Paris: famous for only having one thing on its menu,
the Entrecote serves up what is considered by some the best steak frites in London.
With an unlimited supply of chips with each order, together with a simple French
green salad, the Entrecote is definitely up there with the steak frites A-list.
Around £16. 3a Baker Street, W1. 020 7935 3030 mail@entrecote.co.uk The Gaucho Grill: pick the Bife de chorizo with a side order of skinny
chips and a sauce to suit (from a wide selection including porcini mushroom and
truffle sauce). The Gaucho serves the best Argentine Aberdeen Angus steak that
claims to have 10% less cholesterol than US or UK reared steak which means you can
tuck into the 400g steak guilt-free.
Around £17 Restaurants across London. See www.Gaucho-grill.com for your nearest. Smithfields: this is the DIY option and for those who don't trust their steaks cooked by any else.
Pick up a steak from JF Edwards and Son at Smithfields Market at lunch time, and cook up a
treat for dinner (serving suggestion below).
£3 - 8 depending on cut and weight.
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Things for Sir: Style consultancy from Styledby
Hiring your very own style-consultant is the perfect way to ensure you avoid any
fashion faux-pas's in the office. Voted on the Harper's and Queen A-list of personal shoppers, Styledby
have a number of independent style consultants who have intimate knowledge of all the stores that matter.
Run by ex-Gucci model Karen Hale, Styledby provides consultancy to gentleman in the city who are too busy
dealing with stocks to spend time worrying about their socks et al. And we're not talking about Trinny
and Susannah-esque advice here, but practical tips on making your everyday life easier and more stylish
that don't involve arguments with your wife/partner/mum.
There are a number of ways you can get Styledby involved in sorting out your sartorial style:
Wardrobe review: this isn't just a case of
cajoling you into chucking away your selection of 80's
red braces, but a helpful process of wardrobe cleansing
and reinvigoration. Outfits will be co-ordinated, and you'll
be shown why some things work and others don't, together with
confirming your best colour, cut and style. Shopping trips: Shopping with one of Styledby's stylists
will quickly and effortlessly update your wardrobe to fit your
lifestyle and working commitments. Speeding round the right
shops like your partner would never do, the stylist will tell you:
Will it date? Does it fit correctly? Does it really suit you? Is the
image right? Will it make the correct impression? Is it right for the occasion?
And make sure it is within your budget.
Each of these services cost around £225 for 3 hours. To contact Styledby, email Enquiries@styledby.com or call +44 (0) 207 794 9721.
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Gifts for Her: Beyond the Valley
Beyond the Valley (BTV) is a real gift nirvana for buying the best one-off presents for your loved ones. Just off Carnaby street, BTV has a whole eclectic collection of fashion, art and design items all designed by emerging new talent from across London. Without breaking a bead you'll be guaranteed to find something exclusive to make your gal love you and her friends jealous. Examples include:
- Ready made love letters (£8.50): for those with a lot of love but no time.
- Lambs wool Raccoon by Donna Wilson (£50): everyone needs a wool Raccoon with an absurdly long tail. This one by Donna Wilson is just genius!
- Handmade wallpaper by C.Emmanuelle Borra (£60): handmade and personally designed wallpaper is the perfect way to finish off your new city pied a terre. This has to be seen to be fully appreciated.
Prices from as little as £5 upwards. 2 Newburgh Street, W1 0207 437 7338, www.Beyondthevalley.com
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Something for the weekend: Columbia flower market
The East End of London is famous for a number of things: good curries (Brick Lane),
bad haircuts (Hoxton) and apples n'pears (rhyming slang). One thing that it's not particularly famous
for is horticulture. That is apart from the gloriously well-hidden Columbia Road flower market.
Open every Sunday morning from early, the Columbia Road Market is an oasis (quite literally)
in the middle of a Luftwaffe-scarred concrete misery. Rows of stalls line the picturesque street
selling everything green finger-related including freshly cut flowers, house plants, trees, shrubs and bulbs.
Pitch up at 11ish and enjoy a brunch in one of the alternative cafes in the courtyard (next to the Royal Oak pub) and then pick up some real horticultural bargins as the barrow boys try to flog off their last remaining flowers before the market shuts at 2.
As long as you haven't bought a forest after Columbia Road head off to the numerous cool boutique shops and
galleries scattered around the Shoreditch area, including: Start (on Rivington street) and 291 gallery
(291 Hackney Road).
Closest tube is Old Street, or Liverpool street. Columbia Street, E2. Sunday mornings only.
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Food by Sir: Steak frites - rustique style
Steak frites never tastes great at home due to most people's inability to cook good frites. Instead, I prefer to accompany steak with a truly French combo of haricots (tossed with tomatoes) and fried potatoes (tossed with onion). This makes for a truly tasty and easy to cook meal with a healthy dose of French rustic charm.
The following ingredients are for two - multiply depending on taste and number of additional guests. Preparation and cooking should take about 1 hour.
- 2 8oz steaks - sirloin or rump
- 200g haricots (green beans) - topped and tailed
- 6 mid-sized potatoes - sliced 1 cm
- 2 mid-sized onion - chopped
- 4 vine tomatoes - diced
- 3 large gloves (or more, depending if you've got the day off)
- A healthy amount of olive oil
- Salt and black pepper - ground
- Heat the oven to 180. Finely chop most of the garlic and mix with a good slosh of olive oil. Layout the steaks in a flat dish, season with salt and pepper and coat in the garlic and oil mix. Cover and place in the fridge to marinade. (N.B. you can do this up to 24 hours in advance).
- Peel and cut the potatoes into one centimeter slices. Boil until they're just beyond al dente (i.e. turning soft).
- Meanwhile roughly slice one and a half onions and put to one side, and take the other half onion and remaining garlic and finely chop and toss with olive oil (this is to accompany the haricots).
- Sit back an enjoy a glass of wine. Once the potatoes are ready, lay on a flat baking tray with the onion slices. Douse with olive oil, season and then throw these into the oven (at 180) for around 45 minutes.
- Sit back and enjoy the rest of your glass of wine whilst the potatoes cook. Keep an eye on these and turn a few times until crisp.
- Once the potatoes start to crisp prepare the haricots by topping and tailing and dice the tomatoes into cubes. Put the haricots into boiling water and throw the tomatoes into a pan with the already prepared oil, garlic and onion mixture. Cook tomatoes for about 5 minutes until half broken down.
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Whilst the haricots and tomatoes are cooking start cooking the marinaded steak. Place the steak into a ready heated griddle-pan making sure you pour the remaining olive oil and garlic marinade on top. Cook to taste.
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Once the steak is cooked, toss the al dente haricots in with the tomatoes and serve up with the nicely crisped potatoes and a nice glass of Rose.
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