The BBIL search continued on Friday with a last minute decision to try Black & Blue just next to Borough Market. I was in optimum condition for a burger following a few after-work beers and was secretly delighted when Plan A, oysters and more fishiness at the estimable Wright Brothers, was somewhat oversubscribed.
Black & Blue is a mini chain with five restaurants dotted around the capital, Borough being the latest. I can't comment on the other branches but it looks like the menu is the same in each, and the website claims the same attention to style has been applied to each. If the other locations have been chosen as well as this one the future looks rosy.
With no less than four pubs within sixty seconds' stagger, this site was always going to reward anyone who could serve up decent quality fare. On a Friday night at about 9pm it was, as you'd expect, basically full, an informal queueing system in the bar area being operated by the friendly manager. Before long, Mark and I were shown to a table in the corner of a large and buzzing dining room. The decor is modern, stylish and unfussy, with the helpful addition of some large cows with words like "steak" emblazoned across their flanks in case you were in any doubt what you were about to eat.
The menu reinforces this with the words "a steakhouse" under the logo at the top, which is probably just as well, because steaks don't get over-stressed further down. They get their own section, fair enough, but with only five standard cuts to choose from it's not as if they've got out of their way to look after the cow connoisseur. There was also a claim that their beef had been supplied by the same trusted butchers for 30 years, which is a bit odd given how long the place has been open. Maybe the first of the chain opened that long ago? We asked, but got no reply.
No matter, we were there for the burgers. There were six of these on the menu, ranging from "classic" to "bacon and cheese" to "foie gras", curiously leapfrogging my favoured option, just "cheese". I successfully ordered it anyway (Mark ordered the bacon combo) and after sharing some foie gras paté to start (they were out of the mysterious "Flowering Onions") and while tucking into a perfectly sound Brouilly from a varied international list, we looked forward to the main event.
A mixed bag, to be honest. The meat was clearly fantastic quality and was cooked as ordered, in my case rare. But it hadn't any of the colour or crispiness you would expect from a really hot grill, especially not in a restaurant wittily calling itself Black & Blue. Mark specifically ordered his bacon very crispy. It wasn't. Chips were pretty good I thought, but the other accompaniments were no more than ordinary: OK bread, some twists of iceberg lettuce, a slab of beefsteak tomato, a bit of mayo and a single prism of gherkin sitting rather awkwardly on top of the rest. It's not clear how I was expected to get a taste of that in every mouthful (surely the whole point of a burger) but then again the burger was presented "open" so maybe I wasn't expected to eat it sandwich-style anyway.
Overall, though, the quality of the beef shone through, and was just about enough to make one overlook the quibbles. It's easy to see Black & Blue being a big hit with pub revellers, and this will probably be enough to ensure its success; with a little more attention to detail it might just woo the market foodies too.
Burger: 10/15
Joint: 4/5
Total: 14/20
Black & Blue, 1-2 Rochester Walk, Borough Market, SE1 9AF. 020 7357 9922.
I had a meal there before we started this blog and hated the place. I didn't think it was at all stylish. The cow outside may have 'steak' on it, but it shouts 'cheese'. It's more the new Berni than anything else. I also thought it was way overpriced. How much was your burger? I ordered the cote de boeuf for two, for one, if you see what I mean? The meat itself was fine - nowhere near as good as, e.g. Hawksmoor or Santa Maria Buen Ayre. The service was haphazard (seemed to forget which condiments I ordered) and when they eventually came. the bearnaise was not well made and the mayonnaise tasted like it came from a jar. Terrible place.
Posted by: Ben Bush | 30/10/2006 at 05:01 PM
This is a terribly harsh judgement Howard. B&B is not trying to be the Hawksmoor or seeking to create the same atmosphere, following or reputation. It is a pretty decent bar in a popular location that serves nice enough food. From memory our burgers were about £8 each including chips and a somewhat offensive gurkin. (No one actually likes gurkins - why do they persist as part of our food culture - they should be assigned to culinary oblivion...along with dill). The mood was a happy friday night crowd and the place was full. As always Ben and I were seated in the window....a typical resturant trick (eye candy I think the American's call it). I agree that the service wasn't great...they could have been a bit quicker; answered our questions and got my bacon crispy - but they were plesant and friendly which counts for a lot. At £8 a burger you dont really mind that (at least I dont think you should), and the food is fine. The meat tasted great - better frankly than that at the Boxwood a few weeks ago.
I've been to Berni Inn's. The food tasted terrible, you were treated badly and the places were poorly designed. None of these things are true of B&B. Sure - I would not recommend it to someone who wanted to splash out on a very special meal or was a steak specialist or had £100 burning a hole in their pocket, but to pub goers of Borough Market in need of a decent feed this is a welcome addition to the area. I like it !
Posted by: Mark | 31/10/2006 at 05:01 PM
The Berni comparison is more to do with the chain/corporate feel of the place, which is probably what starts me recoiling. Did you know that Black and Blue has Tootsies DNA (http://www.tootsiesrestaurants.co.uk/)? That's a matter of aesthetics, so people are welcome to disagree with me. I can't tolerate that mayo though. The overly-corporate sense feeds into the feeling of a lack of care and is probably responsible for the variable service.
Posted by: Ben Bush | 31/10/2006 at 06:13 PM
And now the picture's been posted, you can see that the tomato looks really anaemic too. According to their website (http://www.blackandblue.biz/menu/index.html) you'll pay £9 for that burger.
Posted by: Ben Bush | 02/11/2006 at 05:34 PM