The recent news that HSBC – perhaps Canary Wharf’s most iconic inhabitant – is to vacate the area, opting instead for a base in the City, has shaken up London’s financial district. With the recent opening of the Elizabeth line, the once far-flung area has become easily accessible from the centre of town, and a plethora of new restaurants and bars has meant that a place once ridiculed as being little other than a playground for City boys is now making significant strides towards being somewhere that those of us who do not live our lives in pin-striped suits and wielding briefcases would actually want to visit.
And if you’re looking for a perfect reason to head over to Canary Wharf, the arrival of the fifth in the estimable Blacklock group is more than enough of an excuse. The carnivorous establishments see themselves as subtly different to the steak-heavy likes of Hawksmoor and Goodman.
Of course there are superbly cooked slabs of cow, but the whole idea behind Blacklock is that it is a recreation of a traditional chophouse, rather than simply another steakhouse, and priced in a considerably more kindly way than most of its rivals and peers. It would be very easy to visit Blacklock and have a substantial lunch, complete with a drink, and leave for around £20; an amount, in these financially troubled times, that would barely buy you a plate of chips at some other restaurants.
We turn up hungry at the dark wood-hued interior, and in the mood to be guided; the superbly professional and witty manager Chris tells us to put ourselves in his hands, and we are only too willing to be guided. Which is just as well as, over the next couple of hours, we enjoy a whistle-stop tour of the Blacklock menu, over what amounts to a five-course bonanza.
It’s a wonder that we’re still sentient at the end of it. ‘Pre-chop bites’, accompanied by a schooner of Tropical Cyclone IPA, are delicious nibbles of potted meat and egg and anchovy, keenly priced (£3 for three) and the perfect appetite-whetter.
Then it’s into the starters; pig’s head on toast with gravy is sublime, as are a selection of skinny chops, served on flatbread. A couple of lamb cutlets and pork loins, accompanied by a well-chosen glass of Montepulciano, and we’re thoroughly enjoying ourselves; this, I say to my friend Catherine, is how lunches ought to be.
Up to this point, we have avoided gluttony. But then the main course arrives, and we both let out inadvertent yelps, as an enormous, superb porterhouse steak comes to our table, with sides of everything from beef dripping chips and bearnaise sauce to a heritage tomato salad and kale and parmesan.
And, lo, there is also a bottle of Malbec brought over to us, a particularly fine Bodega Luigi Bosca variety. I glance over at Catherine – a distinguished, award-winning film producer and writer – and she looks at me – a layabout and dilettante – and we both remark that it’s a good thing that neither of us is going to be doing any work that afternoon.
We eat enough of the steak not to bring shame on ourselves, and it’s sublime. We’re both slightly hors de combat now, but I manage at least a couple of mouthfuls of the white chocolate cheesecake, washed down with a glass of Sauternes apiece, and then a cocktail trolley appears (a cocktail trolley) with Old Fashioneds tempting us. Well, it would be rude not to, frankly. By the time that we emerge, squinting and blinking and happy in the mid-afternoon air, we can say that the latest Blacklock is enough reason by itself to head over to Canary Wharf. And, frankly, long may it remain so.
Blacklock Canary Wharf, 5 Frobisher Psge, London E14 4EE. For more information, bookings, and for details of other sites, please visit www.theblacklock.com.
Photos by Al Ward.
