Blacklock Soho | Excellent, Affordable Soho Chophouse
It’s not every day that a trio of ex-Hawksmoor employees open a restaurant dedicated entirely to chops, in the basement of an old Soho brothel.
But it was one day….
And on that day, what was once an underground lap dancing bar became an entirely different kind of meat market: an intimate, industrially-styled pleasure palace for carnivores where communal wooden tables, a low and intimate cocktail bar, candlelit booths enveloped by exposed brickwork and a bustling open kitchen have been lovingly combined to create Blacklock.
Hold up. Who’s that I can see behind the cocktail bar?
That’s the Chief Bartender. He can make you any cocktail you wish but, if you’re asking, we’d say go for the Usual Suspects, a spicy mix of jalapeño tequila, Aperol, grapefruit, and Prosecco and a great demonstration of his ‘pip-to-peel’ philosophy too. Either that or a classic with an Old Fashioned at just £7.50 a pop.
I can see someone in the open kitchen, too.
You can: that’s Blacklock’s head chef. He earned his chops – figuratively speaking – grilling steaks at Hawksmoor, but now he lives here, grilling lamb, pork and veal chops on a homemade, red-brick charcoal grill, before searing them with a Blacklock Foundry clothes iron from 1800 – leaving them pink and juicy on the inside, whilst lightly seared around the edges – and then serving them up alongside a choice of side dishes, like grilled courgettes and 10 hour coal-roasted sweet potato.
He also cooks one of the best Sunday roasts in London, proven by the fact that it’s near impossible to get in. However, if you do manage, you’ll find giant-worthy triple-meat platters, stuffed full of everything from 55 day aged beef rump, 28 day aged lamb leg and 21 day aged pork loin, as well as all the trimmings – roast tatties, Yorkshires and seasonal greens.
After which, like any great lock, it will likely prove hard to leave.
NOTE: Blacklock Soho is open for lunch and dinner, Mon-Sat, and 12-6pm on Sundays. You can book a table before 6pm, all day on Sundays and for dinner if you have a group of 6+. Head here to book online.
ALSO NOTE: thanks to the success of the original site, you’ll now find Blacklock Shoreditch and Blacklock City
Blacklock Soho | The Basement, 24 Great Windmill Street, W1D 7LG
Like dining out in Soho? Check out our guide to the Best Restaurants in Soho
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