Steak Out

Opening a restaurant in Borough Market is kind of a bold move, when you think about it. The whole area is now a magnet to foodies (and, on a Saturday, hugely annoying slow moving tourists) so there's a certain quality expected of anything in that area. For any 'chain' to go in... well, cue sharp intakes of breath. And then sighs of relief at the realisation that it's Black & Blue.

Well, sighs of relief if you're a red-meat loving carnivore. Anyone else probably need not apply. The steaks are great. The rest of the food... well, it's okay. But the steaks are great.

There is an admirable simplicity to the Black & Blue approach. Quality meat, a very brief menu, a fine, to-the-point wine list, and the ability to eat, drink and be merry and walk away with change from £20 if you just fancy a good burger and a glass or two of decent red.

The layout is classic steakhouse, all wood and leather open brick and straightforward furniture, with the bonus – at this branch at least – of huge windows, lots of natural light and a little terrace of sorts. It's a slightly masculine approach but given its proximity to the City – and the number of suits on the average lunch time – that's maybe not such a bad thing.

And so the food. For the lady, King Prawns Char Grilled with Garlic Butter, for me Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs. The prawns were fine fleshy beasts: fresh, meaty, well-cooked and a classic simple starter. The smoked salmon was of similar quality and a generous portion. The eggs... I mentioned previously that I'm a snob about certain foods and listed cheese and chocolate amongst other things. I forgot scrambled eggs. I make great scrambled eggs so I'm always intrigued to see how restaurants fare, particularly when people react so violently against 'loose' scrambled eggs. People, people... this doesn't mean undercooked. Loose means low heat and 20 minutes of gentle stirring. And, admittedly, about a pound of butter to every three eggs. Anyway, by my (admittedly painfully fussy) standards, Black & Blue's scored reasonably well in terms of taste and colour but didn't do well in the texture scores.