When you go out for steak in London, there’s an almost infinite number of ways in which the parts of a humble cow might be served up on a plate. You could, for instance, head to Hawksmoor, one of the very few restaurant groups that has kept its integrity and quality despite a steady expansion, or you could, if you were so inclined, go to one of the tourist-trap Angus Steakhouses (although you really shouldn’t). Then there are plenty of independents that do fine things with rumps and sirloins, to the delight of the carnivorous. However at the Arbuturian, we like to be able to compare and contrast excellence in two very different fashions, and so we headed to two EC spots – the recently opened MRBL and the recently rebranded Fogo de Chão – to see how they both ranked.
Fogo de Chão
This Bishopsgate spot is London’s highest-end spot for churrasco, the Brazilian tradition of grilling meat of all varieties and then bringing it to your table. It has been debased somewhat by lesser establishments serving inferior-quality carnivorous delights, but Fogo de Chão – once known as Fazenda – has now established itself as primus inter pares in this regard. The concept is simple enough: you sit down, primed with expectant hunger, turn a little card over, and suddenly men carrying enormous skewers of meat begin appearing at your table. You are encouraged to eat until you can eat no more. It is not so much dinner as a mildly competitive endurance event.
This is Brazilian churrasco, and the meat keeps coming. There is picanha, sirloin, ribeye, lamb, pork and chicken, with the skewers being carved directly on to your plate. The sensible response would be to exercise some restraint. Naturally, I did not. There is something peculiarly satisfying about being told that you can have more of something and then discovering that the something in question is a perfectly cooked piece of beef.
The Market Table provides a useful interlude, with salads, vegetables, cheeses and Brazilian specialities, although it is difficult to become too interested in vegetables when somebody is approaching carrying what appears to be half a cow. Fogo’s own description of the experience is that the meat is continuously served tableside, which sounds like a marketing slogan until you realise that this is exactly what happens.
The atmosphere is suitably grand and faintly theatrical. This is not somewhere to come for a quiet bowl of soup and a conversation about the weather. It is designed around abundance, and there is something rather enjoyable about a restaurant which makes no attempt to apologise for it.
The wine list is correspondingly generous, and the 2021 Catena Alta Malbec was a particularly delicious accompaniment to the beef: rich without becoming ridiculous, fruity without being sweet and with sufficient structure to stand up to the food. It was the sort of bottle which makes you briefly consider whether perhaps another glass would be a good idea, before remembering that another skewer of picanha is already on its way.
The danger with an establishment like Fogo de Chão is that the novelty might overwhelm the food. It doesn’t. The theatricality is certainly part of the attraction, but the reason to return is the meat itself, and particularly the pleasure of having it carved in front of you while deciding whether you are capable of eating just one more piece. And the answer, invariably, is yes. All this is priced surprisingly sensibly for the quality of what you eat – as much meat as you can consume can be had for £66 per head (£54 per person at lunchtimes, but say goodbye to your afternoon if so) and cocktails that are generously priced in a four-hour happy hour from 3pm to 7pm.
Fogo de Chao, 100 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 1GT. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.fogodechao.com.
MRBL
I’d never had dinner in Leadenhall Market, which seems both surprising and somehow predictable. It’s one of London’s most iconic places to shop, eat and drink, a Victorian fantasia of colour, iron and glass, but somehow it’s never been home to a truly top-notch restaurant.
The arrival of the new steakhouse MRBL, then, is a welcome addition to the wine bars, pubs and chains that have dominated this spot for years, and the fact that it’s serving top-notch steak, cocktails and wine means that, in an area that has never been short of places to eat and drink, it’s suddenly gone up several notches.
Starters are straightforward rather than boundary-pushing but the chipolatas are excellent and the grilled prawns flavourful, not least mopped up with a piece of focaccia. Cocktails go very nicely with these, too, not least the Calvados Old Fashioned, which adds an apple-y kick to this particular favourite.
But let’s be honest, you’re here for the steak, and if it’s two of you dining here, it would be a mistake not to try the bone-in ribeye, their so-called ‘king of steaks’, which comes as carnivorous perfection with an array of sauces; the bearnaise and peppercorn are highly recommended, as are the frites and creamed spinach. It’s carnivorous goodness in its purest form and, as mentioned before, the setting is one of London’s finest.
Desserts are pleasant but inessential, and you’ll probably be full up anyway, but do leave some room for MRBL’s take on an espresso martini, the After 8, After Late, which adds a chocolatey twist to this perennial favourite. And then, a couple of hours after we’ve entered, it’s time to walk out into Leadenhall Market in all its glory, replete, satisfied and delighted that, at last, this famous place has a restaurant that it really deserves.
MRBL, 23–25 Leadenhall Market, London EC3V 1LR. For more information, including details of and for bookings, please visit www.mrbl.co.uk.
