Near Gray’s Inn, a bit of an oxymoron from the Little Bay man (Peter Illic) – a ‘budget’ steak bistro; it offers a comfortably old-fashioned formula, at notably reasonably prices.
Peter Ilic goes back a long way, so anyone who’d dined out – other than in the West End – over the past 20 years has almost certainly stumbled into one of his I-can’t-believe-it’s-so-cheap eateries, most notably the Little Bays, whose ramshackle premises, comfortably furnished from junk shops, always seem to smell vaguely of the same something – is it damp?
His latest venture, near Gray’s Inn, is very much in his comfort zone, but the speciality menu feature – steak, you guessed – comes as a bit of a surprise. Indeed, there’s not much else on offer, so it’s a good thing our sirloin (a tasty bit of meat for £11 when we visited, but on the menu at £22) was done very well, and it came with some nice generous old-fashioned vegetables. Indeed, generosity is the watchword here, and its backed up by exemplary old-fashioned service. Puddings, in keeping, are selected from a groaning buffet.
So, if you’re bored with chic Mayfair steakhouses, try this for a change. You’ll embark on a journey not just of of a couple of miles, but back a couple of decades too. And you’ll certainly save more than the taxi fare.
