Chop House Bar and Butchery, Leith, Edinburgh: restaurant review
Read our review of Chop House Bar and Butchery, a trendy new restaurant in Leith. Expertly butchered meat, a charcoal grill and that bone marrow gravy make it a must-visit for locals.
In a nutshell
A brilliant new addition to the already buzzing Leith dining scene, the Chop House is part of The Compass Group, which already has Sygn, Monteiths and the West Room under its banner. Meat is the order of the day here and it’s carefully sourced, taking deliveries of award-winning Highland Wagyu from Burnside of Balhaldie, Aberdeen Angus from Hardiesmill Farm, and Shaws Fine Meats, who source from several small Scottish farms.
Who’s cooking?
The executive chef is Brian McConnachie, who has worked across the four Edinburgh restaurants mentioned above and butchers the meat himself in-house. So there’s everything from sharing chateaubriand and T-bone to steak tartare, ale-glazed ribs and corned beef on offer. Whole sides of beef are dry-aged for up to 90 days with Himalayan salt in the Chop House’s own fridges, which you can spy from your dining table.
What’s the room like?
Very on-trend: cool lighting, white tiled benches that are heated (bonus!), leather banquettes, and ercol-style grey chairs. And then there’s the dapper staff: beards, denim, attention to detail, knowledge of the product, it’s all there. There’s also a private dining area called the Captain’s Table with a handcrafted table made from local elm.
Must orders
The beef (we had the fillet and rib eye) is cooked over an open-flame charcoal grill (custom-designed and locally crafted) and, crucially, if you ask for rare it comes rare. There are plenty of sides to choose from. We opted for mac’n’cheese, onion rings, beef-dripping chips and kimchi ’slaw: the latter hot, sour and highly recommended. The classic sauces are all there, too, including béarnaise, peppercorn and brown-butter hollandaise but you have to order the bone marrow gravy. We’d return for this alone.
Price range
Mid-range to expensive: starters from £6.50 to £11, mains £10.50 for a burger to £35 for a Wagyu rump steak, desserts all at £5.50, and cheese is more. The wine list is extensive, so ask for a recommendation. We tried a very interesting Mexican red at £7 for a small glass, £30 for a bottle. Wines average at £34 but creep up to £90.
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By Hilary Sturzaker, mymonkfish.com
September 2015
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