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The ViewLondon ReviewMichael Darvell
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Being noted for its gay-friendly attitude, Stephs restaurant, named after the Yorkshire lass who runs it with her partner, chef Rich, the place attracts a more than usually theatrical clientele, even for Soho. Most of Old Compton Street plays home to the capital’s camp crowd and nearby Dean Street is also no exception. The decor has pink flamingos running all around the walls. However, the restaurant welcomes anybody and everybody, gay, straight or just slightly bent. Well, it is Soho so anything goes. The Atmosphere Far from being a gay ghetto, this restaurant is as solidly unisexual and it is very much Steph’s place. A no-nonsense Northern lady, who found York a bit tame so moved to London twenty years ago and hasn’t regretted it, she knows her clientele inside out and caters to what she knows they will enjoy. Regional cookery is not normally a feature of the Soho restaurant scene, but this place provides an unusual and certainly very down to earth menu. Comfort food with total disregard for portion control means you can have a damned good meal. The food is good, wholesome, delicious and interesting. The same could be said for the customers. The Food Where else in London (anywhere?) could you order Yorkshire pudding at every course? Well, you can here. Begin with a Yorkshire pudding and onion gravy as a starter, then you could have the same as a main course with a choice of fillings: tomato and pesto sauce with crumbled feta cheese, or chilli con carne, or bacon and mushy peas, or chargrilled Spam and red wine jus. And for dessert it could be Yorkshire pudding with strawberry jam and custard. Recommended starters include the whiskied black pudding which has this delicacy ground up, fried with whisky and served on a potato cake with apple sauce: it has to be the next best thing to caviar. Its slight gaminess is offset by the flavour of whisky and apple. With a slice of Spam it goes down a treat. If Spam is new to you, it stands for spiced pork and ham and was a boon during the war. On its own it’s a little dull but char-grilling it seems to bring out its meaty flavour while enhancing the other ingredients with which it is served. Restaurants that serve Spam are few and far between, but Stephs has won awards for its Spam menu and they even have Spamalot menu with Spam Caesar salad, Yorkshire pud and Spam, Spamburger, Spam curry, and Spam fritters, and even Spam, jam and custard! In fact, they’ve done a lot of work with the Spamalot musical, such as catering for VIP parties and giving out sandwiches to fans waiting in the queue for the previews. Apart from popular dishes such as hamburger, chilli con carne, bangers and mash, fish and chips with mushy peas, the main courses include filo parcel of feta, Parmesan and spinach, a homemade pie of the day, a mixed grill and Snuffy’s chicken, with white wine, cream, peppers and prawns. The swordfish and tuna fishcakes on spinach with parsley sauce are revelatory, with an intense flavour of the sea, while the plain chicken schnitzel with shoestring fries is a treat. A perfectly cooked and piping hot schnitzel dipped in the lightest of batters is a rarity and here it’s a joy to behold. If you cannot manage another Yorkshire pudding for dessert, then Stephs notorious bread and butter pudding with cream, ice cream or custard may also be out of the question. Stick to a chocolate rum sticky, the raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake or the sherry trifle. The Drink There’s a good bar at Steph’s where you can imbibe some reasonably priced wines, beers and spirits, perhaps with one of the many Tiffin Bites on offer: feta cheese and olives, shoestring or steak fries, Greek salad, scrambled egg and bacon on a potato cake, mushrooms on toast, goujons of cod, tiger prawns, chicken salad or a Ploughman’s platter. Good for a quick snack, Tiffin Bites are priced at £1.25 to £5. |
The Last Word Fine, solid Yorkshire cooking in a gay-friendly atmosphere is an odd but welcome combination. You’ll probably get to know your neighbours at the next table, whether you want to or not, and it’s a nice way to meet new friends even if they’re friends only while you are there. Great place, fine fare but not expensive at three big courses for £20 or so. See the full review on ViewLondon.co.uk Content of review © 2008 ViewLondon
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