Liverpool Street Chop House: Martin Williams’s Bold Return to the Square Mile Steak Scene
A new restaurant in London’s financial district aims to recapture the spirit of a beloved predecessor, offering a meat-centric menu and a distinctly convivial atmosphere.
The closure of Threadneedle Street’s M Restaurant earlier this year, after a decade of serving what many considered the capital’s finest steak, was a notable loss for those wiht a welcoming attitude towards canine companions. Now,M founder martin Williams,currently at the helm of the Evolv restaurant group (formerly D&D London,and before that,Terence Conran’s food empire),appears to be revisiting that winning formula with the opening of Liverpool Street chop House and Tavern.
The new restaurant is positioned as a sister establishment to Paternoster Chop House and Tavern, which first opened over 20 years ago near the London Stock Exchange before relocating to the Old Bailey. While past experiences at the original Paternoster Chop House were hazy – “I don’t really have any memories of it, which doesn’t bode well,” one observer noted – expectations for Liverpool Street Chop House are decidedly higher.The potential for disappointment loomed, given the author’s personal connection to Williams, having attended his wedding just weeks prior.”Am I going to have to write that his first restaurant in his new job is a damp squib?” the author pondered. Thankfully, the experience proved otherwise.
Stepping into Liverpool Street Chop House is akin to entering a different world. The atmosphere, described as a blend of old-world charm and modern energy, is immediately striking. Diners navigate a terrace filled with suited professionals, pass signs advertising £5 pints of Guinness, and enter a wood-panelled 18th-century warehouse where, as one patron observed, “the ghost of M lingers in the air like cigar smoke.”
More than any other restaurant within Evolv’s portfolio,Chop House is a party of meat. Upon being seated, a waiter presented a trolley laden with the day’s cuts, showcasing the fillet, an intimidating bone-in ribeye, and a selection of chops. “Meat, meat, meat, meat, meat,” the author recounted, emphasizing the restaurant’s core offering.A lecture on sustainability and ethical sourcing followed, detailing the farms utilizing regenerative farming practices. While the author admittedly found themselves distracted by the visual appeal of the ribeye – “really, really staring into the deep white veins of marbling” – the commitment to responsible sourcing was evident.
The menu itself is refreshingly straightforward, reminiscent of a 1950s Welsh coal miner’s fare. While oysters, shrimp, suet pudding, and even a whole pig’s head are available for the adventurous, the focus remains firmly on meat. The meal began with dark sourdough served with a skillet of molten Jersey butter, followed by devilled lamb’s liver, creamed leeks, and, crucially, the highly anticipated ribeye. The lamb’s liver, while slightly overcooked, delivered a robust, iron-rich flavor. The rarebit fries were described as “soft, splendid, pillowy tubes of fried cheese, the comfort food you’ll be served after getting into heaven.”
However, it was the ribeye that truly stole the show. “A monstrous thing, really,” the author described, “vast and pink and rimmed by a layer of fat as thick as your thumb.” The steak, paired with an excellent Pinot noir, was deemed “divine,” embodying “the essence of cow” – blood, fat, and marrow. It vanished quickly, leaving no room for dessert or even breakfast.
Williams has indicated that Chop House, alongside Bluebird, is a brand he intends to expand across the country.While this prospect is welcomed, a part of the author – “the terrible, greedy part that just devoured an obscene amount of bone-in ribeye” – expressed a desire to keep this culinary gem a local secret.
To book a table, visit the website here.
