Macellaio RC (Restaurant)

Top 10 things you need to know about Macellaio:

1) No, it’s not a Brazilian restaurant. Boo!

2) Yes, it is an Italian restaurant. Belissimo!

3) Vegetarians may want to look elsewhere. This is The Meat Zone (stated clearly on a wayfinder at the restaurant entrance). Also, if you’re on a restrictive diet, sorry: indulgence reigns supreme here.

4) Beneath the railway arches, this hidden gem steak restaurant is a worthy neighbour to top London restaurants such as Gordon Ramsay’s Union Street Café and OXBO. You won’t stumble across it, even if you follow the designated route from Southwark station to the Tate Modern.

5) Don’t expect the dark, cosy and tuna-biased persona of Macellaio’s older sibling in Exmouth Market. The bright, airy, glass and brick cavern is fun, colourful and a bit of a showoff: there’s a butchery masterclass theatrical catwalk and an in-house bakery up on the mezzanine. The rustic wooden floors and exposed industrial pipes are reminiscent of a farmhouse barn, or one of those really posh Nando’s you secretly love (embrace the shame). The downside: Sade is the soundtrack to the evening.

6) Begin with a sherry, or a light, summery Malibran Sottoriva prosecco.

7) Order the Italian beef tartare and watch it hand-torched at your table; a vehicle for the bubbling gorgonzola placed on top.

8) This is a cheap restaurant, at least with regards to the food. Two notes pay for a Fassano steak big enough to serve two ravenous mouths. The bargain-of-the-century meat arrives on the bone, beneath a silver-domed platter; steak knives stabbed and quivering in the tabletop; soft and pink on the inside; gratifyingly blackened on the exterior; accessorised by rock salt, buttered greens and crispy carbs. A simple plate is an Italian plate.

9) Margins are made up on the two Italian wine lists: one, leather-bound and serious; the other, pay-day affordable, in newspaper format. The reds humorously group according to steak cooking techniques – blue to well done – and within their ranks unusual wines excite those who desire the unexpected; such as the Antinori Orvieto Classico, which has the mystique of a long-forgotten holiday; or the ruby red Serafini & Vidotto Phigaia, a quaffable, fruity, Chianti-like wine that pairs well with steak, not fava beans.

10) This restaurant has “rowdy night out” written all over it, so get booking those classy London stag dos and boozy corporate dinners with visiting execs. ...read more