Clerkenwell’s famous Quality Chop House will reopen its next-door café on March 27, serving its famous mince on toast among other lunch-time dishes.
An announcement from the restaurant said QCH Café “will be reborn”, providing diners a chop house lunch “in a speedier fashion” and in a more casual setting.
Classic dishes for which the venue is known will sit alongside new ones. By far the most exciting proposition is a QCH club sandwich (£12), but there will also be pork pies, Caesar salad, salmon pastrami, and, in a spectacular turn of events, “confit potato shards” (£4.50) — the original confit potatoes, served in the chop house, might be the most imitated dish in London — with an anchovy and garlic mayonnaise.
A new ploughman’s (£16), the French onion soup with a three-cheese toastie, and rice pudding with rhubarb (£7) while in season, also sound enjoyable.
Nothing is changing at Quality Wines, the group’s wine bar and small plates on the end of the property, or at the original chop house.
“Rest assured, we will continue to offer our hot and cold sandwiches for takeaway,” said the team. “These will be available from the counter at the front of the shop — alongside stellar deli items, groceries and wines.”
The Quality Chop House, which has existed on Farringdon Road since 1869, has slowly been expanding in recent years. Its shop and sandwich counter has become a popular upmarket place for groceries and takeaway lunches in the area, while its wine bar has allowed the team to move into lighter, Mediterranean-inspired food.
In the main dining room and under the stewardship of head chef Shaun Searley, the restaurant proper continues to be one of London’s best, serving dishes such as roast Brixham brill, Mangalitza brawn with mustard, and steaks.
