The first opening under D&D’s newly renamed restaurant group
Evolv is the new name for the D&D restaurant group, which itself was born from Conran Restaurants, the portfolio created by legendary British designer Sir Terrence Conran. And for their first trick, they’ve taken the New Street Grill, which was originally opened by D&D in 2012, and reimagined it as the Liverpool St Chop House & Tavern. At the same time, they’ve also rebranded Butler’s Wharf and Paternoster Chop House, under the same Chop House & Tavern brand, although these weren’t as drastic transitions as that of New Street Grill.
Eat This
The Chop House name gives a pretty big clue as to what to expect from Chef Mike Reid’s menu. What it doesn’t immediately tell you however is the effort that they’ve put into the sourcing of the meat, all of which comes from The Ethical Butcher, a company that we’ve championed for a long time (they featured in our 2020 Heroes list). This is some of the finest meat you can buy, all sourced from regenerative farms across the UK.
Before you get to the chop part however, there’s oysters topped with beef consumé and horseradish, or dressed classically with lemon shallot red vinegar – or even the battered oyster with smoked potato aioli.
Starters include the likes of Welsh rarebit fries and potted shrimp; we went for the beef and bone marrow crumpet and the smoked haddock scotch egg with hot apple mustard, both of which were excellent. Though in hindsight perhaps we didn’t need any more beef, considering what came next.
Before you order, cuts of meat are brought around to your table on a trolley. There are individual steaks, big rib-eyes for sharing, pork chops, and lamb Barnsley chops. We ended up going for the chateaubriand, cooked medium rare and with a side of béarnaise sauce and beef dripping fries. On a rainy Monday night in October, this was an ideal, if extravagant, comfort meal. You also get to choose your own steak knife, which are all handmade in Peckham by Blenheim Forge – another excellent partnership.
Drink This
Begin with a Guinness served in a big traditional tankard – and only £5 (all pints, in fact, can be yours for a fiver). A glass of Sancerre ‘Le Petit Broux’ worked well with the oysters and Scotch egg, and with the beef, a hearty Rhone Valley Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Les Vallons de la Solitude.
Why Go
What’s not to love about Ethical Butcher meat and £5 pints in the heart of the City? This is sure to be a big hit for Evolv.
Key Information
Address | 16A New Street, Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4TR
For more information | liverpoolstchophouse.co.uk
