Mr White’s English Chophouse – Whitechapel, London

Being one of the youngest chefs to be awarded three Michelin stars, before controversially returning them following his retirement as a kitchen chef in 1999, Marco Pierre White requires little introduction when it comes to the UK restaurant scene.

Since then, he has invested far and wide as a restaurateur, with Mr White’s English Chophouse in East London being one such venture.

It should be noted from the outset, however, that this 90-cover venue is actually located in a boutique hotel called New Road in Whitechapel.

The restaurant itself is spaciously decked out, rustic in appearance – no doubt having retained the original brickwork from the former textile factory the hotel took over from – with pictures of Mr White adorning the place.

With a huge open kitchen at the back, there’s a number of comfortably cushioned, light brown leather seats, with candle-lit lamp shades on every table.

More impressively, management are extremely flexible too, with the restaurant’s private rooms accessible for prayers, subject to availability.

As for their menu, then it’s short and to the point, and revolves around steaks, grills and chops, while at the same time combining English classics with a touch of the French in true Marco style.

(Left-Right) Pineapple Cobbler – strawberry, lime and pineapple juices, topped with club soda; Not-So-Cosmo – fresh orange, lemon and limes juices, cranberry; Virgin Mojito – available only on request; Tea Total – English Breakfast tea, grapefruitand lime juices, honey; The Bee’s Knees – franklin & Sons Wild Strawberry and Scottish Raspberry with Cracked Black Pepper, lemon juice, honey; Pina Colada – available only on request – £4.50 each

A shed load of exciting-sounding mocktails which were, on the whole, pretty good.

The two which aren’t on the menu, but regularly recommended by staff, are the classic Virgin Mojito and Pina Colada. The former was a squeeze or two of citrus away from neutralising its mintiness, and the latter requiring some more pineapple to counter the domineering sweetness of the cream.

The one that truly impressed us though, starting with the first sip, was the Not-So-Cosmo. The extreme citrusy kick, delivered by the sharpness of the grapfruit, which was cleverly offset by the sweetness of the orange peel therein, just blew our hair back! Fantastically tangy, with a clever candy-esque aftertaste. RECOMMENDED!

The Bee’s Knees wasn’t far behind either, albeit from an entirely different direction. While this was a peculiar one to dissect, yet the apparent berry combo was deliciously addictive.

The Pineapple Cobbler had the fruit coming through well, but with an ultra-sweet finish.

And finally, the slightly bitter aftertaste of the Tea Total was the weakest of the bunch. With the lime lingering in the background, it wasn’t as inspired as the above; although iced-tea enthusiasts might appreciate this far more than we did.

Mr White’s Fresh Crab – sauce mayonnaise, toast Melba, £10.50

The Mr White’s Fresh Crab was the most attractively presented starter.

With the pureed crab base being subtle in taste, it was topped with a sprinkling of egg white crumb, egg yoke, and finely chopped up chives. And though a simple one, it went nicely with the uber-crunchy toast melba.

Finest Quality Smoked Salmon – properly garnished, brown bread and butter, £9.95

Presented with half a wedge of lemon, which was conveniently wrapped in a muslin bag, the quality and freshness of the salmon certainly fulfilled the clause, “Finest Quality”, in its title.

Since this is topped with plenty of capers, be sure to give the slithers of salmon a very generous squeeze of the lemon in order to really enjoy this with the accompanying slices of soft, buttered brown bread.

Wheeler’s Crispy Calamari – sauce tartare, fresh lemon, £8.95

No matter how good the gentle tartness of tartar sauce was going to be, it would never be enough in rescuing the chewy-cum-rubbery texture of these otherwise crispy calamaries.

Smoked Mackerel Brandade – Toast Melba, £7.95

The strong flavour of the mackeral was enough for us to enjoy this for what it was, despite its relative dryness. Again it went well with the crusty melba toast.

NOTE: All served with roasted vine tomatoes and triple cooked chips.

Grilled 35 Day Aged Ribeye 10oz, £26.95

The natural umami flavour of this pink, juicy and tender piece of 35-day grilled piece of meaty goodness went wondrously with the garlic-infused oily mushroom accompaniment.

The only thing we wanted to do was carry on chewing towards nirvana.

It also came with perfectly made triple-cooked chips, which were thick and crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the in, along with roasted tomatoes on the vine. Tremendous dish!

35 Day Aged T-Bone To Share 32oz, £55.00

Boy were we looking forward to this beast (for obvious reasons!).

But, as is sometimes the case, the reality in this case didn’t quite live up to our admittedly lofty expectations.

Yes, this was a beast and a half, but it flattered to deceive. The problem lay with its lopsidedness, with one half being far thicker than the other.

Consequently, we received a T-bone which, while conveniently cut up into segments, and in spite of the prominent griddle marks, was well done to slightly over on one side of the T and medium on the other.

But, even the good side offered only three optimally cooked strips of meat worth a smile.

Truth be told, this beast simply wasn’t an attractive one. Perhaps it was cut that was the problem.

Whatever the case, and this time round, it sadly wasn’t worth the £55 price tag!

Classic peppercorn sauce

This classic peppercorn sauce had a watery consistency, was nice and peppery, and plentiful too.

Bearnaise sauce with tarragon

But it’s this bearnaise sauce with tarragon that’s the one to get. Beautifully made without being overly powering.

Roast Rump of Lamb Dijonnaise – Haricot vert, dauphinoise potatoes, rosemary roasting juices, £22.50

This Roast Rump of Lamb Dijonnaise was straightforwardly presented, and looked mightily inviting.

The lamb had a chive crust, and was perfectly pink on the inside – just as ordered. Resting atop Haricot vert, or French green beans, the lamb was, as you’d guess judging by the picture above, as soft and as tender as you’d want, and went seamlessly with the equally soft and buttery dauphinoise potatoes, which were expertly finished off with a crispy top.

The gravy jus was sufficiently rich, and managed to bring everything together into a coherent whole.

Roast Chicken a la Forestiere – Fricassée of wild mushrooms, petit pois, pomme fondant, roasting juices, £15.95

With all constituent elements cooked perfectly well, all that’s required for enjoying this wholesome Roast Chicken a la Forestiere is to just tuck right in!

The chicken was fantastically cooked; the potato fondant as it should be; slightly wilted and not overly strong pickled onions; and peas and mushroom. Simply put: enjoy!

The Alex James – Alex’s Blue Monday cheese, crisp iceberg lettuce, £13.50

For those of you not in the know, then Alex James was a member of the 90s rock band Blur, but who’s now a farmer that produces the cheese used exclusively in this burger named after the man himself.

With their beef burgers finished in a barbeque glaze, and served in a nice crispy brioche bun alongside pommes frites, this burger, though simple in makeup, looked like an appetising one.

And it proved to be even better, particularly with the 8oz patty turning out so juicy and meaty. The glaze was expertly judged, and beautifully covered in all that Alex’s Blue Monday Cheese.

And it didn’t matter if there was minimal sauce here, because not only was its succulency undeniable, but the incredibly fragrant cheese piquancy just right in complimenting the natural flavour of the beef.

This is probably the best beef burger we’ve had this year!

Lasagne of Wild Mushrooms – green salad with truffle dressing (v), £13.50

The first thing to come through in this cheesy rich Lasagne of Wild Mushrooms was the light, sweet tanginess of the tomato base followed, of course, by the earthy combination of the soft, tender mushrooms. And with plenty of cream therein too, don’t be too pedantic in counting any calories with this one.

Had with the fantastic greens – an assortment of the pepperiness of the rocket leaves, cress, and fragrant coriander – and this lasagne was simply delicious.

Fresh Blueberry Cheesecake (v) 6.25

Granted, this was a large dessert; but to be fair, it was relatively light considering its size.

What made this Fresh Blueberry Cheesecake was, indeed, the freshness of the delicious sweet-cum-sharp blueberry topping, which combined beautifully with the thick layer of light cream, and the equally light and very crumbly biscuit base.

To repeat, it’s big and quite sweet, so have some room left over and your sweet tooth switched on.

Classic Dark Chocolate Mousse (v) 5.50

This was definitely the adult in this family of desserts.

A rich and decadent dark chocolate mousse, with a velvety smoothness we all fell for like suckers. The crunchy brittle provided some good textural contrast. But what really took this too another level were, believe it or not, the micro mint leaves, which added that extra depth of flavour and touch of freshness. Just needed more of the mint, we felt. Dessert of the day!

Cambridge Burnt Cream (v) 5.50

Here is wisdom (courtesy of the manager): this Crème Brûlée is attributed to Cambridge, because that’s where the Crème Brûlée is said to apparently have originated from (not France).

Be that as it may, this was a really good Crème Brûlée, apologies, a really good Cambridge Burnt Cream, which lived up to its name, with its crunchy sugar top succeeding in delivering a nice bitter edge to what was a vanilla-sweet layer of smooth custard underneath.

Warm Chicago Chocolate Brownie (v) – with milk ice cream £5.95

This Warm Chicago Chocolate Brownie was decent without being anything spectacular.

The brownie was dense and chocolatey, drizzled with some chocolate sauce, and topped with a nice scoop of milky ice cream.