South Place Chop House, East London: Sociable Dining in the City

I first reviewed The South Place Hotel when it opened in 2012, the first hotel from D&D London, owners of some of the capital’s best-known restaurants including Skylon at the Southbank Centre and Bluebird Café on the King’s Road. A breath of fresh air on the East London hotel scene, the art-filled 80-room boutique hotel has a modest exterior, blending with the surrounding offices, but once inside its fun and friendly, decked out with eclectic art work from local artists without seeming pretentious. The open feel is welcoming, from the ground-floor bar and blink-and-you-miss-it South Place entrance lobby, which leads to the Chop House.

Inspired by the 18th-century’s answer to the restaurant, chop houses catered to richer guests. Not so the South Place Chop House, with a simple menu featuring sides from £3 (mini hash browns, smashed avocado and crispy smoked streaky bacon). At the top of the hotel, the light-filled, loft-style Michelin-starred Angler restaurant offers more pricey fine-dining fish dishes. When the hotel first opened the Chop House was called 3 South Place with more muted interiors, but has since transformed into a copper-filled space with soft, glowing lighting, leather seating, polished dark and parquet flooring, designed by Conran and Partners interiors.

Seven years on my family return on a busy Saturday with tables packed out with diners (mainly women it has to be said) taking advantage of the Bottomless Bruch with fizz and two courses for a not-bad-at-all £18. We’re sat by the window, perfect for nosing at people walking along South Place. Staff sweep around us about bringing water (and slices of lemon on a plate), but no bread - is this a dying tradition? - and our starters. There’s no waiting or chasing your next dish; it’s all well choreographed. My partner orders Bang-Bang chicken wings, each crispy, peppery and salty with a hot, peanut sauce. Maya, our daughter, chooses the mini hash browns, which surprise on arrival as a bowl of crispy round croquettes filled with chunky potato pieces sat on a bed of tangy sriracha (pink, chill infused mayo). I just ordered a salad, which sounds boring but, in fact, my spring salad with peas, broad beans, slithers of radish dressed in a salad cream turned out to be a lovely bowl of naturally sweet greenery.

Mains include diner-style dishes such as buttermilk fried chicken and grilled steak sandwich. Despite this we ignored the meat on the menu. My partner went for the lobster roll, a big brioche stuffed with big chunks of juicy lobster, slices of avocado accompanied by hand cut (angular) chips (unsalted scoring points with the high blood pressured eater). I chose shakshuka, a classic aromatic Middle Eastern dish combining baked eggs with chilli, tomato with added avocado and feta, served bubbling away in a copper pan. I’m a big fan of tomatoes and given they are a key part of this dish it seems churlish to say this, but, perhaps there were just too many. Maya ordered the vegan dish of sweet potato rosti, with smashed avocado, vegan yoghurt and sriracha. Yes some ingredients are repeated across the dishes but they’re popular ones, which I’m guessing is why.

Despite modest portions we’re filling up fast but who’s turning down pudding? I like a dessert menu that’s not overcomplicated e.g. four or five choices; I’m so indecisive that by the end of a three-course meal my decision-making powers have all but dried up. I settled on gooseberry and almond tart, a warm strip of soft sponge dotted with sour gooseberries, tempered by the almond element. Maya plumped for warm waffles with chocolate fudge sauce, two industrial chunks of waffle dripping with a creamy sauce she identified as Lindt chocolate, and she’s eaten a lot of that in her 14 years, but who knows? Ali’s dark chocolate pave proved the real winner, with a small slab of layered chocolate, served cocoa nib ice cream, both managing to be creamy despite the dark chocolate.

Seven years on the Chop House has only improved yet the prices remain, if not exactly 18th century, certainly affordable in the 21st.

* South Place Chop House, two courses £22.50, three £27.50. Father’s Day Sunday Roast offer includes a glass of Schiehallion beer for Dads with every course. Greater Anglia runs regular services to London Liverpool Street. Adult single fares from £5, children travel for £2 with an adult and under fives travel for free. Tickets can be bought online from Greater Anglia or via the Greater Anglia app.