Roast Dinners in London

Sunday arrived and it was time to go honour that famous 90’s indie band, at The Libertine in Bank.

Let’s start in the toilets, shall we? It’s what Noel would want.

Have you ever seen such gorgeous wallpaper in a restaurant toilet?

I actually had to start in the toilets, as I’d read on their website that they had a dress code, including “no shorts”, so it being summer I wore jeans…but had shorts in my bag.

And it was quickly pointed out to me that other customers were wearing shorts, so I was taking my jeans off before I even had a drink…before England had even scored a penalty.

Just be thankful that the Online Safety Bill means that I cannot show you my willy.

Granted it could also mean the end of the internet as we know it, with all sites with any user content being illegal, so enjoy my reviews, and the whole internet whilst you can. I can seek forgiveness later, right?

She shall not be forgiven though.

What Became of the Leftover Spuds

Let’s stay on the subject of toilet, as London’s favourite class warrior is back with Your Party.

My Party?

You really want to know what my idea of a party would be?

So if I sign up I could influence the direction of Corbyn and Sultana’s new party?

Like, they’d be open to having a minimum of 4 roast potatoes on a plate in their manifesto, if I signed up? And maybe I could insist on a photograph of Margaret Thatcher in every pub toilet? And in exchange I’ll agree to nationalisation of…erm…Wetherspoons.

Deal?

Your Party…like…really, it could be My Party?

Two Thatcher’s?

I am sooooo getting reported to Ofcom.

The Man Who Would Be Lord Gravy

From the toilets to the vaults.

I didn’t photograph inside, but you can check various photographs on the design studio’s website.

The Libertine has been created within the vaults of The Royal Exchange, apparently on the same site as the first royal alcohol license in Britain was granted.

In one room, there was a super-long bar, though it was totally empty when I arrived (perhaps why they weren’t too bothered about people wearing shorts). In the other room was a restaurant, somewhat busier, but hardly that busy.

Lots of exposed brickwork from the vaults themselves, all high quality furnishings, a chequerboard floor near the bar and some striking art scattered on the walls. It definitely has “take mum and dad to” vibes.

The Libertine was actually a recommendation from Perplexity AI…I wonder how long it will be before Corbyn suggests nationalising AI? “Free AI for everyone”. Oh, it’s already free (maybe let’s forget the cost of electricity, water, data and some of our jobs).

I checked Google Maps as to the veracity of this AI suggestion, all the other suggestions were on point but I’d never heard of The Libertine, never seen it on a listicle, nobody had recommended it to me…7.5 years I’ve been doing this blog for and I had never heard of The Libertine.

And it seemed like it had thick gravy, hence it went on the list.

Time for Roasts

Though a good roast needs more than thick gravy.

Options on the menu were sirloin of beef at £26.00, chicken supreme at £24.00 and butternut squash wellington at £23.00.

I’d had both chicken and beef the week before when I was forced to have two meats, so I didn’t go for the vegetarian, and opted for the chicken supreme. Actually the vegetarian sounds quite good now I think about it…I was clearly far too consumed in thought about getting my legs out.

And maybe having a beer. Seeing as I’ve mentioned it, the beer choice wasn’t exactly amazing, but there was a choice – some of the usual lagers, along with Leffe and Camden Hazy – which were my two unconvincing but acceptable choices. Thankfully I disdained the idea of a large glass of red wine, given that we later discovered it was £19.50 a glass when paying up.

Or paying…oops. Always check the wine price before ordering, in central London.

Oh and I was advised that both the expresso martini, and Bloody Mary, were of outstanding quality.

Starting with the carrots, which were a medley of orange and yellow carrots – they were quite crunchy and a little too much for my preferences, but you cannot say that they weren’t good carrots. Maybe there was a hint of honey, but a hint at most.

The kale was really nice, rather peppery in flavour and had a bit of a glorious, buttery texture.

Roasties When the Oven Goes Off

None of us rated the parsnip puree which was just a bit weird. Why puree parsnip?

Mixed thoughts on the roast potatoes – they were soft throughout with absolutely zero crispiness. Yet they had been roasted in duck fat, and tasted quite luxurious.

And just 5 between two of us. Maybe I do need to join Your Party.

More mixed feelings on the Yorkshire pudding – the top was crispy and kind of dried out, though in the grand scheme of London not too much. Yet the bottom half was quite fluffy and enjoyable.

There wasn’t much chicken – just a breast, though I guess that does meet part of the definition of “chicken supreme”, even if the first wing wasn’t apparent.

The meat itself was moist, with a lemon flavour – and seemingly chargrilled on top. Quite liked it, didn’t love it.

Finally, the gravy was as I expected – gloriously thick. Described as a red wine gravy, but actually more meat stock in taste – though it was subtle enough that you couldn’t taste it unless you ate it on it’s own.

And that, dear London, is a proper gravy boat. Oooooh maybe another idea for Your Party? A law on the minimum size of gravy boat.

The Libertine

Speaking of doing things properly, The Libertine also provided proper, solid, good quality cutlery. I mean, how many times do you get offered naff cutlery in pub or restaurant?

We did also have cauliflower cheese which was excellent, featuring both cheddar and brie – you could definitely taste the cheese. Plus pigs in blankets which were decent…but unnecessary.

You can probably tell that we rated this place fairly highly, but my accomplices rated it notably higher than I did.

My regular accomplice scored hers an 8.80 out of 10 – the beef was apparently melt in your mouth, and did look the better choice. My two other accomplices handed out 8.40 and 8.50 scores.

Why is mine a bit lower? Because nothing really wowed me. I enjoyed everything on the plate, maybe bar the parsnip puree, but nothing was like, “OMG best roasties ever” kind of vibe. The gravy was probably my favourite part but even for that I was only mildly effusive.

That said, it’s still a fairly high score from me – a 7.89 out of 10. It’s an above-average roast dinner, pricing is competitive for central London, the venue is gorgeous, cutlery is proper, service was of the glide along style – at least our waiter was. There was a lot to like.

And then it was off to The Chequers to watch the Lionesses win yet another tournament…ENGLAND! And to have…

Nah, only joking, though ordering another roast dinner did cross my mind.

I won’t be back next Sunday as I’m in Hull. But I will be back the Sunday after.

Yes, Lady Thatcher could walk on water. And so could some of these supposedly “hot Spanish women” that look a bit more Australian to me, but hey. Blame Elon.