Are you one of those that scoff at British food? Well, be prepared to change your mind when you visit the iconic Sophie’s Steakhouse, a Chelsea institution. The owners focus on serving top-quality British beef and food made with healthy ingredients to diners who love a good hearty meal.
Location: Sophie’s Steakhouse is located at 311-313 Fulham Rd, Chelsea, London.
Menu: Sophie’s Steakhouse has an extensive menu serving family fare, as well as catering for the sophisticated palate. As one would expect, the restaurant specializes in beef, and there is a choice of regular cuts or dishes to share, for example, Cote de Boeuf and Chateaubriand. Try the usual hamburger or a dry-aged steak burger.
Among classic favorites, you will find Fisherman’s Pie and roast Cornish Cod, as well as BBQ pork ribs, grilled chicken and tuna steak. A more unusual offering is the roasted vegetable curry and peppered steak salad. For a smaller appetite, enjoy a variety of small plates: from chicken wings and squid to beetroot hummus and horseradish cured salmon or nibble on the house salami or the beef and thyme Scotch egg. Desserts include typical English offerings, baked cheesecake, and ice-cream, made in-house. The restaurant also prizes their signature cocktails.
Thoughts: Since its inception in 2002, the restaurant has built a reputation for providing everything fresh, even the native breed beef, sourced from northern England and then butchered daily. It is quite a unique experience going downstairs to the restroom and through the glass window in the basement see the rows of beef being dry-aged on site. After one month, it is ready to be chargrilled to perfection.
Sophie’s Steakhouse is an unpretentious, open space of bare brick walls, with bright light fittings, and clean-scrubbed, rustic wood tables. It seats 80 people and caters for lunch, a light meal or a wholesome dinner out. There is no booking, but the wait is not long. For those wanting to hang out, there is a full swinging bar accommodating 30 people. Local craft beers and excellent wines contribute to a pleasant atmosphere.
The waiters were quick to hand out activity sheets and crayons to the two children in our party. While the kids were enjoying their burgers, we nibbled on juicy, green olives, a few rounds of fragrant home-made bread, burrata, and small plates of crispy squid with Nduja mayonnaise.
I enjoyed the classic fisherman’s pie, savoring the different textures of cod, salmon, hake, and prawns, while my host enjoyed the delicately flavored Cornish roast cod, a flakey white fish with few bones. My hostess appreciated the pink, medium-rare rib-eye. I was impressed by the selection of side options and loved the baked sweet potato with yogurt and pesto, and the fresh green salad.
We all tasted the traditional sticky toffee pudding and Eton Mess, a traditional English dessert, supposedly dating back to 1893 when it was introduced at Eton College. To this day, it is served at the annual cricket match against Harrow School. I could not resist the baked cheesecake drizzled with chocolate sauce.
Prices: The menu reflects reasonable London prices, ranging from $7 – $10 for small plates and light meals, $20 to $32 for mains and desserts priced at $9. Bottles of wine start at about $14.50 a bottle. Chilling at Sophie’s Steakhouse is the real deal!
Guest Reviewer Bio: This review is written by Elsa Dixon. Elsa, a South-African born U.S. citizen, is a part-time piano teacher, freelance travel writer, photographer, food and wine-lover. During school holidays, she leads small group tours to South Africa and other countries, blogging on her website https://travelswithelsa.com/. She loves to visit her family who lives in Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
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