Steak school in session at Blackhouse
“THERE are lots of great restaurants in Leeds and more opening on a weekly basis,” said Scott Grimbleby, managing director of the Blackhouse group under the Living Ventures banner.
“It’s about how you differentiate yourselves,” he said, and that is certainly what has been done with the new look, new menu Blackhouse.
Mr Grimbleby has taken on the task of revitalising the Blackhouse brand in a very competitive market. Following a partnership with premium butchers and meat sourcing business Fairfax Meadow down in Derby (pictured below), it’s now got one of the best steak selections in town – perfect for the carnivores of Leeds.
One of the earliest of the Living Venture brands, Blackhouse has been a strong contender in the market for years, but now Leeds’ food and drink scene is hotting up, it needs to pull out the stops to retain its position as a crowd favourite.
The brand had stood still for a time, until a strategic review 12 months ago which saw the introduction of Mr Grimbleby to oversee the revamp.
Though they have kept the twinkling lights and low lit jazz club vibes (piano players come in on Tuesday nights which only adds to the feel) a new outdoor conservatory with a retractable roof looking out onto Bond Court will give it a more Mediterranean feel in the summer.
The menu is really what makes this place special. A ‘book of beef’ gives you an education about what you’re eating that can rarely been found elsewhere.
Mr Grimbleby said: “Having tracked and been a fan of Blackhouse as a guest I knew it was, and is, a really great brand with great foundations. When I came on board it was not that far away from where we wanted it to be but we want to take it back to its roots. It’s a steak and seafood restaurant – we do honest food really well, let’s focus on that.”
The Leeds site has been used as a testbed to see what works.
Only four dishes remain from the main menu prior to the changes, but it is Blackhouse’s ‘Steak School’ that makes it a bit special.
Not for the faint hearted, butchers will talk you through the intricacies and difficulties of raising the right cow in the right place on the right food to create some delicious steak, with raw cuts of meat on the table before them.
A taster evening saw cuts range from a Scotch sirloin, to a tomahawk cut that had been 28-day aged in a Himalayan salt chamber that is new onsite at Blackhouse, to a grain-fed Australian fillet – it’s a meat lovers dream. Unlike some other restaurants, Blackhouse’s new steak menu comes from all corners of the globe to suit any palate.
The Australian grain-fed and the Scotch fillets
For those who feel that steak without wine is tantamount to sacrilege, there has been some serious thought put into the wine list.
A Chateau de Chambert with the Scotch sirloin gives a bit of a bitter aftertaste, and the sommelier on hand says its high acidity (for a Malbec) helps to cut through with first piece of sirloin.
A pungent Basque country wine for the fillet with a hint of cocoa, vanilla and licorice for the next, and a wine from just outside Madrid that grows naturally alongside rosemary and herbs for the Australian grain-fed fillet which was certainly the highlight of the night.
The pairings are unbelievably well thought through and a lot of time and care has gone into them, much like the restaurant itself. Steak at Blackhouse is not just an experience, it’s an education as well – which is really what makes it stand out from the crowd.
