- Food : 8/10
- Service: 9/10
- Atmosphere: 8/10
- Overall: 8/10
If there is a criticism to be made of the many high quality steakhouses that now exist across London, it’s that many of them tend towards the cavernous. The meat will be great, the wine list long and packed with appropriately punchy Malbecs and Zinfandels, but the room will be large, the noise levels high and there is a high chance of being less than 6 feet away from a table of braying city boys. Or worse, estate agents. Great for a night out with a group, less ideal for a more intimate dinner a deux.
Located just north of Wigmore Street, where Marylebone leaves the mayhem of Oxford Street behind, Zoilo offers the ideal antidote to the corporate behemoth steakhouse. Intimate without being small, it has the padded leather upholstery and wood panelling you might expect from an old fashioned steakhouse but without being, well, old fashioned. In the midst of winter and in the best possible sense of the word, the restaurant is cosy.
There is a bit of pedigree behind Zoilo as well. Chef Patron Diego Jacquet is an alumni of El Bulli and while the menu doesn’t lose sight if its core purpose – to feed you meat, there is a lot more sophistication to it than simply a list of cuts and weights. This was immediately evidenced when we began with a delicate amuse bouche of sea trout and dill, complemented by the El Enemigo Semillon from Agrelo Lujan de Cuyo recommended to us as an aperitif.
To start we enjoyed the grilled Chorizo. Served with carrots, dates and seed Chimichurri, this was a full sausage that was surprising light, with none of the fattiness that can sometimes blight this type of meat. Other meat options were available, included a beef tartare and veal sweetbreads, but there is also a very healthy selection of fish and vegetarian options. The Sea Bream Ceviche “aji Amarillo” provided a fresh counterpoint to the sausage, the chilli giving a real kick to the sauce but balanced by a mango sauce.
For the main course, it of course had to be steak, although again fish and vegetarian options are offered. We just to the chase and went with the Centro de Lomo Chateaubriand with an autumn truffle bearnaise. Ultimately steak stand or falls on the quality of the ingredients and this did not disappoint. The thick chunks of succulent meat were complement by the bearnaise, which pulled off the not so easy trick with truffles of sitting with rather than over the flavour of the steak. A decent range of sides is available. Chips, obviously, but we also enjoyed the signature cauliflower cheese with Comte and a rather sly use of peanut butter that added a subtle sweetness.
Somehow room remained for dessert. The dulce de leche crème brulee and accompanying banana split is tailor made for those with a truly sweet tooth, basically a riot of toffee and
banana. For those preferring something sharper, the lemon custard tart was tangy and the Diplomat crème less sweet than the brulee.
The wine list contains only Argentinian wine but with a far greater range of grape than you often see. As well as the Semillon we enjoyed to start, the whites cover Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc. For the reds there is obviously plenty of Malbec but Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and even some interesting single varietal Cabernet Francs also appear. Much of this is available by the glass or carafe at prices that are incredibly reasonable – you will be a long way down the list before you are spending more than £12 for a glass.
If you are looking for a steak dinner, or even if you are not, there is much to recommend Zoilo. It’s a lovely room, the menu is just that bit more sophisticated than even your high end chain steakhouse tends to offer and it is priced extremely favourably compared to those usual suspects. Add in the friendly and attentive service and this is the place for when you want steak with that special someone rather than the lads.
ADDRESS: Zoilo, 9 Duke Street, London W1U 3EF, 020 7486 9699, www.zoilo.co.uk.
OPENING TIMES:
Lunch, Tuesday to Saturday from 12:00 to 16:00 (14:30 last food orders)
Dinner, Tuesday to Saturday from 17:30 to 24:00 (21:45 last food orders)
PRICES: Starters £12.90-£25.90, mains £27.90 – £69.90, desserts £9.90 – £126.90
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