The Butchers Bar & Steakhouse, Long Eaton, Derbyshire

Have you ever walked into a restaurant that just feels totally out of context with its surroundings? Not necessarily in a bad way – just out of context.  I had that feeling recently when I ate at The Butchers Bar and Steakhouse in Long Eaton near Derby.

Very unassuming from the outside, in an old Victorian factory building and in the less favourable end of Long Eaton, this place was a complete shock on the inside. Urban cool to the max, I could have been in any trendy big city – maybe London’s Shoreditch or the meat packing district in New York.

As this meal was shortly before Dave and I moved down to Bristol, it acted as a bit of a farewell supper because we were there with mates. You’ll recognise Emily from Recipes & Reviews – she’s a well known face on Gingey Bites! Over the last four years of blogging we’ve become firm friends. 

To start, between us we had pork scratchings to nibble on (oh my goodness, they were GOOOOD) and then three starters. These were the Posh Egg on Toast (chargrilled asparagus, free range hens egg, hollandaise & toasted brioche), Mac ’n’ Cheese Cakes (panko crusted mac & cheese balls, roasted tomato ketchup & crispy onions) and finally, Chicken Lollipops (pulled chicken in panko crumb, smooth creamy aioli, crunchy sage & onion dips & crispy chicken skin). 

I had the Mac ‘N’ Cheese cakes and although the texture was good, I felt they were a little bit bland, despite opting to ‘beef’ mine up with braised short rib in the mix. I know I eat too much salt so perhaps to others, these would have been fine but I needed to crank it on to pull out the flavour.
Emily and Dave both had the posh egg on toast and although it looked delicious, we were all surprised that the yolks weren’t runny For me, I also found the brioche too sweet although Dave enjoyed it as a combination. 

Really, with the phrase steakhouse in it’s title, this place was about one thing – the steak. So, starters aside, we moved on to the main event. The meat they use is locally reared, from either Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire and it can all be traced back to the farm. 

Dave and Sam had the 16oz Porterhouse – grilled on the bone for maximum flavour. I went for the 12oz Ribeye, cooked medium rare as suggested, and Emily had the 10oz Flat Iron, sliced and cooked in brown sugar and bourbon. The meat was all excellent, totally delicious and the portions were HUGE! There are some options on the menu for none steak eaters but let’s be honest, if you’re not into steak, don’t go to a steakhouse. 

All of our dishes came with a grilled tomato, flat mushroom and dressed salad plus a choice of chunky chips or root vegetable dauphinoise. The chips were heavily seasoned and totally delicious. My steak, despite being one of the smaller cuts on the table, was huge! The meat was   cooked to perfection (medium rare) with charred bits around the edges contrasting against the pink, juicy inside. Although we had steak knives, I think we could all have cut our meat up with spoons if needed. Also, check out the sauces for some interesting combos – I went for the Blacksticks Blue and Thyme. 

So, in conclusion, whilst there are a few negatives in this review, we really enjoyed The Butchers Bar and Steakhouse. The main courses were excellent with really high quality steak. The service was incredibly good with Mikey and his team on their A game from start to finish. Recommendations were made throughout the night on both drinks and food and they really know their stuff.  For me, tweak those starters and puddings and this place will be worth the trip to from just about anywhere (even my new home right down south in Bristol!).

Want more steak? Try this Friday night in box from Eversfield Organic.

*The Butchers Bar and Steakhouse invited me to review their food free of charge. However, as you’d expect, all opinions are my own*