Blacklock Shoreditch

Blacklock built its name on one simple idea: good chops, cooked over coal, sold at a price that does not insult you. What started as a Soho basement is now a small group across the city, and the formula has barely changed, which is exactly why people keep coming back.

The thing to order is the All In, a set feast of pre-chops, a mix of beef, lamb and pork chops and a few sides, for a fixed price per person. It arrives stacked and charred at the edges, and it is a lot of food for the money. The 10-hour ash-aged beef and the skinny lamb chops are the highlights. On Sundays the kitchen turns to roasts, and the beef dripping potatoes alone justify the trip.

The rooms are loud, low-lit and unfussy, built for a group rather than a quiet date. Service is quick and friendly, the wine list stays affordable, and the house negroni has become a bit of a fixture. It is not fine dining and does not pretend to be. Blacklock is about volume, value and a good time, and on that measure it is one of the most reliable tables in London.