I hate using Waterloo Station. There are so many exits I invariably end up lost. So when friends suggested dinner at “Black and Blue”:http://www.blackandbluerestaurants.com/#/waterloo, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it despite a promising sounding menu. A helpful Transport For London chap pointed us in the direction of exit three and lo and behold (well it is Christmas) it was right across the road.
Our table was booked for 6.30pm but we agreed to meet in the bar from 6pm onwards for drinks. Bearing in mind we were in the pre-Christmas period, the bar looked busy with standing room only so we were asked if we wanted to sit at our table instead: a rather nice booth with red leather seats on the edge of the restaurant.
Eventually we were all gathered. The festive eating season was obviously taking its toll on all of us, as no one even mentioned having a starter (there is a two course menu for £16 before 7pm). However, there are three sharing boards for £10: charcuterie, mezze and cheese.
My partner, Roy, was suffering from a cold (he would say man flu) and had dragged himself out of bed for the evening so, with little appetite, plumped for a starter of king prawn chargrilled with garlic which was perfect – light and full of flavour (and garlic as I can attest).
This is mainly a steak and burger joint but there is also a chargrill section on the menu which has salads, fish, and chicken options. Two of us had what we thought would be a light option: baked field mushroom, with grilled vegetables, goat’s cheese and fries (£10). When it arrived we couldn’t believe our eyes – two large mushrooms each topped with a thick slice of grilled aubergine, a large slice of grilled red pepper and on top a huge slab of tasty goat’s cheese all drizzled with pesto and balsamic dressing. A trendy individual deep fat fryer container housed a portion of crisp dry chips. It’s a good job that the fourth member of our party opted for a simple sea bass fillet, beans and new potatoes as it left him with enough room to help us out.
We had one or two bottles (possibly three) of South African Chenin – which was one of the cheaper bottles at £23.
Service was good but unobtrusive. All sounding good so for – HOWEVER, this is not the place for anyone who enjoys conversation with their food, as the music blared out and I’m not talking Christmas carols. It felt as though we were in a disco with a bass thumping away (as did our heads the following day – maybe from the wine, maybe from the music! During the day it’s possibly much quieter, but beware the evening music.
There are a couple of other branches of this chain around London.
