Christopher’s

As you all know, my lovely sister got hitched about five years ago and moved an eight hour flight journey away to the States. Since then, I’ve taken it upon myself to celebrate every U.S. holiday possible just so I can feel a teeny bit closer to her. It also means BW takes his eyes away from his beloved Bloomberg because the U.S. markets are closed – another reason to celebrate! So when fourth of July came around last month, I rounded up BW and the ILS, and dragged them with me to the only halal American restaurant I could think of – Christopher’s!

As I have visited and enjoyed my previous visit to Christopher’s for brunch, I was looking forward to what they had to offer for dinner. I had called a few days prior to my reservation to request halal lamb and chicken (they already have halal beef available), and Christopher’s happily obliged! After a whole day of drooling over their menu, it was finally dinner time!

Three juicy, plump prawns sat upon a mini zucchini corn cake whilst the rest of the plate was adorned with small dollops of black bean salsa, and drizzled with a tomato dressing. The prawns had been marinated with a smoky rub, and were cooked just right.

How cool is this deconstructed version of the salad. A huge piece of warm goats cheese was placed in the middle, and surrounded with blobs of tart quince jelly and small piles of broccoli, kale, and girolle mushrooms. It had then been dressed with a hazelnut sauce.

Asparagus stalks that had been grilled, drizzled in truffle oil, and showered in cheese shavings. A simple and light starter to the meal.

A round crab cake that had been fried to form a crust outer layer and covered in a healthy amount of red pepper mayonnaise. The crab cake on its own was not memorable, however the red pepper mayonnaise added the much needed kick whilst the tomato jam added a nice sweetness to the crab.

If you all thought I had an (un)healthy obsession with burgers, you should see me with steak – giggity. BW and I decided to share the USDA prime fillet steak which, naturally, proved to be a disaster. He wanted medium-well whilst I like my steak to be almost breathing. He also wanted blue cheese sauce but I vetoed his decision, and ordered some punchy chimichurri sauce. The steak arrived more to my liking of medium-rare and I greedily got stuck in. It was simply flavoured but incredibly juicy and delicious.

The chimichurri, a sauce consisting mostly of parsley and garlic, added a subtle garlicky kick to the meat and was thoroughly enjoyable. BW had his portion sent back to be cooked more to a medium-well and polished his steak off with the creamy blue cheese sauce after all. Of course, this is not the best steak I’ve had but is a good alternative to Meat Co.

As you can see from the picture above, the dish looked like a masterpiece and the lamb tasted like one too. The beautifully soft, melt-in-the-mouth lamb arrived cooked to a delicious medium to medium-rare and the knife effortlessly glided through the juicy, moist meat. It had been flavoured with a smokey type of rub which was offset even more with the char on the meat from the grill. The butternut squash galette was delightfully sweet to cut through the savoury elements of the dish.

My ILS opted for the salmon which had been covered in a smoky cajun seasoning, and blackened on a hot pan to get a lovely slight char on the fish. The fish just easily flaked away and each bite packed a punch of smoky cajun flavour. The accompanying jambalaya, made with risotto instead of the traditional rice, was a nice addition.

Ohhhhh my gosh. This mac and cheese *drools* was everything mac and cheese should be – dreamy, creamy, rich, and incredibly cheesy.  

We opted for both normal fries, and truffle fries which had been drizzled in pungent truffle oil and truffle shavings.

A bowl of velvety mash that had been topped with a layer of melted cheese.

We ordered this based on the recommendation from the waitress, and looking back, I wish I had ordered the pecan pie I was eyeing up. Not that it was bad; it was an incredibly rich and warm chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce, chocolate shards, and chocolate curls scattered around the plate. In other words, very chocolatey in that the vanilla ice cream or pecan crumble couldn’t offset the sweetness.  However, I loved the fact that the brownie was served warm and gooey.

Christopher’s do make the effort to ensure you have a true halal experience. The waitress was knowledgable as to which dishes were suitable for us, and kindly pointed out any dishes that contained alcohol or non-halal meat. She even informed us as to which sauces and desserts we could eat!

The total bill amounted to £221.63 for four, including drinks and service, so approximately £55 each. A pricey meal and perhaps one that should be saved for a special occasion  (I dont know, maybe something like passing 1 million views on my little ol’ halal food website  – woohoo!), however we did over order and were almost struggling to finish. Despite the high prices, I really did enjoy my dinner and found that the kitchen staff made every dish aesthetically pleasing.