Black Axe Mangal
Now The FatSteak Club doesn’t run a restaurant (yet?), but if we did, Black Axe Mangal would be high on the inspiration list.
On one cold wet evening in January two of the Clubbers, Dave B and Mike met in North London full of expectation. The website gives little away, but if you want a flavour, head to their Instagram. Don’t expect silver service and white tablecloths, think friendly, knowledgable service, Formica tables and rock music.
Black Axe Mangal’s (BAM) menu is small, but that doesn’t stop it being difficult to choose. So many dishes that we wanted to try, lucky we went hungry. We followed the advice, a couple of snacks, some smaller dishes, a couple of big dishes, and a bread. We then ignored the advice and went back for more.
We would like to point out that this is not a paid or sponsored blog post. BAM did not know the FatSteak Club was visiting or that they would be reviewed, until the end of the evening when we were doing shots with the chef!
A great start
First up - Borscht backs. You get a shot of neat vodka to be downed first, followed quickly by a shot of beetroot juice, horseradish and pickled walnut juice. Finish with the small skewer of kielbasa and pickled walnut. Certainly, one to get you in the mood. Just to be sure - we had another later on.
Crispy f****n rabbit couldn’t be turned down, if just for the name. What arrived was a perfect square of tender cooked pressed rabbit, crumbed and deep-fried, served with pickled mooli on a sweet chilli sauce.
The bit in the middle
Blood cake was some of the best black pudding we have ever eaten. Fried to give a crispy shell, giving way to a spiced black pudding centre. What looked like long thin pork scratchings turned out to be crispy fried pig’s ears nestled on a Fuji apple salad. A nod to the classic pork and apple pairing, combined with snout to tail eating. A heaven of textures.
Tender grilled duck hearts were served with generous silky slices of duck ham, served with pickled quince. The quince providing that much-needed sharpness to cut through the richness of the duck fat. If you are nervous about offal, this is the place to try it. Cooked to perfection.
The main event(s)
How good could cheese on toast be? Given everything else we had eaten, we went for ‘pretty damn good,’ and were not disappointed. BAM’s main method of cooking is a wood-fired oven you can see at the top of this post. Every bread we had from the oven was pillowy soft, with dark char marks. Add to this a whole Tunworth cheese, melted into the bread, and throw on a handful of cornichons for dipping and some sweet red onions and you had two very happy people!
Time to try one of the big boy plates - grilled lamb heart. The whole heart was cooked tender and pink, sliced and served on a bed of sauteed potatoes that soaked up the juices. The accompanying salad spiked with green chilli to keep you on your guard and topped with what looked like bonito flakes, giving extra umami.
The crowning glory
We saved the best for last, although to be honest, we are just listing it last on this post, it was one of the first dishes we went for on the night! This much-lauded dish has its roots in St. John in Smithfield’s but here given the BAM treatment - bone marrow, oxtail and anchovy.
Two big bones arrive, their jelly roasted to squidgy runny perfection, held in place by slow-cooked, shredded oxtail. All served on a spiky salad of anchovy, pickles and fiery red chillies. The charred bread an excellent vehicle for shovelling a bit of everything into your mouth. Put aside any preconceived thoughts about bone marrow - this will change your mind for the better. Simply perfect.
The happy finish
Confession time - we forgot to photograph the dessert we shared: an after eight choc ice. Smooth parfait like chocolate mint ice cream wrapped in crisp dark chocolate. There may have been a(nother) negroni for good measure too.
Would we recommend? Of course! Can we wait to go back - nope! There was a cookbook purchase on the way home as well, although it might be tricky to perfect some of those recipes without that wood fire!
