Meat And Mash Is Taken To A New Level At Flank

Flank, Old Spitalfields Market ★★★★★

Will Noble
By Will Noble Last edited 77 months ago
Meat And Mash Is Taken To A New Level At Flank Flank, Old Spitalfields Market 5

From the way people congregate around the meaty fumes of Flank in Spitalfields Market on a Friday evening, you'd have thought this place was an East End institution. It's actually only been here since October 2017, but already people are slinking off, disappointed that the bone marrow gnocchi and burnt ends buns have sold out. They'll know to get here earlier next time.  

Chef Tom Griffiths started Flank in Brighton in 2015, and as well as perfecting his hand at the grill and Big Green Egg, he knows how greet his London customers like he's known them years. Tossing a steak on the grill here, spooning out cauliflower cheese there, he chucks in gags and bonhomie on the house. He also makes sure you're well-lubricated with glasses of natural, light red wines (rich wines don't pair with rich food, opines Griffiths).

Tom Griffiths, a master of meat

Flank falls into the trend of simple British-style food, cooked well. While the likes of beef, duck breast, mash and cabbage may not sing out to a well-travelled palate, you'd be a fool to write this menu off. The beef is slow cooked, before being braised over flames in offal ragu. The duck is deliciously lacquered, then hung over fire. The cabbage is fresh and crunchy, offsetting all that richness.

And while the already-famed gnocchi is very good, it's the humble portion of mash, layered with stock, that bowls us over — a creamy stratus cloud, heaving with gravy rain. "How the heck is this so good?" we ask. "It's the way you whip it," explains Griffiths.

Exactly the kind of no-nonsense reply you'd expect from a guy who's humbly taken British meat and mash to a new level.

Flank, Old Spitalfields Market

Last Updated 27 October 2017