Oh Market how we miss you! Long before the others, this elegant little Parkway diner served up astonishingly good onglet and chips to greedy (and in-the-know) locals.
It’s now Purezza – a vegan pizza joint we absolutely have no problem with.
But should you find yourself knocking around NW1 at lunchtime and don’t fancy the stroll either to the reliable Patagonia, down near Mornington Crescent, or Beef & Brew in Kentish Town, we have a new recommendation: Roadkill.
You may not immediately be convinced by the name of this new stall (it’s a little squeamish-sounding) from chef Matthew Gregson-Jones and partner Jamie Patel – but there’s no doubting the quality of offer. Vegans look away now: they use every part of the animal and all meat is butchered on-site.
With only three mains on the menu, you can order Dexter bacon cheeseburgers, 35-day aged beef or a steak salad. These are accompanied by 5-hour slow roasted beef-dripping fries and home-made sauces.
On our visit a 225g sirloin – rib-eye or fillet is the same price – arrived sliced and rosy, pillowy enough to eat strip by strip with either naked paw or cutlery, depending on how civilised you’re feeling.
To accompany this we gobbled a superior seasonal slaw of sprout, fennel and carrot, lightly dressed, to add vits to the (yikes) generous pile of fries.
Cost-wise, it’s £12.50 for the steak-and-chips, and £2 for the (completely optional) slaw; we then returned a week later and enjoyed the rich smokiness of a pulled beef burger special (£8).
Oh, and time your meal carefully: the tiny counter has room for just two stools, although there are sharing benches just behind it. Let’s just hope they can expand to a proper bricks-and-mortar restaurant soon.
And it goes without saying that, despite the moniker, don’t turn up with a squirrel you’ve found in the middle of Chalk Farm Road.
