Despite being slap bang in the middle of Soho, secluded St.Anne’s Court is not the ideal spot to open a bar / restaurant on account of the surprising lack of footfall. Goodman’s highly rated fish foray Rex & Mariano found this out the hard way, but they moved quickly and came up with Zelman Meats in its place. And it’s a runaway hit.
There’s no printed menu, they just cook a load of meat, offer it to you by weight, and throw in a few enticing sides like black truffle and parmesan chips, or roasted cauliflower with paprika, cumin, hummus, black sesame and pomegranate. The meatiness of the picanha, chateaubriand, and “dirty steak” cuts wasn’t particularly intense, but you’ll want to smother everything in their excellent chimichurri anyway. The smoked short ribs were top notch – N.B. the ones pictured below are “small”.
Be warned – prices rack up pretty quickly. A smarter option might be to drop by at lunch for a short rib sandwich, or on Sundays for a competitively priced roast. There’s also good value to be found at Blacklock and Flat Iron nearby.
Zelman boasts an attractive bar (with some comfortable booths ideal for dining too), but if you want to move on for drinks, you aren’t short of options – Milroy’s, El Camion, Shotgun, Bar Termini, and The Blind Pig should be enough to get you started.
