Open daily 11am–1am
Arguably, the arrival of West Thirty Six on the wrong end of Golborne Road reveals how gentrified (that dreaded g-word) the area has become, but I have to admit I welcomed its arrival (who doesn’t like pretty things?). The latest venture by Robert Newmark, the guy behind the Beach Blanket Babylon trio, is a looker alright, with its Soho House-style bistro ground floor; loungey first floor and rock ‘n’ roll top floor, which is reserved for bottle service (they’ll hold onto your bottle until your next visit).
We arrived on a sunny, weekday lunchtime so headed to the small roof terrace overlooking the railway tracks, but quickly admitted defeat and moved to the warmth of a grand round table inside. WLL’s ed, Olivia, was already familiar with the place so promptly decided on organic Hereford beef aged in-house for 39+ days. Specifically 120g each of ribeye, fillet, rump and sirloin cuts (£45); Alex went for a rack of ribs (hung for 45 days; £29) and, being the sole veggie among such committed carnivores, I chose cauliflower, pomegranate and hazelnut (£8.50) plus a salad of salt-baked beetroot, quinoa, watercress and feta (£12).
It wasn’t long before our attentive waitress, Gini, brought over our first round of drinks—36 Collins (£11) and Gentle Hurricane (£7.50) were both excellent cocktails—to enjoy with the large green olives and the salted almonds served in mini copper pots. We then moved onto our shared starter (well we didn’t want to overdo it!) of sweet heritage tomatoes, creamy burrata and avocado (£10).
If the surrounds had a VIP feel, the steaks were fit for centurions. ‘Are you sure those aren’t the ribs of an elephant?’ I asked Alex while I watched her tackle the beast, tender meat slipping easily off the bone.
The gargantuan chunks of meat on Olivia’s board, however, weren’t quite as perfect; cooked medium rather than blue-to-rare as requested, she looked aghast at the lack of blood. My flavoursome cauliflower, which had been chargrilled and was complemented with slivers of celery, was more of a side than a main dish; the salad good, though not extraordinary.
Unfortunately, I had to leave for a meeting before the ladies looked like they were even a third of the way through their mains, but Olivia informed me that they managed to squeeze in a crushed banoffee (£9) and several more cocktails before the meal was out. ‘Apart from the steaks being over-cooked, lunch was excellent, drinks were well mixed and Gini was lovely,’ was her verdict. I suspect they had a little lie down after that feast.
