St. John Maltby, Southwark

Style Points: 3/5
Price: £££
Overall: 2/5

When I said that I was going to St. John Maltby one of the ladies in the office was quite jealous as she had heard good things. Personally, I was a bit skeptical as it was apparently going to be a menu full of offal, but although it’s not exactly my first choice but I figured it never hurts to try.

I took a friend and we went for an early-ish Saturday dinner. Walking into the place it didn’t look like a restaurant so much as a counter with some tables scattered throughout the space. There were no paper menus - only a couple of chalkboards on the wall. The whole thing felt awfully trendy and hipsterish. The only thing missing was the location being in Shoreditch.

Outside seating

Would I Want Seconds?

I was surprised by the relative lack of what I thought to be offal on the menu. Where was the stomach and tongue and things like that? There were some devilled kidneys - but I don’t really know what makes them devilled. The only thing I’d ever heard of being devilled were eggs! So I settled for the Smoked Herring with Bacon and Mash (£13). I had never had it before and figured it would be relatively safe. The waiter told my friend they had one serving left of a Roast Duck Leg (£13) dish (that wasn’t on the chalkboard menu) which she thought sounded good.

We both were in agreement that our dishes were a bit on the salty side. I didn’t taste her roast duck, but the herring, bacon and mash were all too salty for me. I’m not sure whether it was just one element that permeated the rest of the meal or if it was all a bit too much - but whatever it was I couldn’t finish the meal. Because of that I think my taste buds are quite sensitive to salty things - so it could just be that bias rather than the dish itself. Regardless of this, I felt the dish was a bit boring considering what I expected when I came to the restaurant. My friend’s duck leg seemed to be more enjoyable and she liked the vegetables on the side. It was a tasty dish, but not particularly remarkable.

Herring, bacon and mash

Roasted duck leg with vegetables

One thing of note was that the mains were either a bit on the small side, or we were starving, because we didn’t feel quite satisfied so we looked to the desserts listed on the menu. Sadly, there was not much of a selection that day and neither particularly appealed to me. My friend however liked the sound of the Ginger Loaf with Butterscotch Sauce (£8). I had a taste and the loaf was decent - moist and flavourful…but the sauce was not something I cared for and the loaf was drowning in it. I don’t like butterscotch and to be fair my friend really enjoyed the dessert.

Could I Afford Seconds?

The menu is set up to get a few sharing plates as most of the dishes are a bit smaller and £7 or £8. The mains we had were about £13, but as I said they left us a bit hungry still as they were not very large. Certainly the prices seem fair for the sometimes strange ingredients…but if you go with the few plates to share route I think you’d quickly spend a lot of money.

Ginger loaf and butterscotch sauce

Overall?

Overall I was quite disappointed with my experience. The food was slow to come out and not that great once it did…and there were not that many dishes on the menu that were actually offal, for example one dish was beef mince on toast. I’m sure they would have presented it in a more interesting way or with something good on the side, but it just seemed a bit boring and not thought out that well.

We did go for dinner on a Saturday evening and I think their weekends are more about the brunch crowd. So it could be that we had just missed all the good dishes as their menu would change based on the ingredients available. The menu also seems to change very often (sometimes in the same day) so if you go you may have a completely different menu to choose from.

It might be that I’m just not enough of a hipster to ‘get it’ and that’s why I wasn’t a huge fan. I’m not sure. I probably won’t be returning to St. John Maltby…but I think it’s still got potential if you happen to go at the right time or be part of the right crowd. Saturday night dinner is clearly not the best choice either for this location or just the area in general. It’s located in a little market area that was all but dead at the time I arrived. So if you do go, choose a weeknight dinner or weekend lunch.

Wine list

Reviewed by Guest Writer @AYankInBlighty

Website: www.stjohngroup.uk.com/maltby_street
Address: 41 Maltby Street, London, SE1 3PA`
Closest Tube Station: London Bridge or Bermondsey