We've Found The Best Potato Dish In London

Quality Chop House expertly and unfussily showcases all that's great about traditional British food, while feeling as modern and dynamic as anywhere in London in 2016.

You can eat in a living, breathing part of London's history.

Instagram: @hackneyheidi

In a city with as much history as London, having your dinner in a 150-year-old building is perhaps not that unusual. But what is unusual about this quaint spot near Kings Cross is that it has been a restaurant for all that time – this isn't some trendy repurposed butchers or exposed-brick former warehouse. Quality Chop was always made to be eaten in.

The atmosphere is hunger-inducing.

Patricia Niven/ Quality Chop House

And there's something about the beautiful purpose-built furniture and original Victorian fixtures and fittings that makes sitting down here a real experience even before you see the menu. Your participation in the theatre of dinner makes you part of an unbroken chain of happy diners stretching back to the days of Gladstone.

But the food is no museum piece.

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Yes, the menu at Quality Chop takes its queues from the fine British Chop House traditions of the past, serving impeccably-sourced game birds and wonderful dry-aged joints of beef. But all the dishes are, thanks to chef Shaun Searley, treated to the very latest culinary knowhow, and are as vibrant and exciting as anything else available in town.

It's not all about the red meat.

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Quality Chop House is not bound by the nature of its name or traditions. Its just as home serving huge, fresh langoustine with garlic mayonnaise, or vast meaty fillets of cod hours off the boat from Cornwall. All treated to the same expert touch in the kitchen but presented simply and beautifully.

But there is one thing you must order.

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More than all of this, though, you can't leave Quality Chop House without trying the astonishing Confit Potatoes. A house invention by chef Searley, and available nowhere else, they are a masterclass in potato craft, best described as a kind of pressed, layered mini-dauphinoise, deep-fried to golden crunch. They are the chip to end all chip, and worth a journey all by themselves. We usually order two portions.

And the cheese is good too.

Instagram: @shaunsearley

As you might expect from somewhere with such a fanatical attention to quality ingredients, the wine list, the charcuterie boards and the (peerless Neal's Yard) cheese selections are all great. But even better is that they're all available to buy at the deli next door, along with (in season) this beautiful thing, a truffled Tunworth made in house. Oh, and the deli also sell ready-made packs of the confit potatoes.

What's the damage?

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We can't lie to you – food as good as this, inarguably some of the best produce the country has to offer, doesn't come cheap. But with starters at £7-£8, mains £14-£15 and game still much cheaper than most other places in town (£26 for grouse is right at the lower end in our experience) it's still incredible value. And you can easily reserve.

So sit in the slightly more comfortable "café-style" side if you value your buttocks (those Victorians didn't go for soft seating), enjoy the interesting wines by the glass, and don't forget to drop in the deli next door on the way home. Those confit potatoes are waiting for you.

Every week we’ll recommend a new place to eat in London. Let us know in the comments where you think we should feature next!

Rebecca Hendin/BuzzFeed

Previously featured:

Brasserie Zedel, Piccadilly

Apollo Banana Leaf, Tooting

Silk Road, Camberwell

MeatLiquor, Soho

Tayyabs, Whitechapel

BTW, I've just released an app, if you'd like some more recommendations. Where To Eat In London, 2016.