Review of W H Wellbeloved
I’m on a quest to find out which London butcher has the best T-Bone steak. This week I check out W H Wellbeloved, a small local butcher in Deptford, South-East London.
Up and coming
Deptford can only really be described as an up-and-coming area in South East London, sandwiched between Lewisham and Greenwich.
I was in Deptford to visit W H Wellbeloved butchers, a local butcher that has been operating in Deptford for almost two centuries. This isn’t a flashy or trendy butcher, it’s a simple, down to earth shop focusing on serving great meat at some really reasonable prices.
W H Wellbeloved’s T-Bone Steak
The butcher had three sets of T-Bone steak lined up on a shelf against the wall. The T-Bone steak was Scotch steak (Belted Galloway), priced at £22 per kg and aged for 30-40 days.
The Belted Galloway is a distinctive breed of cow named for it’s prominent white belt and its origin in Galloway, Scotland. This breed is known for excellent marbled beef and is thought to have been developed by crossing the continental Lakenvelder belted cattle with black Galloways.
T-Bone or Porterhouse?
You probably know by now that a T-Bone steak is made up of two steaks; the sirloin on one side which is a large tasty cut and the fillet on the other side which is a smaller and really tender cut.
This T-Bone had an enormous Fillet section which was significantly larger than any of the other steaks on the T-Bone tour. The reason for this is that my T-Bone came from the back of the short loin muscle where the fillet is at its largest. Steaks with large fillet sections are called Porterhouse steaks.
The steak
So all this T-Bone means I’m beginning to cook T-Bone steaks like a pro, mastering the art of a nicely seared T-Bone steak. This steak, one of the largest I’ve bought so far at 1.15kg, was a beauty.
I started with the fillet section. I carved into the fillet and it bite into it. It dissolved on my tongue. It had an amazing texture and a hint of beefiness.
The sirloin section was noticeably firmer but not chewy. It was juicy and really beefy. Despite this being an incredibly large steak, it was so good I reckon I could’ve got through another.
The verdict
I’ve got to take my hat off to W H Wellbeloved Butchers, this was one of the best steaks I have ever had, served by a friendly butcher and at the lowest price point yet (and £10.50 lower than last week’s T-Bone at Hill & Szrok).
W H Wellbeloved butchers move to the top of the leaderboard for their outstanding beef and very reasonable prices (see below).
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Pro Tip
W H Well Beloved Butcher also sells outstanding steak pies for £2.50 each. I bought one just because and it was full of enormous chunks of steak.
What’s next?
You can see me my hit-list of butchers here. But if you know a great butcher in London give me a shout. I’d love to hear your recommendations so I can try them out for myself. Just comment below.
Leader board
Deptford Bridge DLR
London Fields
Greenwich DLR
Bermondsey
Wapping
Clapham Common
