Review of William Rose Butchers

I’m on a mission to find out which London butcher has the best T-Bone steak. This week I check out William Rose in Dulwich.

William Rose

I thought it would be a brilliant idea to grab one of those new dockless bikes from Ofo that hang around on street (and occasionally in the Thames!) and ride out to Dulwich, in South London.  I was heading out to William Rose, which Alex Fried (one of our followers), recommended we check out. What I didn’t realise is that this part of South London gets a little bit hilly and these ride sharing bikes are not the lightest.

With aching legs,and a t-shirt drenched in sweat, I arrived at William Rose a proper mess.

William Rose butchers have been around for a while; it was established in 1862 and has been based in Dulwich for the last 13 years. The butcher specialises in all sorts of English rare breeds including the Longhorn and Sussex breeds. The shop is small, but at the time I went it was rammed full of customers with a queue forming onto the street.

William Rose’s T-Bone Steak

I asked for T-Bone and they went out back and showed me the entire cut as well as the ear tag. While the steak was being cut I had a chat with one of the butchers who was excited to tell me about the T-Bone I was purchasing.

The T-Bone Steak was aged for 30 days and was from Limousin cattle (more on this breed in a moment). The steak was going for £21.79 per kg which is the cheapest price from the 10 butchers we’ve visited so far.

So far, all of the T-Bone steaks on the T-Bone tour have been from British breeds (or at least half British). The Limousin cow comes from Limousin, in central France. It is a muscular cow that matures faster than British breeds and has a high beef yield.

Eating the T-Bone steak

The T-Bone steak was not as wide compared to other T-Bones steaks I’ve had recently,  but it was probably a good two inches thick. I cooked it a bit longer than the other T-Bone steaks, about 4 minutes each side, with a further 8-10 mins resting. 

I started with the Sirloin. I was immediately struck by the tenderness and juiciness of it. It was delicious. I tried the fillet next wand it was soft and dissolved in your mouth. The steak was excellent. This was one of those steaks where you can’t stop eating. After cutting off as much as I could, I picked up the bone, unleashed the beast inside, and ripped every last fibre from the bone.

Verdict

This was definitely one of the top steaks on the T-Bone tour. This was most similar to the steak from Hill & Szork, but at a much better price point. This puts William Rose at third on our list (see the leader board below).

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The leader board

T-bone tour of London Leaderboard

Deptford Bridge DLR

W H Wellbeloved

Excellent steak and outstanding value

Cost per kg: £22 per kg Beefiness:

Tenderness:

Breed: Belted Galloway Aged: 35 days Marbling: Very Good

Angel

Turner & George

A delicious Wagyu T-bone that is worth the premium

Cost per kg: £38.50 per kg Beefiness:

Tenderness:

Breed: Wagyu X Aged: 30 days Marbling: Excellent

Dulwich

William Rose Butchers

A tasty T-bone at a competitive price

Cost per kg: £21.79 per kg Beefiness:

Tenderness:

Breed: Limousin Aged: 4 weeks Marbling: Good

London Fields

Hill & Szrok Master Butcher & Cookshop

An outstanding, but pricey T-Bone Steak

Cost per kg: £32.50 per kg Beefiness:

Tenderness:

Breed: Hereford Aged: 6 1/2 weeks Marbling: Good

Greenwich DLR

Drings

A tender and tasty T-bone steak at a good price

Cost per kg: £24.50 per kg Beefiness:

Tenderness:

Breed: Short Horn Aged: 3 weeks Marbling: Good

Baker St

Ginger Pig

A tasty T-bone steak from London's premier butcher

Cost per kg: £29 per kg Beefiness:

Tenderness:

Breed: Unknown Aged: 4-5 weeks Marbling: Good

Bermondsey

O’Shea’s Butcher

A 45 day aged T-Bone from Irish Butchers under the arches.

Cost per kg: £27.50 per kg Beefiness:

Tenderness:

Breed: Angus Aged: 6 1/2 weeks Marbling: Good

Wapping

Hussey Butchers

A tender T-bone steak with an enormous Fillet section and moderate beefiness.

Cost per kg: £27.50 per kg Beefiness:

Tenderness:

Breed: Hereford Aged: 3 weeks Marbling: Some

Clapham Common

M.Moen & Sons Ltd

A 38 day aged T-Bone steak with a very tasty Fillet and a very tender Sirloin.

Cost per kg: £29.98 per kg Beefiness:

Tenderness:

Breed: Black Hereford Aged: 5 1/2 weeks Marbling: Good