Constancia Argentine Grill, Bermondsey

Mr Oil and Mr Vinegar have traveled to Bermondsey in South London for dinner at the Constancia Argentine Grill, where Mr Oil quite enjoys himself and Mr Vinegar struggles to restrain his patriotic fervour.

MrV: It’s a very long way from Mayfair.
MrO: Traffic was admittedly bad.
MrV: It always is in the City in the evening. Stays bad till late. When I started in the City it was completely empty in the evenings, now it takes half an hour to cover a mile and a half. Drunken secretaries all over the place.
MrO: Anyway, we’re here now so let’s calm down and have a drink.
MrV: This used to be a horrible, smelly area when all the leather tanning was done here. They used to cure the leather with human urine. Quite disgusting. You could smell it all the way up to London bridge.
MrO: What a charming tale to kick off our dinner. This is rather a nice restaurant, whatever the area's history. They’ve done it well.
MrV: It’s too hot. If that window wasn’t open I’d be suffocating by now. Do you think they’re deliberately trying to asphyxiate us in revenge for losing the war?
MrO: That is offensive and beneath even you. One of the most charming things about the Argentinians is that most of them don’t seem to hold the Falklands War against us at all. They welcome us to their country and I hope that we can extend the same courtesy to them.
MrV: That’ll depend on how good my steak is.
MrO: Shall we try this Parrillada Constancia? A sirloin steak, a rib-eye, sausages, black pudding and Provolone cheese? We both have to order it.
MrV: Alright but I want mine rare.
MrO: The point about Argentine steak is that it is much fresher because they don’t hang it, so they cook it a little more slowly to keep it tender and that means it is not rare.
MrV: They can do what they want. I want mine rare.
(A little later)
MrO: I think this is very good. Shall we have some more of that Malbec.
MrV: Yes to the wine but I’m not entirely with you on the steak. Where’s the flavour? This Argentine meat isn’t a patch on British beef. It’s much blander – a bit like supermarket meat. I wonder why they don’t hang it before eating. I like beef to be hung for at least four weeks. The black pudding is excellent, though. And the sausages are pretty good.
MrO: Maybe they don’t hang it because it gets so hot there and it would go off. Or maybe, it being a bit of a frontier country, they couldn’t be bothered. Rather like the United States. The flavour isn’t just in the hanging, though. Our beef is grass-fed and theirs is all grain-fed, and I think that makes a big difference.
MrV: I daresay there’s plenty of people around who don’t care much one way or the other. The place seems full enough. It’s odd, though, that being this close to the City they don’t open for lunch. It feels more like a lunchtime place than a dinner place.
MrO: Well I like it and I will come again.

Mr Oil and Mr Vinegar ate the mixed grill and drank two bottles of wine at a total cost of about £150.

52 Tanner St, London, SE1 3PH. Tel +44 207 234 0676
http://www.constancia.co.uk/
http://www.london-se1.co.uk/restaurants/info/708/constancia
http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/22-09-09/constancia-se1-steak-house-tower-bridge/
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/1449648/restaurant/London/Constancia-Bermondsey
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/restaurants/constancia-argentine-grill-info-59810.html
http://www.yell.com/b/Constancia+Argentine+Grill-Restaurants+_+Steakhouse-London-SE13PH-6093579/index.html
http://www.london-eating.co.uk/36301.htm
http://www.zagat.com/Verticals/PropertyDetails.aspx?VID=8&R=145042
http://trustedplaces.com/review/uk/london/restaurant/157ax7w/constancia-argentine-grill
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/restaurants/review-23728977-constancia-captures-the-spirit-of-the-pampas.do%3Bjsessionid=1FBCE9CDA8B246B0AD01AFF527798342
http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/london/view/102066/Constancia
http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/reviews/22318.html