Friday Night Dinner: Monty’s Deli’s new four course Shabbat meal, reviewed

The full Shabbat dinner at Monty’s Deli, laid out on the table. Photograph: Fraser Communications

Monty’s Deli is rightly proud of its part in the long lineage of ‘Jewish soul food’ joints in the UK and the USA. Those lucky people who’ve had a chance to dine at the Hoxton delicatessen as well as the New York originals will have noted the authenticity of Monty’s offerings and decor – down to the black and red-on-white menu, and hand painted pickle sign.

The Hoxton Street diner has added another string to its bow with the new option to book a Shabbat dinner for four, at £24 per head. In some communities, Shabbat is formed of three special meals over three days, but Monty’s lay on on the most popular, ‘Friday night dinner’ version (inspiration for the Channel 4 show of the same name.)

Monty’s Deli

I experienced the Shabbat dinner with a bunch of total strangers, and as it became clear that the main course of roast chicken was not going to come pre-carved, I began to experience the twin fears of handling sharp implements and extended social interaction.

Thankfully, a drop of Dalwhinnie (a kosher scotch) and some complementary Kiddush sacramental wine helped with the latter, if not the former. Monty’s also has an short-but-quality beer menu along with the wine and spirits. L’chaim!

Challah bread and chopped livers

The meal consists of four courses, the first of which is intricately-braided challah bread served with chopped livers. Challah is made with eggs, and combined with the thick liver paste (itself topped with grated egg) it’s basically richness on stilts.

By which I mean ‘fantastic’, of course, and not as unsubtle as I’ve just made out – liver’s unique flavour melts into the pliant bread, and I probably could have drizzled the aforementioned wine on top, so well it paired.

Chicken soup

Next up was the traditional tureen of chicken soup. This is not my bag generally, but it’s full of flavour, and the freshness of the carrot and dill in amongst the matzah and noodles certainly bolsters the popular view of this dish as ‘Jewish penicillin’.

The main course will be familiar to adherents of a more secular Sunday Sabbath: a whole roast chicken, cooked to the perfection you’d expect, and served with greens, roasties and mustard. Difficult to get wrong, but a nevertheless a worthy star of the night.

The main course of roast chicken

It also comes with what looks like cranberry sauce, but is actually chrain: minced horseradish sauce – an opportunity to treat your fellow diners to some fun sensory confusion.

Waiting for the final course (a noodly lokshen pudding that’s like a solid version of rice pud; again delicious but yeah, come prepared for carbs) I felt a warmth and comfort that couldn’t just be attributed to the booze. This is not how I normally feel when forced to share my dinner. You can see why they call it soul food.