I’ve enjoyed The Cheese Truck’s cheese toasties on Maltby Street Market for some time now – the one with quesa chihuahua and chorizo is one of the best hangover cures in London. After a successful £130,000 Crowdfund, owner Mathew Carver has got himself a proper restaurant.

It’s in the stables in Camden Market which isn’t the most glamorous of places late at night – I’d keep your phone in your pocket – but inside, perched on a stool at the marble counter, we quickly forget about our surrounds.

All dishes are cheese-based sourcing the very best from around the UK. We start with mozzarella sticks (£6.80) which have to be my favourite thing ever – mozzarella in carrozza from Prezzo in Alton sponsored my childhood. Here, the marinara sauce could be a little sweeter but the long sticks of breaded cheese, all stringy and gooey, are quite delightful.

Marmite malakoff (£5) – a Malakoff is a ball of fried cheese typically found in Western Switzerland – is another corker. It comes in a puddle of romesco which is the perfect accompaniment. London burrata (£7) bursts to ooze that creamy goodness you dream for with burrata. It gives Padella‘s a run for its money and it’s bigger too.

Young Buck Raclette (£6.80) is a concoction of new potatoes, salt beef and burnt leeks. It arrives bubbling, frothing, foaming; it’s the thing of dreams. Short rib poutine (£7.80), a Canadian staple of cheese, chips and gravy, is the best thing I’ve eaten all year. There are crispy onions for added yum. It’s a must order.

I can’t resist going for the chorizo grilled cheese sandwich (£7) which is just as good as the old days. There’s a certain amount of welcome greasiness which goes so well with my pint of Four Pure. And the crispy bits stuck to the outside are just the best.

Dessert keeps things cheesy. We go for the Beenleigh Blue ice cream (£5.50) which comes with poached pear and honeycomb – a combination of flavour, texture and temperature wildly unusual but positively pleasant. It makes for a fun finish.

We leave The Cheese Bar, with its clubby soundtrack and relaxed service, feeling wholly satisfied. When you think of a restaurant that solely serves cheese there’s the potential for it to be a touch samey. But when you have the very best cheese around – and it really is – it’s anything but.

Would we go back? Yes

Thecheesebar.com
We dined as guests of the restaurant