Set your sights on The Steeple Bar

Barbara Young visits The Steeple Bar in Louth and discovers an exciting taste of Asia with a twist.

Opened late last year, the aptly named Steeple Bar, on the corner of Mercer Row and Upgate in the centre of Louth, is a charismatic contemporary restaurant and bar serving a mix of Asian street food, with the focus on gyoza and noodle dishes.

Step inside this tastefully renovated 24-seater eatery and you will find a friendly welcome, and an attractive and stylish décor featuring trendy reclaimed wood and stained glass from churches, in keeping with its name as the only restaurant with views of Louth’s iconic church steeple.

Owner Laurence Schlachter has spent his working life in hospitality, including time spent in premium cocktail bars and front of house roles in fine dining restaurants while living in Sydney and Byron Bay, Australia. His good friend and head chef Simon Markham, who is proud to be “Louth-born and bred”, has more than 35 years’ experience in catering and commercial kitchens.

The duo share a passion for Pan-Asian cuisine which involves fusion techniques, blending flavours and ingredients from East, Southeast, and South Asia to create their unique dishes. 

Together they have devised an intriguing menu which draws inspiration from countries such as Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and India among others, with plenty of gluten free, vegan and vegetarian choices too.

Sweet and spicy
We were spoilt with a “taster” selection reflecting some of their customers’ favourites, including Nasi Goreng, a Malayan spicy fried vegetable rice dish, traditionally topped with perfectly soft fried eggs, which oozed seamlessly through the steaming bowl.

The aromatic Thai red curry soup with bites of tender chicken gyozas, was deliciously spicy and hot with a perfect balance of flavours featuring a combination of lime and creamy coconut milk, while the sticky Korean BBQ chicken with a sweet, spicy and sticky glaze tasted as good as it looked!

If you’re a fan of juicy Japanese gyoza, or perhaps have never tried these pan-fried ‘dumplings’ made with a mix of textures with silky wrappers and crispy brown base, there’s plenty to tempt you.

We sampled a selection of gyozas including chicken and kimchi with peanut sauce, prawn with sambal chilli prawn sauce and then stepped it up with the ‘2 Hot 2 Handle’ ultra-spicy chicken flavour with yoghurt, garlic and lime sauce – all equally delicious and moreish!

Although there is a fully stocked bar (where you can also sit and eat) with a good selection of European ‘boxed’ wines (Laurence is also a master at making traditional cocktails), we opted to go alcohol-free and chose the intriguing Brazilian lemonade. This refreshing citrus and sweetened condensed milk combination tasted remarkably like a traditional Caipirinha cocktail, but without the popular rum-type spirit cachaça – and therefore much less deadly!

For spirit lovers there’s also a great selection of gins and vodkas from Coastal Distillery, the award-winning family-run business in Mablethorpe, which has been creating drinks inspired by the North Sea coast since launching in 2017.

You might think that after sampling so many flavourful dishes it would be impossible to also add a dessert, but we simply couldn’t resist Laurence’s suggestion of sharing their signature fluffy giant buttermilk pancake, topped with seasonal fruit compote, sweet and salty tanchen (soy caramel) sauce, ice cream and Biscoff crumble – needless to say, we finished every mouthful!

Sharing experience
The varied menu has been cleverly formulated to appeal to diners looking to share in a tasting experience of less familiar dishes. Rather than stick to the tradition of choosing a starter and main for each person, it’s a perfect opportunity to order across the à la carte and specials and make the most of enjoying together.

Dishes are all freshly made using local suppliers including Oriental Spices in Grimsby, Alvingham Coffee Roasters, Vines Artisan Bakery, as well as the weekly Louth market.

The restaurant/bar, which is open Wednesday to Saturday from 10am to 10pm, is also popular for brunch (served from 10am to 3pm) featuring a selection of light bites such as Asian-style omelettes, toasted melts, bubble and squeak, and crispy scallion pancakes topped with a fried egg and choice of Korean baked beans, garlic mushrooms, plus beets and beans.

Diners also rave about the hand-cut chips coated in a toasted sesame blend, sriracha spice or smoky seaweed seasoning, while the seaweed spring rolls made from glass noodles and vegetables wrapped in seaweed and served with a hoisin dipping sauce also proved extremely moreish.

Laurence is a friendly and experienced host who oozes a real passion for food, as well as the unique dishes they have created. Together with front of house Rebecca Millward, who has been with the team from the start, service is helpful, professional and knowledgeable, so if you want to explore the menu, but you’re not sure what to choose, just ask!

One word of advice – while most restaurants traditionally offer a telephone or online booking system, The Steeple Bar has bucked this trend and currently accepts in-person, first-come first-served walk-ins, or bookings via Instagram only, although Laurence says this may change in time.

Whichever method you choose to secure your reservation, make sure you get your name down for a table as soon as you can, or you may miss out!

For more information find The Steeple Bar via www.instagram.com/theesteeplebar

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