Open daily midday–4.45pm and 5pm–11pm
The Meat & Wine Co launched their first UK venture in Westfield shopping centre. I had visions of a hurried, characterless, restaurant flooded with weary, bag-laden shoppers.
On my weekday evening visit I feared my premonitions were correct as I entered the ground floor bar, where the offer of the day was; ‘Toss a coin to win your round’. It was a sunny day, with most people heading for the al fresco area, leaving the large bar empty and lifeless. However it’s when you travel upstairs that the vast restaurant really packs a punch! The main focus is the enormous glass wine wall showcasing no less than 1,700 global wines.
The modern interior uses vibrant red leather and dark wood to create a warm, yet formal dining experience. When asked where we would like to sit, we were overwhelmed by enormous tables, and few tables suited couples, so we headed towards a four-person table with a sofa on one side which we had to both sit on in order to chat – not a restaurant with nooks for romance!
The restaurant boasts an extensive and impressive wine list featuring the usuals from France and Spain and more unusual wines from Israel and Lebanon. Prices start from £15.50 and rise steeply to £300. Despite an enticing selection of New Zealand whites, I opted for a red in this carnivorous haven, choosing Italian, the Barbera Amonte (£17.50), robust enough to complement our steaks, yet soft enough not to overpower the flavours, a good entry-level bottle.
For starters my companion selected Peri Peri prawns (£9.50) which were succulent, fresh, with just the right level of bite and a punchy and subtly sweet sauce. A friend who once worked in the Sydney branch of this restaurant had strongly recommended salt and pepper calamari (£7.00), which was delicious and a world away from the usual heavily battered rings. The coating was light, crispy and flavoursome with the pineapple-style scoring enabling flavours to permeate the tender flesh.
With taste buds tickled, we turned to the main menu. This is no place for vegetarians, with everything from pork, chicken and beef to springbok and kangaroo! At the risk of sounding unadventurous, it would have been a crime not to go for a good steak. Wanting something small(ish) but high quality, I ordered the 200g fillet (£22) with a creamy garlic sauce (£2)… It melted in the mouth, but next time I will skip the sauce.
My friend ordered the 350g rib-eye (£19) with peppercorn sauce (£2) which was delicious but predictably not as tender as my fillet. Both arrived with generous portions of hand-cut steakhouse chips.
Then, the boring desert menu, featuring predictable bread and butter pudding and apple and rhubarb crumble. Feeling uninspired, we went for the chef’s tasting platter (£12), a good choice! As the waitress approached the aroma of home-baked chocolate cake beckoned. The platter was presented beautifully with generous portions of five different deserts. Our winners were the delicate passion fruit cheesecake-style desert (refreshing and sophisticated), and the crispy shelled chocolate cake that once pierced, flooded the platter with a pool of delicious melted chocolate.
Overall we were really impressed with this new flagship branch. What it lacks in atmosphere, it makes up for in fantastic food and wine.
Dinner for two, with wine, around £100.
