MEAT Liquor

74 Welbeck Street, London, W1G 0BA

The day started with some leisurely drinking  in a pub on the Southbank, the sun was out and the beer was flowing. As night fell we all got a case of the drunken munchies and when someone suggested MEAT Liquor I jumped at the chance.

We excitedly made our way over to Marylebone and then there it was, on the corner of Welbeck Street and situated underneath a public NCP car park, the painted black building complete with blacked out windows and a red neon sign above the door that simply read 'MEAT'. 

With such a simple website and exterior I was really excited to get inside and see what all the fuss was about.

As we walked around the corner though we saw a stream of people, 3 deep half way down the road.
Its now 9.30pm, I have a train to catch in 2 hours, its bloody freezing and I'm not psyched!

I thought the etiquette was to tell you how long the wait is, give your name and contact number and go hang out in a nearby (warm) pub until your table is ready. Not here, your made to just wait outside with no estimation of time in the freezing cold and expected to feel privileged for doing so.

After waiting for 45 minutes my hostility towards the situation started to pass and my stomach started to rumble. Finally inside the building I was taken back by the decor - the owl and wolf painted ceilings combined with a dark abattoir esq feel was edgy and made those excited feeling I initially had come flooding back.

Our table wasn't ready so we went to the bar for a drink, I did have a really nice bottle of cider (£4), but then also noticed that all the other drinks were served in empty glass jam jars - they obviously think its cool so maybe I'm just getting old.

We were then shown to our table, only to then be told that it wasn't our table and that we would have to go back to the bar to wait for a bigger table to become available. My hostility started to return, but as quickly as we returned to the bar we were being taken downstairs to our table.

Once seated we perused over the menu, it was small and straight to the point, but I liked that.

We ordered the Chicken Wings and Blue Cheese Sauce to start and the plain Cheese Burger for main.
The starter arrived very quickly and was excellent! If I was to be overly critically then I would say that the wings were slightly on the small side, but the blue cheese dip was so good that we really didn't care.

Our burgers arrived shortly after wards - all on one tray, just to be handed round the table to everyone. There were 9 of us so it felt a bit like a surreal BBQ at your mates house.

The burger is self (£6.50) was really succulent, pink inside and oozing with juices, packed with onion, lettuce and pickles. The bun was, well just a little bit burnt and I left feeling a little bit...greasy and guilty for eating a burger when I need to get into a pair of size 10 shorts for summer. Having said that, the texture and taste of the burger was really good and its definitely the best burger I've ever had for £6.50.

 However, when I look back at my last visit to Byron; I walked straight in and was seated, politely. The bun wasn't burnt (it fact it was brioche was REALLY good), it wasn't greasy and I even got a plate (as opposed to a roll of kitchen towel to catch the grease and filling that might have left my burger) and for only a couple of quid extra I think I know which one I'd choose to go back to.

Over all, the burger was good and the interior was exciting, but the cold queue, rude staff and general arrogance of the place just wasn't for me - Wow, I really am getting old!

Starbucks Eco Thermos 

Designers Jang Jin-hee and Lee Min-jeong have designed a fantastic Eco-friendly thermos which actually monitors the amount of times it is used. The idea is to encourage you to use a tumbler as opposed to a disposable paper cup.

It uses a sensor in the base of the tumbler to recognise each time liquid is stored within. It then uses small LED lights in the shape of leaves to measure the amount of times which it has been used. The aim is that by the end of the year a map of the world should be revealed in lights.

If this goes into production then my name is most certainly on the list :)

 Eighteen @ The Castle Hotel, Windsor

18 High Street, Windsor, SL4 1LJ       01753 851577

When we arrived at The Castle Hotel in Windsor we were instantly taken back by the grandeur of the building and it's location. With a secure (and free to guests) car park that is just a two minutes walk from the main gate of Windsor Castle makes this hotel perfect for exploring Windsor and all it has to offer.

After arriving a little early for dinner we decided to get comfortable in the big leather sofa's of the hotel bar, enjoying a relaxing drink while we perused the menu presented to us by the friendly and polite staff.  With so many delicious choices it took us a little longer then usual to make our decisions, but once we had ordered we were asked to continue enjoy our drinks in the bar as we would be called to our table when our first course was nearly ready.

Once seated we were brought a pre-starter of Fois Gras Terrine which was smooth, soft and melted on the tongue, totally dispelling any initial perceptions which we had of the dish.
We then moved onto our starters selected from the menu; I had chosen the Goats Cheese Fondent with poached baby pears and cherry syrup (£7.50), the goats cheese was rich with a smooth buttery taste. My partner went for the Seared Atlantic Scallops served with Granny Smith apple puree, pancetta and black onion seeds (£8.50) the scallops were plump, perfectly cooked and tasted delicious with the apple and pancetta.

Our waiter then spent some time with us discussing the wines available and offering for us to taste a couple of options which he would recommend and thought we would enjoy.

After a brief break to soak up the atmosphere of the AA Rosette restaurant, we moved onto our main courses. I opted for the Pork Wellington served with apple puree, baby apples, pancetta and red onion marmalade (£17.50) the pork was cooked to perfection  and the combination of the light buttery pastry with red onion marmalade and apple puree was glorious. My partner chose the Sirloin steak served with plum tomato, field mushrooms, thick cut chips and hollandaise sauce (£18.50) our fantastic waiter discussed the cut of steak with us and could even tell us the Scottish farm which the meat was sourced from. The dish was well seasoned and the steak was exquisite, perfect in texture, taste and appearance, rivaling steaks I have had in top steak and grill restaurants for a fraction of the price.

We then moved onto our desserts, to which I indulged in the Praline Opera butter cream made of chocolate sponge and creme anglaise, served with a pistachio ice cream (£6.00), where as my partner decided to go for the Vanilla Creme Brulee, served with a buttery viennese biscuit and a sweet mango coulis. As stuffed as we were the whole experience was so fantastic that we decided to spend the rest of the evening slowly enjoying a delightful Cheese Board and Cappuccino.

We felt truly spoilt during our evening at The Castle Hotel and would highly recommend a visit to anyone looking for a really special evening, in fantastic surroundings and at more then reasonable prices.