Rarely do Mr M and I eat out and have our Big Food appetite satiated alongside our Delicious Food one. You know what I mean foodie people, especially if you’ve a big bloke to feed or you own teenage boys, meals out can be spectacularly tasty but rare is the occasion you feel the need to be rolled home. Such an occasion happened on Friday at the home of the Drunken Butcher, an occasion which can only be described as suburban steak spectacular. Check out the above. That was the starter between four, not for the faint hearted or diet minded.
For a ticket price of £15 per person, with optional £10 or above tip on the night, we were warmly welcomed with a whiskey prosecco cocktail and seated with around 12 other likeminded foodie types all up for something different to your usual restaurant experience. The Drunken Butcher prepared, cooked, served and regaled us through the eight perfectly seared, braised, seasoned and presented rounds of beef cuts, hence the moniker Around The World In 8ish Steaks. We struck lucky in the pop-up seating lottery, sharing a table with Tom & Kirsty, lovely, interesting, friendly and not too greedy 😉
The two ‘taster’ courses were bigger than most starters and utterly mouthwatering. A platter of tender, melt in the mouth fillet Italian carpaccio style, drizzled with a light horseradish cream and parmesan sprinkles – polished off with no fighting as there was easily enough to go round. Then onto Mexico, a tortilla wrapped skirt fajita in a rich tomato sauce, just enough bite to the meat without a hint of chewiness, this man knows how to cook his steak all ways.
The starter dish, my headline image and below, was truly a blow you away vision and Mr M nearly fainted with meat lovin’ delight. I’d never seen a starter like it, it was MASSIVE, with each of the three featured steak cuts – sirloin, hangar and rib-eye – pink, juicy & perfectly married to their different flavour boosters. I think I’d have to plump for the Thai style hangar with lemon grass, chilli & ginger as my fav, then the South American rib-eye with chimmichurri, then the US inspired sirloin with smokey & sweet bbq sauce, but honestly, they were all delicious. Hangar steak is quite the thing in foodie circles at the moment, have you come across it yet? I recommend it, succulent and a superb eat.
Yep, there’s more….. next up came an Anglo-French platter with a gravy from either side of the Channel. I marginally preferred the rump with a hearty French creamy wild mushroom sauce, but the rib on the bone was wonderful too. Iain had made triple cooked chips, a perfect accompaniment and far better than many of the £4 for six chips side dishes I’ve had in restaurants recently. The Chianti was flowing, the laughter volume in the room steadily increasing and it was clear that everyone was having a fabulous time. Iain spoke knowledgeably about the steak cuts each time a dish was served which was a really great touch, effectively the head chef talking his audience through each course.
An Irish suet crusted Steak & Guiness pie was the finale, served at the table with most people in the room having already undone their belts by several notches. Blimey, Iain certainly doesn’t do things by halves. The crust was incredible, beats the socks off a pastry one and I’ll definitely be attempting his recipe. The steak was melting, the Guinness sauce thick and I’m only sorry I couldn’t eat more but I was officially done in at one of the best pop-ups / meals I’ve ever had. 10/10.
And beside, I had to leave *some* room for pudding after all….
A truly enjoyable evening in great company, fun, convivial with top notch food at unbeatable prices. Couldn’t ask for more really, could you?
Check the Drunken Butcher’s Facebook page out for more events or follow him on Twitter, but here’s a tip, book fast!
as Iain’s mother, I love reading people’s comments about his evenings – thank you so much for blogging about him! I think he’s fab, not sure I should have let him leave home, but of course I am biased!