Last Updated on March 3, 2024
Premium steaks in Mayfair
Australian steakhouse Meat & Wine Co has arrived in London from its home market Down Under where it has nearly a dozen locations in five Australian cities. Its only location outside of Australia, the London branch is located in prime Mayfair, on a quiet street populated by salubrious ambassadorial residences.
Matching its postcode, Meat & Wine Co London is plush and luxurious, with diners entering the main restaurant down a narrow corridor with the bar on the right-hand side, then walking past a large glass wine cellar which descends a flight of stairs, and arriving in the main dining area. This main section of the restaurant is decorated in keeping with the chain’s African inspiration. Rope rugs hang from the walls, and cushions with traditional patterns line the banquettes which run along the wall.
Meat & Wine Co bases its menu on a ‘gate to plate’ concept by which the farmers providing the beef are carefully selected and adhere to high standards. Further, the steaks are basted with a paste from the restaurant’s 50-year-old secret recipe.
We began our meal with the Chilli Biltong from the bar nibbles section of the menu. Biltong is traditional South African air-dried beef, this version with the additions of chilli, black pepper, coriander and malt vinegar. I was dining with a South African who roundly endorsed Meat & Wine Co.’s authentic rendition of what is a sacred food item in South Africa and is too often poorly made far from home in the northern hemisphere. Served warm, the biltong was moist with a pleasant kick of chilli and generously portioned.
For our cocktails, we enjoyed the Rooibos Long Tea and the Kuya Baba Margarita. It was a pleasure to see rooibos on this part of the menu – the classic South African red bush tea has been making a resurgence on cocktail menus across London.
The Short Rib Croquette, which can be found as an entrée on the set menu list, was smartly presented with shavings of parmesan on top. We enjoyed the sweet flavours of the short rib, and the portion is suitably sized to be enjoyed alone as a larger starter or to share amongst the table.
From the à la carte menu, we also ordered the Boerwors entrée, beef sausages which are another South African regional dish. Seasoned with cumin and coriander, the Boerwors was attractively plated with the traditional accompaniments of chakalaka sauce – onions, carrots, and tomatoes – and pap (maizemeal), here creatively presented in croquette form.
We then proceeded to what Meat & Wine Co is best known for – its prime steaks. Before the meat had even arrived, we were impressed by the premium branded steak knife – an indication that our meat was too to be of high quality. We ordered two steaks – one a ribeye with African Chilli sauce, and the other a striploin with bone marrow butter. Both steaks were cooked medium-rare. The ribeye was Finnish Ayrshire, grass-fed and Prussian black from Europe. The striploin was Black Angus, USDA prime and grain fed, from Creekstone, USA. From the full steak menu, all the expected cuts are available as well as increasing grades of Wagyu and speciality cuts available on the day. All meat served at the Meat and Wine Co. London location is Halal.
The striploin in particular was excellent – tender and juicy with the melting fat well distributed across the steak. The bright orange chilli sauce accompanying the ribeye was vibrant, and the bone marrow butter for the striploin was luxurious. Other available sauces include peppercorn, creamy mushrooms, and chimichurri. The chunky chips were an excellent accompaniment as was the very fresh side salad with gem lettuce and green goddess dressing.
To drink, we stayed South African, with a bottle of Babylon’s Peak 2018 from Swartland, South Africa. The Rhône blend had a deep ruby hue, was good on the nose, and had a dark fruit afternote with ripe tannins.
The desserts were beautifully presented too – the malva pudding adorned with edible flowers and the sticky date pudding strewn with candied walnuts. The Malva pudding was served with apricot coulis, vanilla ice cream, and freeze-dried raspberries. The sticky date pudding was light – an excellent and authentic recreation of a Cape brandy tart with a scoop of fior de latte ice cream. We closed our meal with fresh mint tea and espresso.
The lunch set menu, available from 12 pm to 4 pm Monday to Saturday, is good value especially as the steaks on the à la carte menu add up. If you find yourself hankering after a prime cut of steak in the Mayfair area, Meat and Wine Co is certainly a recommendable option, with high-quality meat and boasting an excellent wine list.
The Meat & Wine Co Mayfair
17C Curzon St,
Mayfair
London W1J 5HU
02039886888
