Meat Liquor, London

Meat liquor is a restaurant in Central London just behind Oxford street. Meat liquor sell meat... And that's about it.

The restaurant itself is incredibly dark. Upon arriving, you'll wonder if it's even open such is the gloom within. They also have numerous notices on the front door that from a distance also make it look like its closed down.

Once inside, you'll need to adjust your eyes because it really is that dark. It's a little like going to the cinema during the day, and the same applies when leaving. We went for a business lunch on a bright day so the contrast was all the more apparent. Decor, that you can see anyway, was fairly simple involving wooden tables and leather upholstered booths and seating. This is soundtracked by pleasantly volumed music which mostly involved country and rock tracks from 60's and 70's. It was unobtrusive and if, like me, you like that kind of thing then it was an added bonus.

It was fairly busy when we arrived on a Wednesday lunchtime and we got the last table available.

The menu is straight forward - burgers and sides. Burgers are mainly a variation on a beef burger but they also had a couple of chicken options. Sides are classic diner style sides ranging from fries through to coleslaw.

Given the limited selection, I ordered a cheese and bacon burger with fries. This was in my opinion excellent value given the location, with the burger at £7.00 and fries at £3.00. I washed it down with a diet coke.

The food arrived promptly and the portion sizes were enormous! We could just as well have had a portion of fries between 2 of us such was the quantity. i was surprised to find that it wasn't served with any crockery! You are expected to eat off the tray on which the food is provided (fries and coleslaw obviously came in a bowl) and you are only given a fork to eat with. The burger itself was big, juicy, sloppy and delicious. We weren't offered how we wanted it cooked to I assume they just cook them to one level of well done-ness. The fires were thin and very crispy and delicious.

Service was fairly standard. It was efficient but with no frills... Much like the way in which the food itself is served. The restaurant, of what I could see of it, seemed relatively clean although given the dinginess has the feeling of being dirty. The lavatories were fairly basic but clean enough.

In all, if you like meat and you're not out to impress, then this restaurant provides good value for money and good quality without frills.