while last friday was widely regarded as 'steak and you-know-what day' by all and sundry, i swear it was just a major coincidence that boyfriend and i ended up at the marco pierre white steakhouse in the city for dinner. honest! with an unused buy-a-gift voucher for said restaurant sitting in my inbox since before christmas (thanks mum!), we had decided last week that it was high time we went somewhere 'nice' for dinner, and didn't just stick to the usual (and sometimes disappointing) foodie haunts to which we usually venture on 'date night'. boyfriend made the reservation (my first mistake?) on the wednesday, and it wasn't until the morning of our booking that I knew this 'man holiday' even existed. so, colour me naïve. we went anyway, though.
we had an idea of where the restaurant was, having walked past it a million times before on our brick lane or east london street wanderings, but i'd never really taken too much notice of it. from the outside, it's nothing fancy. it's just a big, wooden door, weirdly situated under a (what i understand is) student residence. for posh nosh, it sure is in an odd part of town. once we were in though, the restaurant's poshness is a whole lot more visible.
with perfectly placed silverware and crisp, white (heavy!) tablecloths on every table, the elegance of the décor is hard to miss. for a steakhouse, this was pretty damn fancy. i mean, we weren't expecting like, stag heads on the walls and empty beer bottles for flower pots on the table, but i also wasn't expecting the maître de to take my coat, escort me to my seat, and be so attentive throughout the meal...the mood lighting was really moody though, so you will have to forgive the terrible picture quality. don't these posh places expect people to instagram their meals for all their friends and family? no. no, i suppose they don't... pity though, because food that good-looking ought to be shared! (didn't stop me though, did it?)
the voucher we had entitled us to three course and a cocktail. of course, these three courses had limited options, and were nothing like the courses we had scrutinized on the website earlier in the day... standard false advertising really. the cocktails were lush though; I had the gin fizz (even though i don't really like gin), and he had a whiskey mac that just about blew his face off with alcohol content. i swear i could smell the whiskey from across the table!
for our first course i started with a potted duck dish, which was nothing like what i thought, and he had the french onion soup. the potted duck - in my mind was going to be a lush duck pate with some sort of tasty flavours throughout. nope. it was... almost stewed, then chilled, then served with super crunchy bread. it was... ok, for a few mouthfuls, and then afterwards was a bit... not ok anymore. i barely ate any of it, as it just wasn't that nice. boyfriend absolutely loved his soup though, and gobbled the whole thing up. so starters, 5/10.
the second course options included a steak, a fish and chips option, or a fish pie. now, you can't go to a steak house and not get the steak, amiright? the fish pie looked ermazing though, as the woman at the table next to us had that, but the steak was to die for. we both ordered them medium rare (the only time i ever have steak less than well done is when i'm eating in a steakhouse... there's something about perfectly-cooked and still tender beef that blows my mind when i'm eating out, that just makes me feel like i've undercooked the meat when i'm at home), and ordered a side of triple cooked fries to share as the meals would have just come with some fresh greens otherwise. i'd had a big lunch too (foolishly), so wasn't too bothered about a side, but it's more about the full steak experience. the side of chips was £4 and included probably two whole potatoes, so i think it was probably worth it; especially considering the fact we hadn't paid for the voucher either, so i was prepared to pay for a side.did i mention how good the steak was? it was mouth watering; perfectly seasoned and cooked on the outer, deliciously juicy and tender inside. the béarnaise sauce was yummy too, and i was totally swooning over that course. boyfriend complained ever so slightly about the lack of ketchup initially, but then got over it when he tasted how yummy the meat was without it. so mains, 10/10, without a doubt.
now, dessert. i had been eagerly anticipating the vanilla panacotta that i'd seen on the menu that day. dreaming about it since my last, and most delicious panacotta of all time back in bristol. so, when i was given my exclusive menu and made to choose between fresh fruit, a sticky toffee pud and some other crap, i was downright heartbroken. heartbroken over dessert. because, i love dessert. i would have dessert for every meal if i could. it's... the most important meal of the day. so, i woefully chose the sticky toffee pud (as did boyfriend), and remained disappointed until it was placed down in front of me, in all it's sticky toffee glory. on a bed of toffee sauce with a knob of (what we assumed was ice cream but later discovered was actually) clotted cream on top, this pudding was mesmerising. this course gets a whopping 100/10.
i enjoyed every, single mouthful of that pudding, and even went so far as to scrape the bottom of my plate with the heavy silver spoon for every single remaining morsel, relinquishing any prior semblance of someone who dines frequently in posh restaurants. it was too good to waste a single taste. both boyfriend and i sat there happy and full, almost indulgent, knowing that even after all that food, our bill would include only a measly £4 side dish, and the *discretionary service charge* (that's never, ever discretionary). three courses and cocktails for two at a marco pierre white restaurant in london, for less than a tenner. you wouldn't believe it really, would you?
would i recommend the food? absolutely. if you're in the market for something a bit fancy, a touch expensive but ultimately delicious - with a great brand name to boot, don't overlook the london steakhouse co in the city of london. you won't regret it.
(thanks mum for the voucher!)
