The Butcher & Grill

The only thing that lets this place down is the charmless and mannerless maître d'.

Seriously. I think he must be an ex-policeman or something. Truly dreadful and, for me, this has now twice spoiled the experience. A smile and a bit of enthusiasm costs nothing and this flaccid and dull idiot has neither.

In spades.

I have just moved in to a flat about 100 metres away and could easily see myself spending a good £1,500 to £2,000 per annum here. Unfortunately, with this guy around, it seriously dampens my ardour as it were and as there are many other restaurants to choose from, both up the road and across the river, my custom will be drawn there.

That aside, it is a great place for meat eaters and could blossom into a really great informal eatery when the management wake up to the idea that engaging with customers is a better policy than treating them with stiff and grudging toleration.
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JH
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 7
Saturday, December 09, 2006

My partner and I ate here for the first time on Friday. It was a last minute decision and we hadn't booked. We were 'punished' for not booking by being seated right at the entrance to the restaraunt. However, the food more than made up for the terrible position of the table. The ribeye steak was cooked to perfection (medium), buttery and beautifully beefy! The texture was akin to white crabmeat and every mouthful was a pleasure. We will definitely go back - but will book a nicer table the next time!
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STL
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Went on a friday night - place is nice and spacious so you dont feel cramped, but its busy enough that it keeps a nice cosy atmosphere. Food in general was good, but gets a low score as my steak was cooked medium when I ordered medium rare. Not a major issue, but for a restaurant of this name I think thats inexcusable. Side dishes very tasty, if simple. Wine list very accomodating. Will be going back.
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njovu - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, December 04, 2006

Definitely for meat lovers only and the pictures of lovely cows and sheep after coming out of the toilet are a bit off-putting, but the food was wonderful. Everything and more than we had expected. Starter of muscles were beautifully succulent and not the usual tiny offerings, steak was cooked to perfection, vegetables were just right and not soggy and over cooked, lemon pie was very tasty, but we could have shared it between the 7 of us as we were all stuffed by the end. Wine complimented the food, ambiance was brilliant, and definitely worth a re-visit (even if only for special occassions as you get what you pay for). Service still needs to be worked on as waitress got some of the order wrong and took ages to pay - but wouldn't stop us going back for the meat!
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Tiddles
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, October 16, 2006

This restaurant's new and operates on a fairly novel concept: aged meat is good! In fact, meat is good! So much so that when you go through the door, there are counters full of meat. The restaurant is also a deli specialising, you've guessed it, in meat!

The menu offers a large selection of meat cuts, sausages, hamburgers and a few non-meaty options. Aging usually improves meat out of all recognition. The Butcher & Grill's meat starts off pretty well being sourced from an organic farm. After aging, the meat's taste becomes heavenly.

We had the hamburgers and can honestly say they were the best over. The chips were great and the rocket side salad was good, if a little over-dressed.

The wine selection is one of the restaurant's best aspects. We had an Austrian white and then a bottle of a South African red called Firefinch. Both were extremely good.

Service was ok, still settling in apparently, but no distraction from the quality of the food and wine.

All in all, the price was high but we felt worthwhile. Definitely worth going if you appreciate aged organic meat, good wine and an informal setting.
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Felix Marks
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Friday, August 18, 2006

Took my parents there on Saturday lunchtime for my dad's birthday meal as Dad and I have a passion for steak. But taking him anywhere for a meal is an ordeal since he often complains at restaurants that the portions are too small . So the concept of choosing your own meat from the butchers in front of the restaurant seemed like a great idea - you see exactly what you are getting.

Of course we could have chosen from the menu (mum did- she chose the duck breast) - but all the cuts of steak were 8oz. So fearing that it would be too small for our ravenous appetites my dad and I decided to see what the butchers could offer us. He recommended us to have the rib eye steak so cut dad a beautiful 10oz slab of it and a slightly smaller piece for me and off it went to the kitchen to be grilled.

The restaurant was bustling mostly with parents and their uncontrollable kids but we managed to take our minds off our hunger by reading the free Saturday papers. We did not feel the need to order starters - bread was free and freshly baked. Eventually the mains came and also the sides which you have to order separately. We had chips (perfectly crispy), new potatoes, green beans and salad. Dad's steak practically filled the plate! Mine was a good size too. They also give you a choice of gourmet sauces for free - we chose the green peppercorn, bearnaise and the chili, honey and soy. So we tucked in and the steak was so tasty, plenty of flavour, so tender to cut through so that each mouthful was a joy. I think Dad was in heaven even though he was still silently working on his steak 10 minutes after I had devoured mine! Satisfaction was magnified even after the meal when the bill was brought out, £62 including service and a bottle of merlot - unbelievably cheap for three people. Service was a tad slow but all in all - was a great meal - even hard-to-please dad thought so!
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Lucy
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Monday, August 14, 2006

We decided to eat here after hearing of a positive review in the Independent.

As you walk into the restaurant, you pass through a deli with several meat counters. The main part of the restaurant is in the middle and back of the building, which opens onto Ransoms Dock. We asked to be sat outside and were duly accommodated. We half regretted this just because the back had a pavement feel, even though it's off the beaten track. It was nice to look at the moored vessel in the dock though whilst waiting for our food to arrive.

We ordered a thirst quenching and delicious Austrian white wine followed by a really amazing and crisp South African red blend (2003 Firefinch Ripe Red). They also served some very pleasant bread and butter before the food arrived. We opted just for a main of hamburgers and a shared side salad. The burgers were extraordinarily delicious. Halfway through the meal, we both felt energised in a way you only do eating really decent quality meat that's been hung for a good period. These were easily the most more-ish and delicious hamburgers we've had anywhere in the world.

On our way out, we decided to buy a bottle of the red we'd had a glass of with our burgers - we were offered a discount of 20% off the restaurant price, which came to £16:80. We really wanted the wine but strongly suspected this to be over-priced. In fact we said as much. We bit the bullet and bought the wine anyway. When we got home, I checked out some on line prices for comparison. The most expensive example I could find was £7:50! What a rip-off!!!

Overall, the food was superb, costly but absolutely worth the money. The wine, which had the standard enormous restaurant markup, was superb, expensive but worth the money in the restaurant. The deli prices were ridiculous and insulting. Lesson learned there.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Monday, August 14, 2006