Rating: 7/10 Food: American, Cost: £15 (average cost for a burger, side and beer)
74 Wellbeck Street, London W1G 0BA. meatliquor.com
The burger has never been more fashionable. Sure, they’ve always been popular, but there’s a difference. You wouldn’t have had Hélène Darroze at the Connaught putting a burger on her brunch menu 10 years ago. Or two for that matter. And while the faddish nature of it is slightly irritating, it has meant a significant raising of the bar, which can only be a good thing. On the receiving end of some serious hype at the moment is MEAT Liquor, brought to us by Yianni Papoutsis and Scott Colli of Meatwagon fame.
I like this place. It strides a fine line though. It’s definitely on the cusp of just trying a bit too hard to be “edgy”. The whole black and red/skulls and tits decor, loud music and semi-darkness all smack of a stroppy teenage boy’s bedroom. It’s just missing the soiled tissues in the wastepaper basket. But like I say, I think it works and it manages to pull it off purely down to sheer force of conviction. Of course, all this would be for nowt if the food was rubbish. And it’s not.
I like this place. It strides a fine line though. It’s definitely on the cusp of just trying a bit too hard to be “edgy”. The whole black and red/skulls and tits decor, loud music and semi-darkness all smack of a stroppy teenage boy’s bedroom. It’s just missing the soiled tissues in the wastepaper basket. But like I say, I think it works and it manages to pull it off purely down to sheer force of conviction. Of course, all this would be for nowt if the food was rubbish. And it’s not.
The burgers, sandwiched in a squishy bun, are packed with flavour and incredibly messy. In a good way. Thankfully rolls of kitchen-roll are provided - which is brilliant. (I’ve never understood why venues wouldn’t give you wads of tissues when your about to manhandle such a beast.) So far I’ve tried the bacon double cheese and the dead hippy - separate sittings obviously. The meat’s flavorsome, tastes like it’s cooked to a medium/well (being that you can’t gauge the pinkness due to the lighting) and the onion rings are phenomenal; light batter and soft-onion, so no danger of being left holding a batter snood. The fries are fine, nothing more.
On the drinks front, Soulshakers are the brains behind the cocktails and their house beer is the always excellent Meantime.
In short, it represents pretty decent value for money in a part of town that doesn’t offer up much competition in the way of quality vs cost. Whether I’d queue for it—they’ve adopted the very on-trend “no reservations” policy—is another matter entirely.
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