Moo over #meatfreemondays, ‘Meaty Mondays’ has officially landed at London’s favourite Scottish restaurant group. Mac & Wild boasts extreme traceability, and serves arguably the most traceable meat around (the menu states, weekly, the first name of the hunter / farmer / butcher, as well as the estate / farm the meat is sourced from), taking customers on a journey of gastro discovery around the breath-taking Scottish highlands, so they can relax safe in the knowledge that the meat they eat on a Monday will be not only great value, but of the best quality and provenance.
Our visit to the celebrated Scottish haunt Mac & Wild is always a treat, we love the original and always look forward to the visit. As we take our seats amongst the hides and deer throws, we look up and are reminded of the meatiness of this joint. Good job we’re not vegetarian (I wonder what they have to say about the meat hooks hanging from the ceiling), the style might not be for all, but it firmly gets our vote!
We ordered a little pescatarian snack of Fish Bites, (crunchy and flavoursome) to get us started, before chowing down on the Veni-Moo Burger. Though not part of the meaty offering we couldn’t resist the the burger after we saw it on another diners plate. Totally worth going off piste for, the beef and venison pattys melted in the mouth, and the rich cheese and béarnaise sauce oozed in generosity, packing a delicious punch and at the ultimate meat to bun ratio. Our ribeye steak was a decent size, well seasoned, not drowning in the typical sea of sauce and absolutely divine. A word of warning though the medium-well was still rather blue (good job we don’t mind too much but others might).
Curious by their take on poke, we also ordered the Scottish Poke, as huge fans of the Hawaiian and Japanese versions we were intrigued to see how this Scottish version would fair. Well we needn’t have worried, we fell in love with one of the most refreshing and zingest pokes on the block! The Scottish salmon was one of the freshest we’d tasted, and the sea buckthorn elderflower glaze delicately draped over was a treat as was the wild garlic and tangy pickles. Not usually fans of fennel we were pleasantly surprised by the charred addition. This poke was even dubbed the best in the city by someone in our party…proving Scotland can take on Hawaii any day! Our sides consisted of a decadently rich and creamy Truffle Mushroom Mac & Cheese which was out of this world, and the sweet and sour flavoured Wilderness Chips, drenched with sticky Black Isle Lager and whisky sauce, with crispy shallots and candied bacon was also pretty darn good.
You’d think after that indulgence, we’d be done but oh no, there’s always time for dessert and we ordered the Deep Fried Mars Bar Sundae and Sticky Toffee Pudding. Perhaps not the most glamorous, but the deep fried Mars bar had a rather light and sweet batter, while the chocolate and caramel centre melted into one gooey core. The Mackie’s salted caramel ice cream and whisky toffee sauce, was a devilish rich accompaniment. If this typical Scottish pud doesn’t appeal, we do recommend the lightest Sticky Toffee we’ve ever tasted. Not hugely innovative perhaps, but the humble dessert had a a sponge light as air and the sweet flavours weren’t overtly syrupy as some can be, proving to be another winner.
Our meal was thirsty work, and we quaffed a refreshing and not so native glass of Provence rosé and a couple of Bonnie Brae cocktails, hand-crafted by their very own mixologist Luke Leiper – not our usual tipple, but we are now officially converted! The combination of Haig Club Whiskey with rowan berries, lime, rosato vermouth, rhubarb, Peychauds finished with a touch of agave and soda was sublime. Not too sour and smooth in taste, the drink was a fantastic intro whiskey cocktail for those who haven’t been a fan of the spirit to date.
We sat back, enjoyed the 70s tunes pumping out throughout the evening and had a thoroughly delicious evening, bouncing out of Mac & Wild with a spring in our steps. The service as usual was friendly. The setting was relaxing and had swag in abundance. It’s really ace to witness contemporary Scottish cooking in the city and heck it’s now got three whiskey converts…anyone for a Bonnie Brae and meat feast?!
The restaurant is offering their finest Butcher’s Cuts (Venison Chateaubriand and Ribeye Steaks) at 50% off for lunch and dinner, at both Mac & Wild Fitzrovia and Mac & Devonshire Square every Monday until the end of September.
Mac & Wild, Fitzrovia, 65 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 7PS
