Mews Of Mayfair – Mayfair, Thursday 21st January, 2010

This trip marked the beginning of a re-visiting spell for me. It seems that with the lean post-Christmas, pre-restaurant week months, the only way to go with food is flock to the places that are offering discount menus or are generally reasonable. C’est la vie…

I’d eaten at Mews of Mayfair once before, on a devilishly hot summer night where the food was good but no better and no desserts warranted further investigation, which saddened me. Given that they were offering 50% off the a la carte menu (TopTable, I will forever be in your debt) and myself, Mike and a few other friends decided to give it another shot.

Mews is a nice place. It happens to be in the most socially dense area of Mayfair, which has packed several bars and eateries around the cobbled streets of the Mews themselves. The restaurant is above a ground floor bar which, like the rest of the surrounding area, is busy, noisy and generally flustering. However, once you step inside, the becalming and modern décor will do you some good.

The place was riotously busy for a Thursday, but that may have had something to do with the dinner offer on. It was lively and noisy, which isn’t always the case with upmarket eateries such as this one. The five of us packed down and ordered and we were pretty pleased with the results.

Given the numbers, there wasn’t a whole lot of sharing going on, but I was ensuring everyone enjoyed what was put in front of them. The dishes I tried (and meagre amounts I scrimped from the other half’s plate) were really good. Surprisingly good, in the event. Some mushroom soup (below) was thick, rich and extremely worthy. We speculated on the amount of mushrooms it must have taken to produce a soup so thick and flavoursome, and the answer from me is “just the right amount”.

The table appeared to be in a beef-y mood, so four of the five main courses were steak. Two friends each ordered the standard, and the other half and I split the special chateaubriand. All were lauded impressively, and I can tell you with certainty that the chateaubriand was glorious. Really lean, smooth, rare steak served with trimmings and quite exceptional chips (below right). It certainly put the overpriced dish we had to toil through at Sophie's Steakhouse to shame. Super stuff.

Dessert was a fine chocolate tart which was rich but not too sweet, so after all was said and paid for, we were a happy bunch. Incredibly reasonable (mainly because of the offer) and a good time had by all.

Mike made a point after the meal that stuck in my mind though: would we have been satisfied paying full price for what we ate? The chances are we probably wouldn't, and that's rather telling. Much as I enjoyed Mews, I'm slightly reluctant to say you should definitely go there, because unless there's an offer on, it might be a little pricey.

Mews Of Mayfair