Restaurant: May Fair Kitchen
Where? The May Fair Hotel, Stratton Street, London W1
What? A swanky hotel restaurant with a build-your-own dinner theme: pick from the grill (sample selection - 28 day aged sirloin steak, chargrilled lamb cutlets, 20 oz veal chop), add some seafood or fish if you fancy (there's a 3lb lobster on the menu, along with hand-dived British scallops and whole lemon sole) then pick your sides. We're talking 'lobster mash with tarragon and capers' kind of sides. All the fresh ingredients are on display in the restaurant and you're encouraged to go up and browse before you order.
What's the crowd? Smart Mayfair types, hotel guests and corporate groups dining on the company credit card. This is the kind of place you book when you want to impress. Think white table cloths, expensive glassware and men in nice suits.
We ate... A plate of sweet, juicy Scottish langoustines tossed in garlic and parsley, an 8oz marbled beef fillet cooked to pink perfection (there's a choice of ten sauces to go with your steak), and the intriguingly named 'pig textures', a meaty extravaganza of braised pork cheeks, free range pork rib cutlet, rare breed sausages and Ibérico ham. For sides we went for the delightfully creamy, cheesy Dauphinoise potatoes, crab and fennel croquettes with aioli, and the butter bean and white wine casserole. Yes, we totally over-ordered, and yes, every single dish was pronounced the best thing we've eaten in the history of food, ever.
We drank... Mint and Mandarin martinis, then the Salentein Reserve Malbec on the advice of our very helpful - and knowledgeable - waiter.
Don't forget to ask for... The dessert trolley. Yes, an actual trolley that they wheel to your table so you can compare all the delicious puddings before you make your final choice (excellent if you're prone to food envy). The night we were there, there was champagne and strawberry mousse, chocolate cake and Spanish cheesecake.
The perfect +1... Someone with a big appetite.
-140 verdict... Luxury DIY-dining for a proper blow out treat.
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