To Market.

With the abundance of America style diners opening up in Central London and the return of my sorely missed other half from his feature film shoot in Dunstable, we decided that it was time to go and indulge ourselves. With meat. And cheese.

You may remember Valentine’s Day 2012 fondly, as that night Rob and I explored the newly opened Meat Liquor (Fangtasia crossed with a butcher) and enjoyed some dirty US cuisine at its best.  Instead of revising as we have already done many times, we decided to check out another of Yianni Papoutsis’ creations – Meat Market in Covent Garden.  

With a rather secluded entrance off Tavistock Street, you head up the stairs to a small, rough and ready diner style set up overlooking Covent Garden’s Jubilee Market Hall. We arrived at about 7pm and managed to squeeze ourselves onto a newly empty table. There’s no table service here and you collect your food when you hear your name called. Like it’s sister, Meat Liquor, Meat Market has great style. It’s a toned down, simple version but its personality is still shining through.

Even with its small menu, it was hard to choose what to have. We both opted for the Maple Bourbon Shake (£6), which was the most incredible drink I have ever had. There was nowhere near enough of this to keep me satisfied. Rob even toyed with picking up another for the road. To eat, Rob chose the old faithful ‘Dead Hippy’ burger – just as good as usual, whilst I went for a Chilli Dog. The hot-dog itself was the star of the show – well flavoured with a good meaty texture, and stood out against the large amount of toppings that it was fighting against. The bun was soft and light and the chilli, cheese and jalapeños topped the dish off nicely.

We were in and out in about half an hour. As we left, I felt sated and exhilarated. I can only imagine that this is what it must feel like to visit a top of the range escort.