Rocco G.
Yelp
Rabbie Burns famously wrote, ""Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it, But we hae meat and we can eat, And sae the Lord be thankit."
This poem applies to Meat Bar, not because the bar is decorated in tartan and Scottish paraphernalia, but because they have meat, tonnes of the stuff, we wanted it, but we couldnae hae it, and so we waited and waited and waited, and eventually did, thankit!
Meat Bar is recently opened. Its owned by the same folks as the Palamino aka the Bath Street Pony. These guys know bars. They know good grub and good food, so the signs were all very good.
Unfortunately on the day we chose to visit it was evident they were having some 'teething problems'. Although not hellishly busy the layout isn't the best and there are very few tables, which meant we had to wait to be seated. We were told around 30 to 45 minutes, a doo-able wait I thought. Wrong! Half an hour turned into and hour and then an hour and a half. Oooft! I was close to nibbling off my fingers and pretending they were spare ribs.
During this time we were just kinda left in a corner with no one asking if we wanting more drinks and no one coming over to tell us how long the wait might be. What also irked me was there were tables of 2 occupying booths when they could have been seated at smaller tables. This meant our larger group could not be seated, so frustrating. Its simple management really, they should have asked if these people minded moving to a smaller table, to allow us in, right? Or just too sensible??
So, during our long wait I had plenty of time to read over the menu and admire the interior. Of special note is the funky kitchen located right behind the bar. What I though was a mirrored wall behind the bottles was infact were all the grub was being prepared, very smart. There are also animal skulls, so veggies beware, this is your worst nightmare.
Anyhoo after eventually being sat down we were promptly asked for our drinks and food order. I went for the Girnder Burger, a beef and pork patty with chorizo and manchego cheese. It sounded incredible, but it tasted, well, sorry to say, a bit bland. I couldn't believe it, I was sad :( The cheese was almost invisible, the patty dry and overdone. I don't know what happened. I did however try my friends food and it was all delicious, from the melt in the mouth beef ribs to the smoky and juicy pulled pork.
So, perhaps a bad night at the office for Meat? After all its only just recently opened. The staff, menu, chefs are all new and in an unfamiliar location and kitchen. But, based on our length of wait, the fact we were largely ignored for an hour and a half and the fact that couples were sat occupying large tables, I just can't say it was an overall good experience.
I have no doubt this place will do well and I'm looking forward to trying the promising food in the next month or so when the dust has settled. Therefore, in the words of Arnie, "I'll be back".