Meat Liquor, L'eto Caffe

Last night was girle catch- up night in central London with the super amazing Spanish Dramatic Mezzo Soprano Sara Saavedra Gonzales. 

Here is Sara starring in the 2009 GSMD production of The King Goes Forth To France

Sara and I have been besties since our year at the National Opera Studio. I haven't seen her for some time due to us both having hectic schedules. So last night we met at one of London's top burger joints Meat Liquor. So here is the verdict:

Top Burgers: YES. I had the bacon cheese burger. Perfectly cooked beef patty with just the right amount of ooze. The pickles gave the burger that acidic crunch and the yellow cheese the right amount of gloop. The bun was wonderfully soft.

The Sides: We ordered the onion rings and cheesy fries. Both were yummy but the onion rings were an absolute delight and the best i've had to date. They were big, fluffy, crunchy and light. Perfect.

The ambiance: This was one of the most off putting things about this restaurant or should I say night club (except no one dances). On entry there was deafeningly loud punk rock music being blared from all speakers. So it was really difficult to talk. The lighting mood was black and red. So it was difficult to see what you were eating. The walls were covered with crazy drawings in red and black of various people with animal head and lots of blood.

The service: Terrible service. We waited 20 minutes to order and the food came before our drinks. Further still we were charged double for drinks at the end of the bill which we had to ask to be taken off.

The Wait: Well I was prepared for some waiting as the restaurant clearly states that there is a no reservation policy. We waited in the que outside which crept around the restaurant for twenty minutes. When we got to the front door we were stamped with a Meat Liquor logo (apparently people had been que jumping - which I found hard to believe as there was no way you were getting through all that security) and I thought to myself am I going to this place to eat burgers or dance? The waitress then took my name and said that we would be called when our table is ready. She instructed us to the bar. The bar was heaving with people all crammed up in the space. I began to realise that the system of being sat down was not going to be straight forward or fair. I mean why can't they just have a buzzer system? Nope there is just one guy with a list of names and the number of people in each party. We waited one hour at the bar before being seated! At this point I was really ready for my burger and quite annoyed. The blaring punk music did not help things. So a break down of the wait was: 20 minutes at the door, 1 Hour at the bar, 20 minutes to order, 10 minutes till we ate. Total waiting time: a stonking 1 Hour and 50 minutes!!!!!!!

Verdict: One visit is quite enough for me.

One leaving Meat Liquor we headed to Soho in search of good coffee and a chance to actually talk. We came to an inviting looking Cafe with delicious desserts displayed in the window and it looked quiet.

Place: L'eto Caffe, on Wardour St.

Window display: A vast array of cakes and pastries - yummy.

The menu: extensive drinks menu: I had a Latte and Sara a Black Orange Iced Tea. The cakes: well all you need do is go up to the window pick and order. We both had a fig tart which was delightful.

Order at the counter: A lovely young bouncy man greeted me with a beautiful smile and as usual I was off to my chit chat with him - I mean why not?!?

We spent close to two hours here catching up and nattering away. We stayed until they closed.

Verdict: Great place for coffee and cake and a girlie catch up.