Meat & Wine Co, Westfield
Food Feedback: Meat & Wine Co at Westfield London
Published: 18 March, 2009
Coverpoint’s Jonathan Doughty serves up his regular shopping centre foodservice review. This month he visits the Meat & Wine Co at Westfield London.
It has been just over four months since Westfield London opened its doors to the public and the centre has been hitting the headlines ever since. We first visited in the opening week to review the foodservice offer, so with the ‘halo’ trading period coming to an end, we revisited to see if there had been any changes.
While the foodservice in the main centre remains unchanged, it is the cluster of casual dining units on the Southern Terrace that has seen both additions and restaurant closures. New openings include Ciao Baby Cucina, Kitchen Italia and The Meat & Wine Co. For the latter operator, Westfield London represents the first foray into the UK market, and, in need of some carnivorous activity after hours of shopping, my colleague and I went to try the offer.
The brand was conceived in South Africa in 2000 and has since opened units in the Middle East, Australia, China, Singapore and Israel. First impressions of the unit outside are uninspiring, with a sparse terrace seating area, but once inside, the design and standard of fit out is striking.
Puza, the bar located at ground level is aimed at colleagues meeting after work or as a pre dinner venue for a cocktail. Upstairs, the restaurant is a mixture of deep reds, wood and banquette seating – very much a contemporary New York steakhouse. The wall of wine, containing an estimated 4,500 bottles on display, is certainly a conversation starter and enhances the environment even further.
The quality of the food and drink ingredients justified the higher than average prices (a total of £52.09 for bruschetta, a rib eye steak, cheeseburger, onion rings and two drinks). This included 12.5 per cent service charge and was worth every penny as the service was exemplary.
Food: ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Service: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Value: ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
