Review – Eats, Meats and Leaves

MASH is one of the more recent in a long line of steak-houses popping up around London. One advantage it does have is that it’s tried and tested – they already have very popular restaurants in Denmark. So we went to investigate MASH’s new home, underneath soho, two floors below ground on Brewer Street.

The first thing you notice is that the space is enormous and we overheard the waiter telling another diner that they regularly have 300 covers a night. Interestingly, the smart arrangement of furniture, different levels, and fogged glass partitioning around the booth seating means that the table does actually manage to have an intimate feel, and for the longer tables this is particularly impressive. Generally, however, the mood of the red leather seats, lack of windows and beaty music does remind you of a vegas hotel restaurant – albeit a smart vegas hotel restaurant. I suppose this may be the look they were trying to achieve and have certainly succeeded. A lot of the clientele are American and a lot of them are businessmen and throughout the experience the restaurant proved to be the perfect spot to wine and dine guests from across the pond.

Another thing an American client would appreciate is the excellent service. Our waiter Tobias had only moved to England two weeks ago from MASH’s sister restaurant in Copenhagen where he told us he had been employed for a long time before the move. His attention to detail was exceptional and he offered to show us the cuts of meat, which they have on display. He explained the taste and texture of each one, its origin and how best to have it cooked, which made dissecting the menu much easier. His English was unfaltering and his training even better, and after helping us make our order he was constantly attentive – topping up wine (he recommended an Argentinian Malbec and it was rich, moody and totally indulgent), filling up water and even had a chat with us about his experience of London so far.

Our food arrived incredibly quickly and did so with mixed and contradictory reviews. I ordered the squid with lime and chili. The chili batter on the squid was thick and very crunchy, and whilst my partner thought that this was the best way to have squid, I have to disagree. For anyone who likes their squid delicate and lightly coated ‘a la España’ – I do not recommend this, but that is a matter of preference.

My partner ordered Jamón Serrano and contrary to the squid this was authentic Mediterranean and reminded me of the huge legs of ham my father used to bring back from his travels. This high calibre of cured meat was a pleasant surprise from an ‘American’ (Danish!) steakhouse.

Our steaks arrived, again with speed and impeccable service. I had ordered the NY strip and my partner had the Fillet from Uraguay. They were absolutely show-stoppingly delicious. Both quite obviously different in all the ways Tobias had told us they would be; my american steak was sweeter and had a thin layer of fat on one side. The Fillet had no fat and was slightly richer and very tender. My partner, who spent a lot of time in Argentina, and eaten at some of their finest steakhouses, confessed that it was probably the best steak he has ever had. On the side we had a red wine sauce and a garlic and thyme jus. Both were really rich and tasty but I honestly could have eaten my steak with a sprinkle of their lovely smoked salt and been the happiest carnivore in the world.

The house salad was a house salad and doesn’t warrant much more explanation. The chili fries unfortunately lacked any real creativity and involved sprinkling very standard american fries (I was half looking for a happy meal wrapper) with a mild blow of chili powder – although they were spruced up when they were dipped in the sauces.

The desserts were traditionally American with cheesecakes and ice creams. I had the Crème brûlée and having had a few in my time I can confirm it was a pretty good one. My partner had the cheese and unfortunately it wasn’t as exciting as we had hoped and pretty poorly presented, but again – it’s not something that we would have expected to be exceptional.

Quite simply if I had arrived, ordered a steak with a glass of red wine and left, I would have had the perfect experience. It is a place that will impress and satisfy any American clients and one that works very well for large parties. The meat is totally extraordinary, the service is exceptional and although the sides, starters and puddings are not the best in London, I have to accept that that is the curse of a speciality restaurant. mashsteak.dk

By Anna Spooner