When the opportunity to enjoy a steakhouse meal just five minutes from home and with MPW’s name on the door arises, it’s not something I give up lightly, but alas, I was travelling when the restaurant launched its new summer menu, so I delegated the duty to my lovely colleague Debra, who reviews in my place here. Take it away Ms Wray:
I am a huge fan of Marco Pierre White as I binge watched Hell’s Kitchen and I live locally to the Park Avenue Hotel where the restaurant has been located since October 2015. Over 50,000 diners have enjoyed the restaurant so far, and continue to head east for the unique experience.
To start, I ordered the baked Camembert with fresh herbs. It was served with roasted vine tomatoes, warm baked sourdough, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I love Camembert and this was deliciously strong with just the right texture of melted cheese heaven.
My friend had the seared sea scallops with black pudding - another favourite dish of mine. She said it was delicious and I’ll have to take her word for it because I never got a chance to try it, so it must have been good!
For my main course, I had the grilled 35 day aged sirloin steak which, along with the the other steaks, had been sourced locally from Rodgers’ Meats in Gilnahirk. I can be quite particular about how I like my steak cooked and when I asked for medium-rare, it was cooked to perfection. I chose the classic peppercorn and brandy sauce to accompany my steak and triple cooked chips. I didn’t think I would be able to eat it all as it was a generous portion - perfect for hearty Irish diners - but I did, and could have eaten another few bites as my taste buds were overruling my tummy by that stage!
My friend went for the confit duck leg à la Parisienne with Béarnaise sauce. Hers was served with chips, salade verte and truffle dressing. The Béarnaise sauce was the perfect accompaniment to the duck (which was done to perfection also). Clean plates all round.
Instead of a hearty red for our meats, we chose Marco’s own rose wine and it went with our dinner beautifully. The team at MPW are so knowledgeable and informed, you can tell they are passionate about what they are serving.
Desserts include many of Marco’s favourites including his famous ‘Mr White’s Billionaire’s shortbread, rich caramel and gold leaf’ and classics such as baked cheesecake and a sticky toffee pudding. We couldn’t quite manage a dessert each so we shared the classic dark chocolate mousse and this was the perfect end to our meal. It was rich without being too much and it’s something I would definitely order again.
All in all I had an amazing experience at Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill, it is definitely somewhere I will return to for dinner and it is a great addition to the restaurant scene in east Belfast. The team, both front of house and in the kitchen are all so professional, helpful and we were given such amazing service from the moment we entered.
Awarding this restaurant a 9/10