A lot has already been said about MEATmarket, the Covent Garden outpost of the Meatwagon chain, but I’ll toss in my two cents, keeping it brief. A couple of friends and I visited on a Friday night at about half past seven and I was surprised to see no queue whatsover. It took all of a few minutes to decide what to order between us, place our orders and then grab a table. The location above the Jubilee Market in Covent Garden made it all quite noisy with metal poles and tables clanging together down below us as the market was set up or taken down (we couldn’t tell which!). If the weather had been better that evening, it would have been nice to take away our order.
Between the three of us, we ordered most of the burgers/sandwiches on offer and all their sides. Their Philly Cheesesteak (£8.00) was alright. It was an impressive, overflowing meaty monster but it was almost overwhelmingly peppery and had too much green pepper.
The Black Palace (£7.50) was a double cheeseburger with plenty of grilled onions. Unfortunately, this was just too greasy (it’s pretty apparent in the photo below). Everything was slip sliding all over the place – the burger could barely stay together in its wrapper and had absolutely no chance when unwrapped.
Best of the bunch was the Dead Hippy (£7.50), their supposed take on In-N-Out’s Double Double Cheeseburger Animal Style (but doesn’t an animal style burger have grilled onions?). Two patties, cheese, special sauce, lettuce, onions, pickle. Hmm…it sounds a bit like a Big Mac. OK, whatever it’s supposed to emulate, it was a fantastic burger.
The deep fried sides were all excellent. The Fries (£3.00) were crisp and the perfect burger accompaniment. The Poppaz (£4.00) were brilliant jalapeño and cheese croquettes that were best when fresh out of the fryer.
Corn Puppies (£4.00) were mini corn dogs made with little Polish sausages. These were delicious with their tender cornbread exteriors, taut sausage skins and the sweet mustard dip.
A huge queue formed just as we were finishing our meal (oof, we were stuffed) and it was a good thing we were done too as our table was right in the middle of it all. It’s not a place to linger but I still prefer this outpost to MEATliquor behind Oxford Street since the queue moves quickly here and there’s lots of light to actually see your food. It just feels a bit wrong to me to queue for so long just for a burger (that said, MEATliquor’s Buffalo chicken burger was amazing).
Should I bother with the hot dogs or should I just stick to the fabulous Dead Hippy?
MEATmarket
The Deck
Jubilee Market Hall
Tavistock Street
Covent Garden
London WC2E 8BE
Tue, 19 Jun, 2012 at 19:30
I totally agree with you – did not like Meat Liqour as much as Meat Market. I like to see my food! And I also am not a fan of waiting ages to get a table..
I didn’t try the poppaz or corn puppies – will have to try them next time.
Sun, 24 Jun, 2012 at 23:21
Dark restaurants always bother me….it feels like they have something to hide. I also don’t understand the idea that it’s “romantic” to have near total darkness. Dim lighting is one thing but darkness is another.
Tue, 19 Jun, 2012 at 22:41
Wow haha is it a coincidence that you and j (feasttotheworld) blogged about it at the same time? Well, at least you didn’t have to queue for burgers that weren’t that fab, and the sides sound good.
Sun, 24 Jun, 2012 at 23:21
Total coincidence! How funny was that?!
Wed, 20 Jun, 2012 at 20:46
I haven;t visited yet, but i rather like the in it for the long haul vibe of Meat Liquor; oh, and those jam jar cocktails, of course…
Sun, 24 Jun, 2012 at 23:21
Ah, true that. The cocktails. The cocktails I cannot drink.
Wed, 20 Jun, 2012 at 22:14
Do you think we were there on the same day too? Haha! Great minds
Sun, 24 Jun, 2012 at 23:22
Don’t think so…… but still, the blog posts on the same day – nearly the same hour too – was quite a coincidence!
Thu, 21 Jun, 2012 at 09:51
Pork chops RULE!
I have a friend who lives in Cairo with her Egyptian husband … and each time she visits, she asks for ‘The biggest, juiciest pork chop you can find’ … because they, naturally, don’t get many in Cairo.
Last time, we marinaded then in apple juice, barbecued them, and served with apricots. Even Assem (the husband) managed to sneak a piece when he thought nobody was looking!
Sun, 24 Jun, 2012 at 23:22
Mmmmmm. I adore pork chops. Not tried an apple juice marinade but will have to try that next time!
Fri, 22 Jun, 2012 at 09:53
With everyone singing the praises of MeatMarket, I’m pleased I’m not the only one who’s found it to be a somewhat disappointing experience.
For me the poppaz were the only saving grace.
Sun, 24 Jun, 2012 at 23:32
And the Dead Hippy. That was quite good. I wonder how the hot dogs are.
Fri, 22 Jun, 2012 at 14:32
Wow Su_lin, If that’s supposed to be the equivalent of a double-double…..I think it’s mearly four times the price! Us hippies can’t afford that! ;o)
Sun, 24 Jun, 2012 at 23:35
Sun, 24 Jun, 2012 at 17:57
I haven’t yet found it rewarding to stray far from the Dead Hippy, though I kinda wish they would bring back their mac & cheese. Great memories of that from their New Cross days, if they can replicate that quality.
Wen
Sun, 24 Jun, 2012 at 23:37
Oooh, what was their mac and cheese like? I never made it to New Cross for the Meatwagon… didn’t enjoy the idea of crossing town to wait around…
Tue, 26 Jun, 2012 at 14:26
Just went for lunch… no line at all. Sorry to say but pretty disappointed. The Dead Hippy was greasy, with too much sauce and not enough (any?) char on the burger. (In and Out and 5 Guys have plenty of char). Fries were straight out of McDonalds down to the paper bag they were served in! They did bring me my own serving of kitchen salt in a plastic container. Disposable cutlery! And pricing up there with Byron (by my estimate £13 for a coke/fries/burger without service). Methinks the train has headed in the wrong direction, grouch, grouch.
Fri, 29 Jun, 2012 at 00:35
Oh no! What a shame! I’m still keen to try one more time and I hope that the Dead Hippy isn’t too greasy next time. Very sad to hear that they’re laying on the grease.
Wed, 11 Jul, 2012 at 16:49
Finally got around to trying Meat Liquor a while back when the queue had calmed down, and thought it was good but definitely overhyped. Wasn’t going to try MeatMarket but this has persuaded me to give them another chance (unless there is a queue, can’t be dealing with queues).