2016 is slowly coming to an end and I’ve made it my mission to try at least two new restaurants in Birmingham City Centre before the strike of 12 at New Year. So when I was recently asked if I would like to sample the Scottish Steak Supper Club at The Macdonald Burlington Hotel on New Street, Birmingham, coincidentally my review just so happened to fall on St Andrews Day, so it was quite obviously a no brainer!
The Macdonald Burlington Hotel is a place I have walked past hundreds of time whilst shopping on the high street, but never thought to walk inside for a meal. Unfortunately for me, I wouldn’t be reviewing any hotels this time, but I was intrigued to see how well the restaurant presented itself. Open 7 days a week, The Scottish Steak Club prides itself on ‘first-class catering, service and is open to both hotel residents and visitors alike.
The aim is to serve only the highest quality produce and finest Scottish cuisine in a contemporary setting. On being seated at our table on a chilly Wednesday evening, the Christmas Market was full hustle outside so it was comforting to disappear into the quiet, overlooking the busy streets below. The restaurant works with whole raw ingredients, sourced directly from local suppliers and you can certainly tell that the food is of a high quality. The Scottish Steak menu offers an ever-growing range of organic food and drink.
The room was dimly lit, decorated with sprinkles of Christmas tinsel. There were five tables dining whilst we were there, but couldn’t tell whether they were staying at the hotel or were just passing by. Our very attentive waiter Jonathan, assisted us throughout the night and explained the food and drink menus to us clearly. It was great to see a varied selection of bread, nibbles (including Haggis) and starters range from Scotch broth, to tiger prawns to baby back ribs. I’ve noticed the menu has now changed online but the food was all reasonably priced, but perhaps a touch more than what you would normally pay for starters elsewhere.
We were told we could order anything we wanted off the menu which is always fantastic hear when doing a review. Josh and I opted for the salmon and calamari for starters. The salmon was the more expensive starter, coming in at around £8 but the portion sizes was reasonable, even I had a few forkfuls. My calamari came on a slate board with a sauce accompaniment, and was perfectly cooked, lightly battered and crunchy. I feel the starters are perfect for a little nibble if you didn’t fancy a main meal.
It was the grills section which intrigued us most, and the large selection of steaks to choose from made my stomach rumble. I decided to go for the Sirloin Steak (£24) which is a thickly cut from the centre of the loin weighing 220g. The meal comes with grilled beef tomato and flat cap mushroom, with a choice of hand-cut chips. It came out perfectly tender and cooked to perfection. A lot of ‘mmms’ were had!
Josh chose the Fillet Steak which was the pricier cut (£32) from the centre of the fillet, accompanied with grilled beef tomato and flat cap mushroom, with again, a choice of chips. I preferred Josh’s taste of Fillet as it had a smoky flavour to it and this kicked Miller and Carter’s arse, hands down.
By this point we were full on wine, but had just enough room to squeeze in some dessert. No word of a life, the Banoffee Pie which I asked for was incredible – possibly one of the best pies I’ve ever tasted in a restaurant. It was the size of a mince pie, accompanied by vanilla ice cream. The pastry just melted in the mouth and the banana flavour was tantalising. And with all the caramel, I would like to try this again…
Josh’s brownie was sweet, but a bit too rich to eat after a hearty steak. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our meals. Both of our steaks were cooked to perfection and I was really impressed with the service and quality of the steak. Although I wouldn’t rush back straight away, I will certainly keep the restaurant in mind next time I’m after a meal I know will be of high standard. I would also like to try that Banoffee pie… simply delicious! To find out more information, visit the Macdonald Burlington hotel website.
Address: Burlington Arcade, 126 New St, Birmingham B2 4JQ Please note: I was invited to the Macdonald Burlington Hotel for a complimentary meal with a plus one. We paid for all of our drinks.