Berners Tavern, Central London

Berners Tavern had been on my list for AGES. Both my flatmates seem to be dining there worryingly frequently, plus I had heard great things from many friends and acquaintances, meaning I was practically itching to go and spent the entire week before going lusting over the menu. By the time I had got there I had pretty much memorised it and read about 123,456,898 reviews on trip advisor. I could identify what the other diners were having just by a glance.. "oh you went for the Lake District Chateaubriand for two, £80? Indulgent choice"… needless to say I was looking forward to it.

A Jason Atherton restaurant situated inside the London Edition Hotel, the decor manages to be both decadent and cosy at the same time. The menu focuses on modern British cuisine, and nails the tricky line between inventive and traditional, making it a great place for a birthday or special occasion.

To start off proceedings, we ordered a cocktail each whilst perusing the menu (totally unnecessary for me as I already knew exactly what I was having but I like to think I played the part well). Freddie went for something typically resembling a milkshake and I got something citrusy and refreshing and as always I had ordered better and he wanted to swap.

It was around this time that we got chatting the to waitress (there service here is impeccable by the way)  after Freddie spotted some rather large gay guy who was once on Strictly Come Dancing.. a famous astrologer apparently- which sounds like a bit of an oxymoron to me. HOW Freddie spotted and knew this guy is worrying enough, but thats by the by because the waitress then let slip that Kylie Jenner was staying in the very same hotel. I was trying to act cool like "oh I don't really watch the Kardashi- OH MY GOD is that her??!… It wasn't.

Anyway, onto the food. To start, we ordered the beef tartare and the foie gras to share.

Both were presented beautifully and tasted amazing. I know foie gras seems to be a slightly morally ambiguous area but both of the dishes were very tasty with a great balance of flavours and textures.

Onto the mains and what I had really been waiting for…

The Macaroni and Cheese. Captilised for emphasis. With braised ox cheek, brioche and bone marrow crumble. Oh. My. Word.

I'm going to have to take you on a little journey here.

Here is me, optimistic and excited before taking on this beast of a dish:

And here is me, after trying to conquer it and failing miserably:

I think I actually look visibly fatter in the second photo.

Now this dish is amazing. But it is literally one of THE richest things I have ever eaten in my entire life. And it's huge. I managed maybe about a third of it and I really regret not taking the rest home. To be fair the waiter did seem pretty dubious about my chances when I ordered it but I was blindly optimistic and ending up failing miserably. But as I said, it was delicious.

Freddie had some chicken garlic and mash thing. In his words "the best chicken I've had… but still just chicken"

The couple next to us did in fact order the chateaubriand to share and left HALF OF IT THERE! This was literally a travesty in our eyes. We were getting very close to giving it a new home aka our bellies but decided against it as this seemed to be very much a taboo and we would actually like to come here again.

All in all, a delicious and deliciously expensive meal. I would definitely recommend Berners Tavern and the rest of Jason Atherton's restaurants are well and firmly on my list. Next stop City Social. Should probably inform Freddie he's taking me there for my birthday!