We have been fans of Market Harborough’s Meatcure for quite some time, giving them a 9/10 rating when we visited them back in May. So naturally we jumped at the opportunity to come along to the launch of their second restaurant, located in Highcross Street in Leicester. We were eager to see if the quality of their food remained as good with their expansion.
We were not disappointed! A gathering of invited guests, including stars of the Leicester Tigers team, tucked into a selection of burgers from the menu, including the barbecue flavoured Smokey and the Bandit, the signature cheese and pickle based Royale, the fiery house chilli based From Dusk Til Dawn and the pleasantly surprising vegetarian option; the butternut squash patty based The Italian Job.
They all tasted every bit as good as those served in Market Harborough. The star of the show is still the patty itself, proudly hand crafted from locally sourced cuts of beef and served in a bespoke brioche bun from a local supplier. The quality of the beef is evident, with a deep flavour that dominates.
We were also treated to samples of the new arrivals to the Meatcure menu with Meatcure ribs and spicy chicken wings. We were big fans of the ribs, which came with a liberal coating of a smoky and spicy sauce with the meat clinging on to the bone by its fingertips.
The beer was also flowing to wash down the meaty goodness, and as in Market Harborough, Camden Ales provide their Hells Lager and their hoppy Pale Ale. But new to the bar in Leicester is Camden Wit, a superbly well rounded wheat beer. By virtue of Leicester being further North than Market Harborough, this is now the furthest North you can buy Camden’s superb beer on draught.
What was really evident throughout the night was the pride that the Meatcure team have in what they do. Everyone from the management to the waiting staff were beaming with pride over what they had achieved and excited over their hopes for the new restaurant. But that overall, the success of the business will be based on the quality of the products, which they strongly believe in.
Such is the dedication to quality that they will not entertain launching the new menu in Market Harborough until they are confident that they have had the time to train the staff there following the Leicester launch. And following on from that, the head chef will spend a substantial amount of time training staff in their forthcoming Leamington Spa restaurant to ensure that the quality is not only high, but consistent across the growing chain.
In fact, an even stronger indicator as to the eye for detail and quality was revealed to us by one of the photographers at the event, who revealed that the chef was such a perfectionist in producing the perfect burger for the promo shots that he took four attempts to get it as he wanted. The first, of course, looked mouth waveringly good in itself!
With a superb city centre location, a team dedicated to quality and passionate about their business and a growing reputation, we are convinced that Meatcure will make a great success of their expansion. We look forward to returning to see the new restaurant in full operation!
To view the Meatcure menu and full info please visit the Meatcure website.
Photography by www.scottchoucino.com
Words by Iain Morton