Vegans best keep their distance from Mac & Wild at Devonshire Square – this is where the meat eaters come to play. It’s set up like a steak house with a lot of wood, exposed brick and dark red leather banquettes. The butcher’s station gives it away too.
Behind the sneeze-proof glass lay the cuts of meat, freshly cut that day. You’ve got your classic rib-eyes and mammoth sized tomahawk steaks alongside some more approachable chateaubriand cuts of beef and venison – this is the fat and buttery end of the fillet.
You’ll also see the ‘shotgun special’ which is whatever seasonal bird they are serving up.
Behind this display lies a massive chalk board with scribbled numbers spread across it. Here lie all the sizes of each cut of steak you can choose from. Every time someone orders, a steak is wiped off – this happens faster than you might think. But, as the night goes on, more and more are added. It’s a never-ending assembly line of meat cutting, cooking and eating. As tantalising as the tomahawk steak looked, the two of us couldn’t imagine getting through 1.1kg of meat while trying all the other tempting offerings. So, we decided to split a venison chateaubriand steak and a rib-eye.
The rib-eye was just as fatty, salty and juicy as you could hope for. Steaks like this are what the meat sweats are made for.
And the venison was a good complimentary meat. It was firmer and less juicy but had some more complex earthy flavours going on – what you’d expect from a well-fed deer. Beside these, we got the famous Mac and Wild truffled mushroom mac and cheese which came bursting out of its serving dish. They had heaped as much cheese and pasta and breadcrumbs and truffley goodness as they could into this beast. And once one table sniffed the mac and cheese passing by, it wasn’t long before most diners had one at their table.
While you’re here, you’ve also got to get onto one of Mac and Wild’s other much-loved dishes (of which they have many) – the haggis scotch egg. Cut into this ball of deep-fried meaty magic (not missing out on gramming the egg yolk as it oozes out onto the wooden board) and get a little messy while devouring it. The added venison and black pudding just elevate this to the next level. No wonder they’re big sellers for takeaway diners at Devonshire Square.
Wash it all down with some of their tipples too. As this is a Scottish restaurant, you can’t miss the chance to drown in whiskey. We opted for their house foraged old fashioned made with a smooth & herbal blend of Monkey Shoulder whisky, foraged pine needle tincture (set on fire just before being served to add some smokiness and pizzazz), double infused heather honey & finished with barrel aged bitters.
These are perfectly paired with desserts – a devilish fried mars bar sundae which is as good as it sounds. Rich as hell but so good. And the affogato comes with another shot of whisky on the side for good measure so we, of course, couldn’t turn down this one either.
We had taken the tactical route of booking a slot down at the Smoky Barrels Shooting Range Bar underneath the restaurant after all of this eating. We needed to work off some of this feast – but of course we got another round of their banging cocktails.
Down in the den, you can spend a good hour hunting deer, boar, pheasants and all other kinds of game. Grab your massive shotguns and go to town on these poor virtual creatures.
You get the ultimate dining experience with both spots. You get to sample all the best cuts of meat and the most tasty fried, cheesy, truffley sides. Indulge in their gloriously bad food and do your darndest not to feel too guilty the next day. Be assured, the calories are well worth it.
60 Wentworth Street, Spitalfields E1 7AL
