We've reviewed Cut at 45 Park Lane before on this blog and I thought that would be my last visit to the address. There was nothing wrong with the food per se but dining here leaves a big hole in your pocket and our personal view is that both the ambience at somewhere like Goodman and the steaks there are in fact better, leaving Cut redundant in our list of 'go to' places. However, recently @LondonFoodFreak suggested we eat a burger at the upstairs bar (Bar 45) where the environment is more relaxed and (he assure me) the burger excellent. Why not.
On a Monday night, the venue was pretty quiet with only a couple of other patrons, presumably hotel guests grabbing a drink before retiring for the night. The waitress was friendly, not overly formal as the downstairs can be, and Cut started to become an enjoyable place to hang out.
On the food front, we ordered a steak tartare which is presented as four individual tartares served on toasted bread making it ideal and easy for sharing. Very nice, smooth, creamy almost, quite different to the spicy kick of the tartare served earlier that day at Bibendum; which is considered best is most likely a matter of style preference.
The burger was the point of our visit and so the clear choice for our meal. I was surprisingly impressed. A decent sized patty, the cheese visibly melting in to it, caramelised onions on top that would add a real sweetness to it on eating and a nice soft bun that held its texture and complimented the burger rather than detract from it. On biting in to the burger, they had also got the cooking spot on with the medium rare requested. Modestly sceptical going into this, I have to admit to be a convert and agreeing that Cut does indeed serve an excellent burger.
As is always the issue with Cut however, it comes at a price which here is £22 making it the most expensive burger in London that I can recall off the top of my head (Goodman charge £14 for theirs while at Burger & Lobster it is £20). It is a very good burger however and Park Lane rents have to be paid for intellectually at least taking the sting out of it a little. Indeed, just off Park Lane there's a branch of HSBC that has a cashpoint, the only one that I know, that gives you £50 notes when you withdraw cash, because in this part of town, that's exactly what you need. So whether I go to the trouble to seek out their burger at this price in the future remains to be seen, probably not, but judged independently of price (if that's allowed), as a burger, it's right up there.
I tried a chocolate souffle to finish which, being a little on the heavy side, didn't sit so well after the burger, but to be fair, it might have been given a better reception by me if Cut had not already filled me up so much by that point.
In conclusion, I still don't see me returning to the restaurant any time soon, but I wouldn't be averse to returning to the bar.
On a Monday night, the venue was pretty quiet with only a couple of other patrons, presumably hotel guests grabbing a drink before retiring for the night. The waitress was friendly, not overly formal as the downstairs can be, and Cut started to become an enjoyable place to hang out.
On the food front, we ordered a steak tartare which is presented as four individual tartares served on toasted bread making it ideal and easy for sharing. Very nice, smooth, creamy almost, quite different to the spicy kick of the tartare served earlier that day at Bibendum; which is considered best is most likely a matter of style preference.
The burger was the point of our visit and so the clear choice for our meal. I was surprisingly impressed. A decent sized patty, the cheese visibly melting in to it, caramelised onions on top that would add a real sweetness to it on eating and a nice soft bun that held its texture and complimented the burger rather than detract from it. On biting in to the burger, they had also got the cooking spot on with the medium rare requested. Modestly sceptical going into this, I have to admit to be a convert and agreeing that Cut does indeed serve an excellent burger.
As is always the issue with Cut however, it comes at a price which here is £22 making it the most expensive burger in London that I can recall off the top of my head (Goodman charge £14 for theirs while at Burger & Lobster it is £20). It is a very good burger however and Park Lane rents have to be paid for intellectually at least taking the sting out of it a little. Indeed, just off Park Lane there's a branch of HSBC that has a cashpoint, the only one that I know, that gives you £50 notes when you withdraw cash, because in this part of town, that's exactly what you need. So whether I go to the trouble to seek out their burger at this price in the future remains to be seen, probably not, but judged independently of price (if that's allowed), as a burger, it's right up there.
I tried a chocolate souffle to finish which, being a little on the heavy side, didn't sit so well after the burger, but to be fair, it might have been given a better reception by me if Cut had not already filled me up so much by that point.
In conclusion, I still don't see me returning to the restaurant any time soon, but I wouldn't be averse to returning to the bar.
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