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The Double Meat Palace
Friday, August 29th, 2014 11:06 amSo last night we ended up in what we affectionately call the ‘Double Meat Palace’ in Pimlico. I think it is actually called ‘Presco’ and if any place in London is Kryptonite to vegetarians, it’s there.
Our original plan was simply to go home, make some kind of carpet picnic out of the vast amount of cheese we inherited after visiting Furtle’s folks last weekend. As it transpired, however, Alix (Furtle’s sister) has got the entire week off and had spent the day doing the sights of London, which frankly, is only something that people who live here rarely do. Anyway, having visited the Abbey around the corner, she and Furtle met up in a pub around another corner and I joined them about half an hour later.
A couple or three pints of Young’s IPA down the road, it was decided that food might be in order and with a sort of inevitability, despite Furtle’s and my attempts to ration visits to the place, we ended up wandering deeper into Pimlico to find the Double Meat Palace.
For those who’ve never been, the hook is simple: you go in, order a pitcher of cocktail (!), they give you a token with ‘yes’ on one side and ‘no’ on the other (in Portuguese, natch). You then go to the buffet bar and load up your plate. This is the time when most people make the rookie mistake of actually loading up their plate. DO NOT DO THIS. Simply pick a few bits and pieces to chew on until the bloke with the skewer arrives.
There are actually several blokes with skewers and they wander around the restaurant remorselessly, bringing different sorts of meat, which they will slice onto your plate as many times as they can until you flip the token to ‘no’, or expire at the table through sheer meat exhaustion. It’s not a cheap meal, but it’s also not a rip off – you just have to pace yourself carefully. Avoid the cheap, filling carbs and go for the meat. Of course, this does not apply if you are a veggie of a vegan, but then I would direct you to my observation to my opening sentence. This place has nothing to offer you if you be not of the carnivorous persuasion (except poss pitchers of cocktails).
We had been intending to take Arch-Carnivore Alix there for some time and we were not disappointed. There was not quite the meat haze around her that we had happily anticipated, but it was fun to se someone cheerfully learn and experience the concept of the meat sweat for the very first time.
Surprisingly, part way through the meal, a couple of scantily clad Brazilian dancing girls appeared and proceeded, rather bizarrely, to gyrate around the restaurant for a half hour or so. They’ve not been there on previous visits and I wonder if they’d missed the plane home after the Notting Hill Carnival and were taking the opportunity to scare up some money for the airfare…
This being our third visit, it will probably also be our last for sometime. It doesn’t do to overdo it, though. Don’t forget to take a belly-wheel.
Our original plan was simply to go home, make some kind of carpet picnic out of the vast amount of cheese we inherited after visiting Furtle’s folks last weekend. As it transpired, however, Alix (Furtle’s sister) has got the entire week off and had spent the day doing the sights of London, which frankly, is only something that people who live here rarely do. Anyway, having visited the Abbey around the corner, she and Furtle met up in a pub around another corner and I joined them about half an hour later.
A couple or three pints of Young’s IPA down the road, it was decided that food might be in order and with a sort of inevitability, despite Furtle’s and my attempts to ration visits to the place, we ended up wandering deeper into Pimlico to find the Double Meat Palace.
For those who’ve never been, the hook is simple: you go in, order a pitcher of cocktail (!), they give you a token with ‘yes’ on one side and ‘no’ on the other (in Portuguese, natch). You then go to the buffet bar and load up your plate. This is the time when most people make the rookie mistake of actually loading up their plate. DO NOT DO THIS. Simply pick a few bits and pieces to chew on until the bloke with the skewer arrives.
There are actually several blokes with skewers and they wander around the restaurant remorselessly, bringing different sorts of meat, which they will slice onto your plate as many times as they can until you flip the token to ‘no’, or expire at the table through sheer meat exhaustion. It’s not a cheap meal, but it’s also not a rip off – you just have to pace yourself carefully. Avoid the cheap, filling carbs and go for the meat. Of course, this does not apply if you are a veggie of a vegan, but then I would direct you to my observation to my opening sentence. This place has nothing to offer you if you be not of the carnivorous persuasion (except poss pitchers of cocktails).
We had been intending to take Arch-Carnivore Alix there for some time and we were not disappointed. There was not quite the meat haze around her that we had happily anticipated, but it was fun to se someone cheerfully learn and experience the concept of the meat sweat for the very first time.
Surprisingly, part way through the meal, a couple of scantily clad Brazilian dancing girls appeared and proceeded, rather bizarrely, to gyrate around the restaurant for a half hour or so. They’ve not been there on previous visits and I wonder if they’d missed the plane home after the Notting Hill Carnival and were taking the opportunity to scare up some money for the airfare…
This being our third visit, it will probably also be our last for sometime. It doesn’t do to overdo it, though. Don’t forget to take a belly-wheel.