It was a slight downer that we had to choose from a set menu but 2 courses for £13 was too good an offer to miss. All the dishes on offer were straight off their main menu, minus the steaks (which apparently they are quite well known for .... they are called The Bountiful Cow ...) so there were some pretty decent choices.
Stuart started with Rillettes of Duck served on toast with sliced red onion and cornichons. The birthday boy was happy.
My Smoked Salmon with Bread, Butter and Lemon starter was incredibly generous. There were 4-5 slices of smoked salmon but I was a disappointed (and surprised) that someone in the kitchen felt the need to drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the slices of bread. Surely the butter would have gone quite cheerfully with the bread? I'm quite sure now I don't like extra virgin olive oil anywhere near my smoked salmon. The two strong flavours just collides and sends the wrong signals to my taste buds.
For mains, Stuart had the Steak Sandwich, which according to the menu is made with aged beef and sauteed red onions. Before the mains arrived, Stuart confessed that he was a little worried that meat would be tough as is the case with many steak sandwiches (the horrid person in me would have loved to roll my eyes and ask why he ordered it if he was worried but .... it was his birthday). Stuart needn't have worried, the meat was lovely - tender and moist with plenty of flavour. The serving was generous and the chips were pretty darn good - chunky and crisp. Lovely.
I went all out and ordered the burger - made with course ground steak and served with salad, sliced onions, a baby gherkin, bacon (my choice of the 'free' additions - the other choices were a fried egg or cheese) and chips. They certainly aren't stingy on their portions in this place. The burger was large - the main menu claims that their burger is a BIG 14oz/395g but Stuart reckoned that this was no where near that big. Even the piggy in me was pretty happy I didn't have to face a larger burger. I was really quite happy with what I got, but hey I'm no burger connoisseur. The mince was chunky and there was a lovely charred flavour from the flames. Even my portion of 'free' bacon was generous :) I was a happy bunny ... so was Stuart, he got half of my main meal.
The Bountiful Cow is certainly worth a try, especially with the Toptable offer. It's a little pricey otherwise - the burger goes for £12.95 ... a little steep. It's an intimate little place located just off High Holborn and less than a 3 minute walk from the tube station.
The main menu
The Bountiful Cow
51 Eagle St, London WC1R 4AP
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