Tramshed, Shoreditch

When picking a restaurant for our seven year anniversary, my short list, to be honest, really wasn't that short at all. So I handed it over to my boyfriend to make the final decision and after an exceptional meal at Tramshed, I can safely say that the boy done good.

Tramshed is one of nine eateries in London owned by restauranteur Mark Hix. It specialises in chicken and steak, and even goes as far as to reflect this in the decor; I knew about Damien Hirst's "Cock and Bull" that sits up on a platform above the diners and was designed specifically for the restaurant, but up on the far wall, I was very amused to see a portrait of my childhood heroes, Cartoon Network's Cow and Chicken!

Although it may not always seem apparent in my blog posts, I do like to eat healthily.... But if I'm going to take a meal off and be naughty, I like it to be well worth it. Tramshed is the perfect place to do this, having all my favourite tasties on the menu. To start, we ordered a selection of bites to share; beer sticks (which turned out to be like grown up pepperamis), incredible beef and chicken croquettes (known as Cock 'n' Bull, which were reasonably priced by piece, and we should definitely have had more than two!), and a Yorkshire pudding! Peculiar as it sounds, it came served with a chicken liver parfait for dipping into and was absolutely scrummy. I'm not sure why the idea hasn't been snapped up and become a gastropub Sunday staple. We also had a cuttlefish salad, served with heritage tomatoes which sadly, was a bit tasteless and rubbery. However, we told our waiter and as a nice gesture at the end of the meal, we found he had taken it off the bill.

For the main course, we again chose two dishes and went half and half. The steak was cooked perfectly and the peri-peri seasoned half chicken was spicy and tangy. If you order a whole chicken, it is brought to the table doing what I can only describe as a handstand in a mountain of fries. Quite the spectacle! They were served with an array of sauces, and we also indulged with sides of field mushrooms and scrumpy-fried onions.There was quite a large selection of desserts but one in particular caught my eye and I was not to be swayed. A sharing pud, it had to be the salted caramel fondue, complete with homemade cinnamon donuts and marshmallows to dip (completely the eat-everything-naughty-in-one-sitting-then-it-can't-be-that-naughty-really theme). MY GOD. That's all I can really say. And actually, that's all I will say. If the description isn't enough to convince you to run and try it, I'm not quite sure we can be friends.

This was, by far, the best meal I have had for a long, long time, and I was so pleased considering the special occasion. Not only will I definitely be heading back, but I will be encouraged to try more of Hix's restaurants too. 

(Photograph by Jason Lowe)