When I heard that there was a Meat Liquor due to come to Leeds, I honestly could not have been more excited. I visited Meat Market with Martin when we went to London with his parents a couple of years ago, and I've always wanted to go back. However, seeing as London is not only a) Far away and b) Expensive to get to/stay at, it ended up right at the bottom of my priority list. I never imagined that it would come up north, but when the Meat Wagon came to Trinity Kitchen earlier this year for a trial run, it was confirmed - Meat Liquor was coming to Leeds. Despite a shaky start (It was due to open in June and didn't open until 9th September), it has had hundreds of people flocking through their doors in eager anticipation - me being one of them. So, was it as good as I remembered?





The restaurant is located on the outside of the Trinity shopping centre, behind Victoria's Secret; you do have to look to find it as it is quite tucked away! It is actually split into two parts - as you walk in, there is the bar where you can choose to sit and have a drink before your meal, if you have to wait before being seated or fancy trying some of their delicious cocktails. Then, if you head downstairs into the basement, this is the main part of the restaurant, where the food is served. As soon as you walk in, you can't help but notice the awesome decor; it reminded me a lot of a 60's diner, with the wood panels, bare lightbulbs and rounded tables, but a lot edgier. The walls are covered in mock newspaper headlines, art prints and posters everywhere you look, and they've even managed to include a Yorkshire theme throughout with owls strategically dotted across the room. The Yorkshire theme even carries through to the beer mats, which you can see above - you can tell that so much thought and effort went into the designs of this restaurant, and I think the hard work has really paid off. It's managed to avoid directly copying the Meat Liquor London design, which to be honest I thought it would have, and really come into its own.




Meat Liquor's menu is not as vast as you might think - the words "Small but mighty" come to mind. There is a choice of eight burgers, with various optional sides such as fries and slaw. I knew what burger I wanted before I even entered the restaurant; the Dead Hippie, which is "2x French's mustard-fried beef patties, Dead Hippie sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and minced white onions". How good does that sound? It's what I tried for the first time at Meat Market, and had again at Meat Wagon, and yes it was that good that I went for it a third time! As for the sides, I had a much more difficult choice as I wanted to try everything! Me, Martin and our friend decided to get a selection of sides, and pick and choose what we wanted. In the end we went for the tobacco onions, chili cheese fries, elotes and fried pickles with blue cheese dip - quite a lot considering! To wash it all down, we shared a pitcher of Longhammer IPA.



So, onto the food... that's what we're here for, after all. The burger, oh the burger. It was just as good as the previous two times I'd had it, and I honestly can't think of a way that they could improve it. The meat was blushing pink on the inside - just how I like it, but you can ask for it to be well done if you prefer - incredibly juicy, and had a pleasantly spicy kick due to the mustard. Two patties of absolute perfection. The Dead Hippie sauce, although I don't what's in it exactly as it's a secret, complimented all the other elements of the burger perfectly. It was quite strong, and I would say almost sweet, and is something that I think most people would really enjoy. I even liked the onions - and I normally can't stand the things, to the point where I pick them out of my food. All of this was of course served in a delightfully soft, lightly glazed bun; it unfortunately didn't hold its structure well at all, but quite frankly I didn't care! This is up there with one of my favourite burgers to have in Leeds - and that's quite something these days.




The tobacco onions, I have to tell you are unfortunately no longer available - sorry! I think that they were part of the summer menu, but I could be wrong. I didn't know how to feel about them; as mentioned just previously I'm really not a fan of onions, but these didn't have the texture nor taste at all! They were very spicy, to the point where I couldn't have many - a small handful was more than enough. However, they were quite light in texture and were amazingly crispy, so a good choice for those who were looking for a lighter side. The chili cheese fries were just as good as expected, although at first we struggled to find the fries over the very generous helping of chili dumped on top! Very, very filling and wholly satisfying - the melted cheese made it for me. The fried pickles were absolutely heavenly - I could have eaten just these and nothing else with my burger, and were by far and away my favourite side. Tangy and sharp, with a light crunchy batter, and when dunked in the blue cheese dip, magical things happen. Best combination ever. Last but not least, the elotes - which I've never had before, but was pleasantly surprised at. Made up of corn, feta, mayonnaise, sour cream, spring onions and lime, it was very crunchy in texture and intense in flavour. It was quite a heavy side dish, unlike the onions, but very enjoyable nonetheless.

Overall, I was quite impressed with Meat Liquor Leeds; it had the potential to not be quite right, but I think it's hit the nail on the head and does quite well to stand out from the many burger restaurants that have popped up all over Leeds throughout the last year. I will definitely be back in the future - I am dying to try out one of their "Xxxmas" mains as they sound pretty incredible! If you have to choose one burger joint in the city centre to try out (and trust me, there's quite a few), you could do a lot worse than Meat Liquor - there's something for everyone and you will leave with a smile on your face!