Friday night, no place to go, what shall we do?? I know, let's go and spend a fortune on classic America fayre on the King's Road. Fabulous idea. And there's only one place for it - The Big Easy.
I've never been to The Big Easy before, but I've been wanting to try it for ages. It's famous for serving lots of seafood and lots of steak. So perfect for pescatarian me and full-blown carnivore The Bear.
The restaurant is decked out to look like an old school American shack, with dark wood interiors, brown paper tablecloths and the obligatory Americana stuck at weird angles to every bit of available ceiling. Think TGI Fridays but much much better.
The place is packed and its only 7pm - early doors. The music is brilliant. Everything from Jimi Hendrix to the Postal Service. And the service is warm and professional.
We went for the Seafood Platter to Share for starters which was good, if a little stingy for the £20 price tag. Two oysters each, two prawns and two crab claws. All were painfully fresh, but the prawns stood out from the rest. The whole lot was served with sweet chilli and Cocktail Sauce as well as Shallot Vinegar. Everything was homemade. The sweet chilli sauce in particular, which has a rich, ketchupy taste and consistency, was excellent. I could have eaten it twice though.
Our appetites duly whetted we waited for our mains, during which time I was tempted into a Lychee and Mint Martini. This little beauty was GORGEOUS. They spoilt it a bit by putting a glace cherry in the bottom of the glass, but I've never tasted such a smooth cocktail before. It went perfectly with my Alaskan King Crab Leg as well!
The mains turned up and hardly fit on the table. I went for the Crab Leg which was served with a House Salad (OK - Covered in Ranch dressing which I'm not keen on). It was huge. I mean this Crab must have been a ruddy monster! The leg was served simply with a wedge of lemon and sweet drawn butter. Sinful! What is essentially one of the healthiest things you can eat that isn't grown in the ground becomes so decadent when dipped in melted butter - but so so tasty. I was in my element.
As was The Bear, who went for the 600g Double Thick Cut Prime Rib Eye. It was massive. He got the meat sweats. All was right with the world.
We thought we might as well finish how we'd started, by overeating, and ordered the Pecan Pie and two espressos. The pie was yummy. Freshly prepared and cooked, the pastry was melt in your mouth, and the treacle filling oozed onto the plate when you dug into it. Top notch.
This meal was wonderful. Great food, great atmosphere, great service. Just one thing let it down. The price. I know steak is expensive, and I know good quality fresh seafood is also expensive. But £120 for two people is quite a lot. This place is definitely a treat rather than a regular haunt.
But don't fear. There's another similar restaurant down the road in Fulham called the Cabin Bar and Grill that is a good alternative (although there is less memorabilia about the place.)
Keep on chomping!!
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