Food Review: Taylor & Clay – Yay or Nay?

Whilst staying at the Bullitt Hotel (reviewed here) we had a 3-course meal included as part of our stay, but during the week this can be had for 2 people with a carafe of wine for £35, so I’ll say off the bat that it’s good value.  The decor fits with the rest of the hotel, a bit brash, a bit in your face but the dark colours and use of wood make it inviting and more comfortable than you would initially expect.  We ate on a Sunday night at 7.30pm so the place was only starting to get busy and service was swift and pleasant.

Meat is the order of the day in Taylor and Clay and as soon as you go near you see a massive rack with flames pouring up and you can smell the sweet smell of seared flesh. Truth be told, it makes your mouth water and your wallet get nervous.

There are some expensive cuts of aged beef here, but as we’re on the set menu we don’t worry about these. I have the beef skewers to start and a flat iron steak and chips.  The beef skewers are essentially seasoned beef on a stick, it doesn’t sound like much, but the use of quality ingredients, expert seasoning and flame-grilling makes these little sticks of joy.  The steak, chips and bearnaise sauce is next and the meat is treated with equal care and is cooked just right, no room for tough meat here – no matter what cut it is! The chips are golden brown, crispy and fluffy on the inside.  The bearnaise sauce was very good as well and ended up being used with both meat and chip, as it’s unacceptable to just drink sauce in such nice surroundings.

The dessert was described as pear and chocolate tart and I was a bit disappointed it wasn’t meat actually! It turned out to be a chocolate tart with some pears on the side. It was fine but the tart was too cold and whilst overall it was nice, it wasn’t up to the standard of the rest of the meal.

I really enjoyed my meal and the surroundings, and it certainly didn’t feel like a ‘budget’ option. More like a way of showing how good they can do meat no matter what the price. All in all, this is a welcome addition to Belfast’s flourishing restaurant scene, and one of the best hotel eateries around.