Restaurant review

Complete carnivores will be spoilt for choice by the exotic range of meats on offer at The Steak Inn in St Albans Road, Watford.

The restaurant has been taken over by new owners who are keen to make a good impression after the previous occupants were taken to court last September and found guilty for serving horse meat instead of zebra and wildebeest.

We sat down at our table and the waiters explained the concept of the restaurant to us.

You choose a steak and they bring over a raw slab of it on a stove, otherwise known as a volcanic rock grill that reaches up to 440 degrees, for you to cook yourself and decide how rare or well done you would like it.

I scanned the list and noticed that as well as the usual sirloin and fillet beef, there was also a choice of kangaroo, water buffalo, ostrich, llama and reindeer, to name a few.

Initially, we decided to order beef (£16.95) and the meat was brought over to us on the stoves with chips and salad. We waited patiently, although slightly hungrily, for it to simmer and the portions were so thick I was worried it wasn’t cooking enough and decided to cook it in little pieces.

However, I was only given one plate to cut it on and so the juice of the uncooked meat remained on my plate. A good tip is to always ask for extra plates.

I wanted to embrace a new palate, so tried one of the exotic steaks too, despite them not being cheap as a 7oz steak averaged at £19.95 and the most expensive 12oz portion was the water buffalo at £29.95. I was immediately drawn to the crocodile (£21.95) as I’d heard it tasted like chicken and was not a meat I would usually encounter in the frozen section of my local supermarket. However, they didn’t have any available that night and instead, I tried zebra (£19.95).

The menu claimed the striped African animal would have subtle game flavours, but the taste of the very deep red meat was reminiscent of lamb for me. I didn’t know what colour it was supposed to turn to reassure me that it was grilled enough to eat, so I waited until the outside was blackened and it was so chewy I could barely cut it with a sharp knife. It was interesting to try but I definitely prefer the familiar taste of beef.

We also tried a starter of crumbed stringy mozzarella cheese served with tangy sweet chilli (£4.45) and for dessert we had a sweet Belgian waffle with vanilla ice-cream (£4.45).

The evening was pricey and we had to cook our own meals from scratch without much guidance, so we may as well have dined at home.

The Steak Inn, St Albans Road, Watford, WD24 5BH. Details: 01923 247750, thesteakinn.com