Thu 16 - Good Bacon Sarnie & Santa Maria Del Sur

A good beginning, the first time I've ever had a bacon roll from Konditor & Cook.  They use streaky bacon (award winning Ayrshire bacon from Carluke), which had been sliced really thinly and cooked so that the fat was slightly crispy and easy to bite through.  The roll was fresh, and also slightly crispy.  The well-meaning waitress was keen to add mayonnaise to the mix, but was thankfully stopped in the nick of time.  A former Pret employee perhaps . . . old habits die hard.  Luckily I had some ketchup in my office drawer.  The portion was fairly generous, this one will take some beating . . .

I skipped lunch, in anticipation of an early evening meat fest at Santa Maria Del Sur in Battersea, famed for it's Argentinian parrillada and for reaching the semi-finals of the F-Word's Best Restaurant Competition in 2009.  For the uninitiated, a parrillada is like a South American version of a mixed grill, usually served at your table on a portable grill to finish the cooking and keep it all warm.  As a prelude to this feast, however, we ordered sweetbreads.  I was expecting these to be cooked on the asado (aka: massive barbeque), but they'd been lightly breadcrumbed and pan-fried, and served with a sprinkling of lemon juice and parsley.  It was surprisingly delicate and light, the meat retaining it's creaminess and subtle taste, a good prelude to the mountain of meat that was to follow.

Next up, we  went with the "Paraddilla Piazolla", which included an 11oz sirloin steak, a 10oz rump steak, two chorizo sausages, a black pudding, and a provolone cheese that slowly melted away as we ate.  The steaks were cut thick and served medium rare as requested.  The Argentinian imported beef, for me, lacks the full flavour of a decent grass-fed British bovine that you might purchase from say, the Ginger Pig.  It's still good quality though, and let's face it, what's not to like?  Steak, sausages, black pudding (particularly good, soft, smooth and slightly sweet), melted cheese.  We had chips (large, crispy, topped with garlic and parsley) and some chimichurri on the side.  Again, what's not to like?

Our waiter was working his second night and coped well, the rest of the staff were smiley and helpful.  The darkly lit restaurant was busy, and whilst there's not much space between tables there was enough of a buzz in the room not to be disturbed by your neighbours.  It's not cheap (bill below), and for obvious health reasons you wouldn't want to eat here too regularly, but a great destination for an occasional blowout.