Austria - Tiroler Hut

Restaurant: Tiroler Hut

Location: 27 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 4UH

Date of visit: 22 July 2011

Time of visit: 8pm

Steve and Elle ate: Holzplatte für Zwei

Blink and you'll miss it. Based in a busy part of Notting Hill, this restaurant is one that you could easily miss walking down the street. Access is from a single door at street level, which takes you below ground to a very cosy, and authentic feeling venue.

On this Saturday night the restaurant was particularly busy. On entering from outside we instantly felt the hustle and bustle, which was probably accentuated by the low ceilings, small surroundings and the live music. We were greeted by a very friendly gentleman dressed from head to toe in traditional gear. In fact, the whole experience and atmosphere was very authentic. In seconds we had travelled from a busy Notting Hill street to Tirol.

We were shown to our table, which was the only one available - the restaurant was packed. The service was extremely friendly, with the waiter cracking jokes. 10 out of 10 for effort, for sure. It was also very speedy - our food and drinks orders were taken very quickly, and shortly after that came a plate with a selection of bread and dips.

The plate was quite full, so we were almost certain that this was something that would appear on the bill at the end, despite not asking for it. In the end, we were charged. £3.60. The dips were mustard and horseradish.

The menu itself is a fascinating read. All the meal names are given in German, with English descriptions. There is a wide choice of starters, soups, mains and desserts. If seafood is your thing, though, you might be disappointed with the selection (of two meals). There is also a selection of Hungarian dishes, as the restaurant's owner hails from Hungary.

One thing on the menu jumped out at us straight away. The "Holzplatte für Zwei". If I was allowed to write the description on the menu, it would be "A massive plate of meat, basically".

In fact, it was much more than that. We didn't have to wait long before the waiter came carrying what might as well have been a table top full of meat. I reckon the "für zwei" part of the name relates to the number of days it should take to eat.

The plate consisted of another selection of breads - white, brown and a fruit loaf type - two sausage slices, black pudding, amazingly tender pork, rice, sauerkraut, mashed roast potatoes, gammon, chicken schnitzel, beef and pork belly. It was quite incredible.

What was more incredible is that we pretty much finished it all! The meat was all cooked fantastically. The bread didn't really play a huge part, but it would've been almost shameful to not have something offsetting all that meat. I can't imagine how many calories we consumed from this meal, but the grease left of the plate went some way to telling that story.

Desert was absolutely out of the question. I actually reckon the waiter asked us out of sarcasm.

It was at this point that we were left feeling a little disappointed. Not with the service, or the food, or the restaurant. Disappointed with the fact that it was over. Here we were in a lovely little cosy, packed restaurant, enjoying traditional music and singing, with great food, but now it was over. It was time to leave.

We didn't though. There was a small bar near the entrance/exit, so we relocated there for another couple of drinks. We had a good chat with the barman and another punter there. Later, shortly after the music stopped, the guy that was earlier playing the accordian and singing chatted to us, and told us more about the restaurant. It turns out he was the restaurant owner, and has been for 44 years. He told us about the restaurant, and how well it has done.

The fact that the restaurant has opened almost every day for 44 years, and is still packed out, shows that clearly.

Cost of meal: £42 for two (excluding drinks)

Australia - Jumbucks

Restaurant: Jumbuck's

Location: 24 Shepherd's Bush Green, London, W12 8PH

Date of visit: 26 March 2011

Time of visit: 8.30pm

Steve and Elle ate: Boomer Works Meal with large Aussie Rules pie

When it comes to thinking of an Australian restaurant in London, it's difficult not to instantly think of the Walkabout chain. However, chain restaurants are something I want to try and avoid during this project, as I would imagine authenticity would suffer. However, other than Walkabout, it was surprisingly difficult to track down another restaurant in London that specialised in Australian fare. Even in West London.

In the end, we opted to travel across to Australia's home from home in London - Shepherd's Bush - and to the Jumbucks pie shop. Yes, it's a national brand. But it's not Walkabout.

Jumbucks are well known where they are well known, and not where they're not. That is to say the pies are popular, but they aren't particularly easy to find. The company actually focus on distruting their pies to the likes of bingo halls, pubs and student unions. However, they do have a cafe in their own name in Shepherd's Bush - I believe their only branch.

Jumbuck's specialise in Jaffle pies, which are cooked in specalist Jaffle irons, which is a thing of outback camping origins. Their menu is pretty much made up of individual pies or meal deals.

When we walked in, it was pretty clear that this cafe was a small affair. In fact, it appeared that the main function of the cafe was actually as a takeaway, rather than a dine-in experience. Nonetheless, three tables were available.

All the pies were in a display cabinet at the main counter, with their names. It reminded me a little of a school canteen. On and behind the counter was a large variety of Australian products - sweets, crisps, drinks and other miscellaneous items that would appeal to Australians in London. Prices for these items did seem quite high.

Back to the food, and we both opted for the same thing - the Boomer Works Meal. This consisted of a pie, mashed potato, mushy peas and gravy. We also opted for the same pie, which was the Aussie Rules pie - chunky steak, bacon and cheese.

On first impression when the food arrived was that the pie was indeed quite small (it was a bit difficult to gague when they were all sitting side by side in the display cabinet). That said, the pie was actually quite good. The gravy inside was nice and rich, with a good abundance of steak and cheese sauce. However, there wasn't much sign of the bacon, other than a slight hint in the taste.

The mushy peas were extremely mushy peas. Not something to complain about though. That's just the nature of mushy peas - they're mushy. Moving on, the mashed potato was definitely mashed potato. And it was ok. But I wasn't entirely convinced that it didn't come from a packet of Smash.

Overall though, the meal was very good value, at only £4.15 each. Drinks weren't included, and came in the form of cans or bottles. There was no alcohol on sale.

It's worth noting that the gravy that the meal was served with was suitable for vegetarians. There are two pie options for veggies too.

A couple of downstairs on the night were that the front door was left open during our visit, which left the cafe quite chilly. Many people were coming in an out, so closing it each time wouldn't really have been an option. Also, there was no toilet in the cafe. I didn't think that was permissible for a venue which offers dining facilities, but what do I know?

The restaurant is open late, 1am on Friday and Saturday nights.

It was hardly a la carte dining, but it was a good, hearty, enjoyable and cheap meal

Cost of meal: Under £10 for two, including two soft drinks