Reviews by jenlemon

Frank Godfrey (Butcher)
25 June 2008

I've only been here once, about a year ago when I was looking for a new butcher. While I suspect that my experience was just down to bad luck, the woman behind the counter was positively short, curt and really unfriendly.

I spent nearly £70 in the shop on racks of lamb, and when I asked her if she could tell me when the salt marsh lamb would be in season her only response was 'not today' (i.e. that she didn't have the time to tell me today). It was a Wednesday morning and the shop was empty - and furthermore, why be so miserable and rude?

The lamb I bought was great but surely any good butcher should be happy and willing to field questions from customers about their range of products, breeds on offer and origin of their meat with some degree of interest and patience? I left feeling as if they had done me a favour by serving me. Who needs that when you've cycled 10 minutes uphill to Highbury just to buy meat?

Meat City (Butcher)
25 June 2008

I agree that Nigel is an absolute blessing and his pride and care in what he sells is immediately obvious. He can be a little grumpy if you ask for what he terms as 'supermarket cuts' like chicken thighs (a hell of a lot tastier and cheaper than the breast meat that he'll push you to buy instead) but overall the man knows his stuff and sells great produce. I bought some pheasant from him last year that was a world above the stuff I usually get at Borough Market - beautifully cleaned and plucked, without the usual half broken feathers that you have to fuss with for 20 minutes with tweezers.

Nigel also has a hanging room in the back where he hangs the beef for a further week or two to ensure that his meat is tender and beautiful. And his location means that you can easily call in on the way home from work if you work in the city.