Meat, Meat, Meat

Behold Middletons Steakhouse and Grill found in Timberhill – one of the most popular restaurants in Norwich. With a large menu they have something for everyone – steaks, burgers, vegetarian, seafood. What an achievement for Norwich to have access to a Halal steakhouse. Note: the restaurant requires 4 days notice of the dish you want in order for them to get the Halal ingredients.

Décor/atmosphere

From the outside the restaurant looks grand. It was like looking at a mansion house. I was excited. I knew it would be good. As you enter you notice there are 2 floors. The bottom floor was bright with lots of lighting. You can see into the kitchen. We were led upstairs which had a more of a dimmed lighting. There were sparkling lights dotted around, with giant mirrors hanging semi off the walls. It was a Saturday night and the restaurant was packed.

Décor verdict 9.5/10

Service

There were 8 of us and I pre-booked our dishes so they knew what Halal ingredients to get. Upon sitting down the waiter confirmed that we had already chosen our dishes, and that we just need to decide exactly which dish and the sides.

The service it self was a little slow, and the food took about 30mins to come out. However there were 8 of us and it was a busy Saturday night so perhaps this was expected. I anticipated steak to take time to cook.

Service verdict 8/10

Food

6oz Sirloin steak

Although this was the smallest size on offer, it definitely was not small in size. The steak was served on a wooden board and it definitely looked pretty. I found the steak a little chewy – perhaps medium cooked would have been better. But regardless it had good flavour. It was an excellent cut with a good balanced meat to fat ratio.

Mushroom Burger

The burgers came in 2 sizes – 6oz and 8oz. This burger had sliced mushrooms, cheese, salad and sauce.

This was a tall burger. I cut it in half to make it easier to eat. It looked good. But it did not taste good. The patty was really thick and dry. It lacked flavour and was chewy – and this was only the 6oz size. Perhaps the patty should have been more flat with a bigger bun.

Lamb rump steak

This was sliced steak served with tomato, mushrooms and peas.

The look of this dish was beautiful. You could see the steak was going to taste good and my god did it taste good. It was juicy and flavoursome. Perhaps it needed it to be a tiny bit bigger though. Perfectly cooked at medium-well.

Surf & Turf with 8oz rib-eye

Piri Piri king prawns served with either an 8oz sirloin or rib-eye steak.

We opted for the rib-eye option to get a little variety. The steak was small (compared to the sirloin even though it was a bigger weight) but it was so tasty. The prawns had their shells on but they had good flavour. The dish was kind of small and I feel a little miffed paying £21 for it.

Piri Piri chicken breast

Chicken breast on the bone marinated in piri piri sauce, served with coleslaw.

Normally I prefer leg pieces of chicken but there isn’t an option here so I accepted the fact it’d have to be a breast piece. Incredibly, I was surprised how tasty I found this dish. You can taste the piri piri flavour throughout.

Middleton Grill

This is a platter of piri piri chicken breast, sticky BBQ ribs, 6oz sirloin or rib-eye steak, onions rings, chilli and spring onion garnish. I asked for the rib-eye and exchanged the BBQ ribs for lamb cutlets. Unfortunately due to errors they didn’t order the lamb cutlets so they served an extra piece of chicken instead.

I ordered the steak in medium. It was soft and tender – I think next time I will go for medium-well. It was another excellent cut with a good balanced meat to fat ratio. The chicken tasted good even though I prefer leg pieces. This cost £18 and is good value – definitely better than the surf & turf.

Sweet potato fries

Very good side. Well cooked. Good size portion.

Dauphinoise

Sliced potato cooked with cheese. This tasted okay. They were quite small. Unless you really like them I’d probably wouldn’t bother.

Fries

Standard fries nothing special to say. Good portion size.

Note: All steaks were cooked medium well. The burgers are always medium-well.

Food verdict 8/10

Price

Majority of the dishes were actually well priced. In fact I felt the steak prices were cheaper than your average steakhouses you would get in London. They ranged from £11 to about £30 based on type and size. There are more signature dishes which cost £30-£50 but that’s for another day. The burgers are all under £10 (unless you go for the 8oz). They have a good valued lunch menu with 3 courses for £10. All dishes come with a side which adds good value.

Price verdict 8.5/10

Final conclusion

From the moment I placed my booking I was very excited. I was looking forward to seeing what the fuss was about. The décor was nice. Majority of the food was tasty – just avoid the burgers – but hey why go to a steakhouse to eat burgers?! I think it’s debatable whether the steak is better as medium or medium-well but each person has their own preference. I am glad I discovered this secret Halal gem. I would definitely return.

Final verdict 8/10