Foodie Review: MEATliquor, BOXPARK (Croydon)

Back in October, a brand new BOXPARK opened just a few miles from our house. Jammed-packed with restaurants, dessert chains and bars, Jack and I finally headed over to MEATLiquor, located on the 1st floor. Specialising in messy street food and burgers, here's my foodie review...

**Update: November 2022: Unfortunately MEATliquor has now closed the BOXPARK restaurant following the coronavirus pandemic. You can find a list of their other locations via their website**

For those of you who have not yet tried it, MEATliquor is a chain restaurant specialising in hearty , sloppy street food including burgers, chicken, messy fries and an array of soft and alcoholic drinks. One thing I like in particular about the brand is that each branch is decorated to its own individual theme; from a red-lit abattoir in Oxford Circus to 70's psychedelic in Brighton. Having only ever been to the Oxford Circus one (and quite a while ago), I was sad to see that they no longer offered my favourite dish - the Philly cheese steak sandwich. However, we were lucky to get in on their remaining Xxxmas Menu - here's a closer look at our order...

Having spotted a variety of smaller dishes on other tables, we gave in to food envy and ordered some Piggies in Blankets. Pictured below, this plate includes six Gloucester old spot chipolata sausages wrapped in Herons Farm bacon and English mustard on the side. 

For my main, I opted for the Turkey Cheesesteak (also pictured above) - free-range Herons Farm roast turkey steak in gravy and served with melted camembert cheese, crispy stuffing crumbles and cranberry sauce in a soft roll. On paper, this roll ticked all the boxes although the gravy alongside the cheese and cranberry did make the bun quite soggy and congealed. I found a better way to tackle this was basically to take it apart and eat each part separately. Personally, I felt this just didn't come close to the Ben's Canteen Burger I reviewed back in December - one of my favourite burgers ever. I would have much preferred a sturdier, brioche bun and kept the gravy to a minimum although it wasn't enough to save the turkey which tasted almost like packaged meat. Perfectly acceptable as a meal but perhaps not deserving of the price. 

Jack decided to go with the chain's signature dish, the Dead Hippie Burger - two French mustard fried burger patties served in a soft bun containing MEATliquor's signature Hippie Sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and minced white onions. I actually did a little research and worked out that their Hippie Sauce is a  delicious combination of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, sweet pickles and Worcester sauce. E.g - a more fancy burger sauce. I was surprised to see that this actually was made differently than the one I had tried in the Oxford Circus branch. Again, I sort of felt as though I had made better burgers myself from scratch at home and whilst it made for a totally acceptable dining-out burger, maybe not the quality I have come to expect from a quality burger chain. 

To finish off our trip to BOXPARK, we grabbed some dessert from Jack's favourite - Dum Dum Donutterie. I grabbed myself a Crunchy Nut Cronut (pictured above) made with crunchy nut cereal and buttermilk icing. Delicious and well worth the guilt since I'm trying out clearer living lately. 

Overall, if you're looking for somewhere to eat in Croydon, MEATLiquor in BOXPARK probably isn't the best option available but it's not necessarily a bad one either. Unfortunately, I have just visited other MEATLiquor chains that I have enjoyed far more at the same cost. A visit to MEATLiquor with a side and drink is likely to set you back around £20 each plus tip. I will say, however, that the service in every branch I've visited has been very friendly even if you do tend to wait a little while for food due to popularity. 

Well, that's it for another foodie review. Have you been to MEATLiquor lately? Tell me about your experience. As usual, I love reading your comments so please do leave me lots of lovely comments down below. 

Until next time fellow foodies,