A giant Scotch Egg was rolling towards us. But this wasn’t any old Scotch Egg.
Instead of standard pork sausage meat, this seductive sphere – swiped with a smudge of mustard – had been fashioned out of venison.
But this is what you can expect at the Scottish themed restaurant Mac & Wild: Highland twists on the traditional with a lashing of fun thrown in for good measure.
There are currently two outposts in London. One in the heart of Soho and a larger one in the City, by Liverpool Street, which is the one I’d chosen to hit on Pancake Day, lured in by their playful twist on the traditional fried egg batter and lemon.
To start, with my friend being 40 minutes late, I’d got stuck in to the whisky cocktails and indulged in some entertaining chat with the bartender. The Old Fashioned was on point and much welcome with an icy bite outside.
Finally my dining pal arrived – it had turned out she’d gone to the Soho branch instead – and we were shown to our table.
Before the large Scotch Egg we were instructed to try a small bowl of haggis pops.
The fried balls were deliciously moist and full of flavour. To balance it all out with a bit of freshness we ordered a non-breadcrumbed dish: smoked salmon.
The more ladylike arrangement came daintily arranged with edible purple and yellow flowers.
Neither of us touched it for quite some time as we admired its beauty and finished our menagerie of balls.
To wash it all down, we polished off some surprisingly quaffable Irn-Bru daiquiris.
The concoction might sound a bit grim but I was shocked to find myself practically slurping it down in one.
For main, saving ourselves for the pancakes, we chose to share Mac & Wild’s famed Venimoo burger, which won burger of the year for 2016.
Sides of candied bacon, seasonal greens, thick cut chips, broccoli and winter slaw completed the Scottish supper.
Everything was swiftly served and we revelled in the relaxed atmosphere, eating at our own pace and enjoying yet more whisky thanks to our awesome waiter, Ian. The place was busier around 8pm with an influx of city workers.
The Venimoo quickly disappeared as did our meze of other treats.
‘Ready for them?’ Ian asked, alluding to the pancakes. We nodded with grins on our faces like two young kids.
In a jiffy a plate was brought out with two deep fried Mars bar pancakes drizzled with chocolate sauce and sprinkled with a dusting of icing sugar. They were so bad – health wise – but too good and our spoons kept meekly returning for more.
We’d been defeated by the deliciousness of it all!
But along with the fine fodder at Mac & Wild there is something else you must check out.
The City location has a basement shooting range. We headed down, walked through a faux woodland and watched a group in action.
So if you’re looking to set a night off with a bang, this is definitely the place to head.
I’ll be back for some gun action, wondrous whisky and battered balls for sure.
To book a table at Mac & Wild visit www.macandwild.com.
