Confession time: I’d somehow never heard of Miller & Carter before, despite them having about 75 branches. So a few months ago, when some friends said they’d been to check out the new steakhouse on Eccy Road, I was somewhat bemused and had no idea where they meant. Since then, I’d heard from a few more friends that they’d been and that it was lovely and I also saw some rather drool-worthy photos on Miller & Carter’s Instagram feed. All this meant that, when the restaurant got in touch and kindly invited me to go check it out, I was quite intrigued. By this point I’d sussed out that it was located at Ecclesall Road South, by Parkhead Cricket Club/the Abbey Lane junction, just where Toby Carvery used to be and about five minutes’ drive from home.

Now, like me, you may have had a range of success in ordering steak in restaurants previously. I’ve had enough badly-cooked leathery meat in places that just have no idea what they’re doing to know that steak is best left to dedicated, passionate steakhouses or restaurants, like the South American La Vaca in Broomhill- and, as it turns out, Miller & Carter. Steak is never the cheapest thing on the menu (nor should it be), but that just makes it all the more annoying when you’ve splashed out and it fails to live up to expectations. Or when you’re expected to somehow use a butter knife to hack away at it (this is almost never a good thing, unless it’s a very tender fillet). However, I can now confidently say that Miller & Carter can be added to my list of trusted experts who absolutely know their way round all cuts and cooking levels of steak; I’m already looking forward to my next visit.

We got a taxi over as it was a Friday night and the week demanded to go out with some fizz. The first thing that struck us as we walked through the restaurant to our table was how radically it has been transformed from its days as a Toby Carvery. Seriously, you would never know. The décor is nice, with the artwork all a bit bull-ish:

Our server, Donna, was soon by our table, smiling as she explained the menu with ease and warmth. Not that it’s a complicated menu, but as we’d not been to Miller & Carter before, it was things like knowing you need to choose a dressing for the iceberg lettuce wedge that accompanies every steak. We loved Donna and thought she was a great ambassador for the brand- and she really knew her stuff. And don’t worry if you aren’t experienced in steak ordering- your server will guide you as needed, and the menu helpfully recommends the perfect amount each steak should be cooked.

So, we ordered our food and a bottle of prosecco; they have a great deal where a bottle of prosecco or blushing pink cava is just £15 on Thursday and Friday.

Firstly, let me start by telling you we ordered way too much food. And, related to this, that we ate way too much food. It was bloody good though, especially at the end of a week of being very strict on the old diet front.

We started with the sharing board (£13.95). This featured hoisin sticky duck wings, salt & pepper calamari, spinach & feta bourekas, chipotle glazed chicken wings, hand-cut nachos, dressed slaw, lemon aioli and smokey tomato relish:

Yes, it was placed down on the table with a ‘thud’. I was instantly very pleased with myself for wearing a skirt with an elasticated waist (which I would go on to stretch to its limit).

There was nothing about this starter I disliked, but I think my favourite were the hoisin sticky duck wings:

After dipping, scooping and nibbling everything on our starter, I was already starting to worry about whether my 16oz T-bone steak might have been a tad ambitious.

I could hear my Mum’s voice, saying “your eyes are bigger than your stomach”. Still, our steaks arrived, I shushed my inner Mum voice and heroically persevered.

All the steaks at Miller & Carter come with parsley butter, seasoned fries, a slice of onion loaf and a balsamic glazed tomato, along with your choice of lettuce wedge and steak sauce. I’d plumped for my all-time favourite cracked peppercorn sauce to accompany my medium-rare T-bone, and bacon and honey mustard on my wedge.

The 16oz T-bone (£25.95) has a tender fillet steak on one side of the bone and a tasty sirloin on the other side. I’d never had one before but would definitely order this again:

My wife’s 12oz ribeye (£20.95) was also perfectly cooked and very flavourful:

Do not be fooled by what initially may look like a small amount of sauce in the tiny saucepan that arrives with your steak; having thought at first it wouldn’t be enough, it was actually just right.

We loved the onion loaf and it made a great change from the usual onion rings you might get with a steak:

For good measure, we’d also ordered a side of lobster mac & cheese to share (£4.95). This was delicious but completely unnecessary:

Our iceberg lettuce wedges were really refreshing and the perfect thing with the steak:

We cleared the lot.

And then, because we’re insane, we decided to share a dessert. The description of the Miller’s chocolate orange (£7.95) caught our eye:  shimmering golden globe made from rich chocolate ganache with an orange toffee centre, served with almond & hazelnut nougatine, peanut butter crumb, zesty orange curd and a refreshing orange sorbet. We thought, as it was a bit pricier than all the other desserts, it was probably big enough to share; we were right:

The chocolate globe was so rich and smooth and we loved that it arrived looking a bit like the golden snitch.

The orange sorbet complemented the chocolate perfectly, and the orange toffee centre was worth fighting over:

Completely stuffed and satisfied, we rolled out and into a cab home. We woke up still full the next day and decided on our next visit we would likely just share a normal-sized starter and not have a side dish. What can I say? My Mum was always right.

Many thanks to Miller & Carter for having us along as their guests. You can salivate over the menu on their website, or check out their Instagram and Facebook pages for more pics.

And if all this has whet your appetite, I’ll be running a very special giveaway on my own Instagram from tomorrow (Friday 14 July) for a week, where you could win a £50 gift card for Miller & Carter- so keep your eyes peeled if you want a chance to win!