Mere: 74 Charlotte Street

April 5th 2024 was the 49th Wedding anniversary of mrs maytrees and I. Tempus Fugit, as it seem as if only a few days ago, we were married in Dublin. Quite how mrs maytrees survived our marriage for that long I will never know.

However youngest sister having given us a present of a meal for two at Mere restaurant in London's Charlotte Street, a week or so back, I was able to book lunch for the date of our anniversary, which booking had to be confirmed earlier this week. Unfortunately mrs maytrees was ill yesterday by which time it was too late to postpone the lunch, so my younger brother John, attended with me instead. 

The restaurant was close to Goodge Street tube station which unusually still only has lift rather than escalator access from the platforms.

Mere is only a few minutes walk from Goodge Street but as we were early, we visited some of the interesting furniture shops next to Heals on the Tottenham Court Road.

Walking then to the Mere restaurant, we were welcomed,  shown to our table and each  presented with a glass of Mere's own Champagne.  The menu was thus:

And was delicious. 

The  restaurant proprietor is Monica Galetti about whom the Mere's website states:

Monica Galetti

Chef Proprietor

Born in Samoa and brought up in New Zealand, Chef Monica Galetti moved to Britain in 1999 to work alongside Michel Roux Jnr at Le Gavroche in London. She became a household name in 2008 when she joined the BBC2 team as a judge on Masterchef:The Professionals and has gone on to co-present BBC2’s Amazing Hotels – Life Beyond the Lobby

We were also provided with a tour of the Mere's kitchen and I was surprised to see how many staff were present there working extremely hard although my photo below does not do the kitchen, justice.

In addition to the the glasses of Mere's champagne, we had two large bottles of sparkling mineral water and John had a glass of beer. There were also tasting treats for us before and during the meal including a delicious marmite paste with some sourdough bread.

Before the meal ended, the manager provided me with a small box of homemade chocolates and a card from the staff, for mrs maytrees, who later told me how delicious the chocolates were.

The bill was a surprise as there was no charge for the bottled water and the tip was included with the meal cost already paid, so that the only item charged was my brother's beer although we added to the small sum payable a small additional tip.

To walk off the delicious meal, we decided instead of returning to nearby Goodge Street tube, to walk through London, back to Waterloo mainline station. Given the meal and the sunshine the walk proved ideal and there was a train waiting which departed shortly after we had boarded.

A most enjoyable afternoon though sadly mrs maytrees was unable to join us.