Tender steak and well-cooked scallops at Bexley's Miller & Carter restaurant

It was nice though, taking the time to seek some semblance of serenity. Often steak houses these days require customers to queue from Soho to Greenwich, sparking a battle for juicy meat and causing cocktail delays. At Miller & Carter there’s an old fashioned feel instead – perhaps suited to families, or get-togethers.

After enjoying the exterior of the building, which is tremendous, my dining partner and I went inside and were seated in a booth. We were soon sipping a Manhattan and a French Martini; the latter sadly failed to match up to its city counterparts but its American partner was decent.

Our starters however were a more impressive arrival. The scallops were delicate and, although the mango sauce beneath them was a touch over-powering, it was used sparingly. Across the table the tempura prawns were also well-received. They were crisp and doused in sweet chilli sauce – a similar combination to their de-shelled fellows, if more gracefully balanced. Overall, for a steak house, both provided a satisfying setup for the cow ahead.

We followed that path, clearly – there seemed little point in trying anything other than what the restaurant bases itself on. Why anyone would visit and go for fish or pasta is beyond me.

I went for sirloin after debating between it and the rib-eye. Alongside another Manhattan, bourbon and cow I find a delightful pairing, it was tender and juicy and came with salad, vegetables and chips – which I tweaked to the sweet potato kind. There was also sauce. And an ‘onion loaf’ that’s basically England’s version of a bhaji. The portions were magnificent.

We also tried the Beef Wellington, which featured a fillet steak that was flavourful for sure, though somewhat overdone. The pastry was crisp and accompaniments of the same virtue as with the sirloin – but everything would’ve been heightened further had it come out of the oven a while earlier. A word must also be said for the Argentinean Malbec here – it was really very nice indeed.

I defy anyone with a normal-sized stomach to tackle a dessert after 12oz of animal or a Wellington the size of a football. If so, good for you, but we decided it’d be wholly unnecessary. We instead happily walked back to Bexley station, content for the most part.