Ask an American what they think of their native food abroad, and you're likely to hear complaints of hopeless downsizing, modesty and loss of quality.

But as someone who has dined on both sides of the pond, Meat and Shake bring the deep south of America to Ealing ticking all three boxes with flying colours.

A small chain with only two other restaurants in the UK - Tooting and Watford - Meat and Shake opened its doors on The Green in August.

The venue does well to reflect the deep south without trying too hard, with high wood panels on the wall and brown leather chairs.

Starters

I began my evening by ordering the Lafayette Wings at £4.90 and my friend, Luke McCarthy, opted for the Buffalo Wings at the same price.

For £4.90, the portions were hugely generous and could easily pass as a main.

The Lafayette Wings offered up three sweet and sticky wings in a Louisiana BBQ with Thai shiriracha chilli sauce, a real gem of a sauce I was so impressed with I requested to have it with my chips.

Meanwhile Buffalo Wings also provided a treat, served with blue cheese and a strong, sweet taste.

Mains and sides

Burgers, hot dogs, beef, steak and chicken all make up the menu bound to cause a welcome headache.

Like a lot of people, my only experience of battered chicken is KFC and cheap take-aways(made bareable by alcohol) at 2am, so I decided to try the four-piece fried chicken at £13.00.

It was, without doubt, the finest batter I've come across. My entire thigh and drumstick pieces were covered in crunchy, golden batter that doesn't fall off after the first bite.

Particularly impressive was the lack of excess grease, without sacrificing any of the taste. Thoroughly reccommended.

Luke decided to order the braised ribs, dubbed Kansas style and braised in home made cola-BBQ sauce. A particularly rich and flavoursome dish, but not one I would recommend parting £19.50 for.

We decided to share between us the sweet potato fries, house coleslaw and pit beans at an extra cost of £5 each.

The Pit Beans was a particularly interesting dish, served with five different beans slow-cooked in tomato sauce.

It offered a very smokey flavour, and a great deal of value at £3.20 on its own.

Desert and shakes

They're not cheap, but the milkshakes on offer were pleasing for the sweet tooth - from Fig and Cinnamon to Pistachio and Marshmellow.

I went for the strawberry, which was so chilling you can see the ice on the outside of the cup, providing sweet refreshment at £4.80.

For desert, we agreed to share the Deep Fried Oreo Doughnuts at £5.80. Avoid at all costs if you're on a diet, but otherwise let yourself go in this highly calorific treat with salted caramel sauce and ice cream.

The verdict

An excellent example of a niche idea in an area short of dining options from the USA.

I would thoroughly recommend this restaurant for a menu offering such a broad range of authentic American food, with a clear attention to detail in each dish suggesting that a great deal of thought has gone into it.

The service was polite and always attentive, and the atmosphere had a cosy, casual feel to it.

I found the menu to be an interesting blend of the surprisingly cheap and expensive, but otherwise this new gem of a restaurant is a class act.