Your hot tips for the best steak in London?

[modestpointscollector]

Hi all,

As title, I don’t really have my ear that close to the ground in terms of the latest and greatest offerings in London when it comes to steak. Goodman and Hawksmoor are my usual go to joints, but I have to admit the last few meals i’ve had at Hawksmoor haven’t been at that 10/10 level I’ve had previously. They’re nowhere near bad, but I’m interested to know if there’s anywhere else people recommend. Preferably around the west end or the city but other areas would be entertain if especially good!

[cinereus]

Absolutely none of the restaurants. You’ll get much better than any of them spending £20 on a decent cut of 30-day dry aged côte de boeuf from a proper butcher (or even the branches of Waitrose that do real in-house dry aging) followed by either 1 hour @ 52C in a sous vide or reverse sear in an oven followed by any half decent charcoal grill to get a decent crust.

London restaurants will serve you worse quality meat, definitely worse cooked and with an absurd mark up.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[Richie]

After a recent average steak at a high end London West End restaurant, I’ve decided it’s better to enjoy good steak at home or in a restaurant I frequently visit in Florence.

[Norm]

Recently had a great experience at Smokehouse in Islington. There is only a daily steak menu depending on what was available from their suppliers.

[shutter]

I think there is much to be said for the simple formula and great execution of a L’entrecote. There is one at Canary Wharf.

[cinereus]

shutter wrote:

I think there is much to be said for the simple formula and great execution of a L’entrecote. There is one at Canary Wharf.

This is a somewhat strange suggestion. The meat used at their restaurants is never particularly high quality and I’ve never seen a steak come out of their kitchen with anything approaching a proper crust. It’s like the Pizza Hut of steaks.

[Super Secret Stuff]

Rob and Rhys said STK steakhouse is great, great decor and “views” 😉

[MisanoPayments]

Morning all!

I vote for Omnimo on Leadenhall; a pleasant basement restaurant serving good steak and decent red wine (not that I claim to be a connoisseur in the latter!)

[modestpointscollector]

Thanks for your input everyone.

While I appreciate the sentiment of the DIY option, and it is one I exercise where possible, the restaurant option is mainly when meeting up with friends who happen to be in London for some reason.

On the whole i’m happy with the standard of the meat and cooking at Hawksmoor and to a very slightly lesser extent Goodman (more imported beef) but like i said the last 2 visits just have been good rather than exceptional. The crust is a good example, I expect that from the places mentioned, and it was less prominent on the last few visits. Maybe this is something we can all blame on Covid? Difference between the branches? Who knows…

[fluffymitten]

Macellaio (there are two branches if I remember correctly) is a lesser known but brilliant option. I’ve been to the one in South Ken and it’s a small place but the service is excellent and the food is great. My partner (who is a huge foodie) was in raptures over their meat fridge.

[The real Swiss Tony]

As noted, there’s certainly no shortage of bad steak or outrageous pricing on the meat and the sides, but my favourite is High Timber, which is just round the corner from the new Westin Hotel on Upper Thames Street.

[Lady London]

Hmmm Well that’s one reason for a trip to Florence

[masaccio]

Consensus appears to be London is rubbish for steak. I’d broaden that to the UK in general but then I’ve not tried Tom Kerridge’s steak. Maybe he comes close to US steak, but surely not Japan.

[Richie]

Btw Aldi have a special Japanese wagyu 200g sirloin steak from 9th Dec 21, £24.99 each.

[Graham-Walsh]

Sure I’ve been to Omnimo years ago. Was a great meal. Frequented many Hawksmoor and Goldman’s a few times. STK is also good at One Aldwych especially on a Thursday when there is a DJ playing.

[cinereus]

Richie wrote:

Btw Aldi have a special Japanese wagyu 200g sirloin steak from 9th Dec 21, £24.99 each.

Is that the A4 stuff? Been meaning to stock up on a few.

[Tarmohamed]

Nusret… or Zelman Meats…

[MD]

Tarmohamed wrote:

Nusret…

Just, no…

[Richie]

cinereus wrote:

Richie wrote:

Btw Aldi have a special Japanese wagyu 200g sirloin steak from 9th Dec 21, £24.99 each.

Is that the A4 stuff? Been meaning to stock up on a few.

Yes, it’s A4, also Ribeye.

[Tom H]

Beast is the best I ve had in town, and would highly recommend

[iamlost]

It used to be CUT, now I’d say it’s Colony Grill Room.

[TGLoyalty]

Tarmohamed wrote:

Nusret… or Zelman Meats…

Have to be joking with that first one

Zelman @ HN was decent
Enjoyed CUT @ 45 but it was over priced (Amex offer helped)

Anyone have any experience of Blacklock? Next on my list I think.

[Thywillbedone]

Would echo the comments about the best steak generally being the one you cook at home. But I have found the Buenos Aires Steakhouse in Wimbledon (they have a few outlets) to be very good value (in particular the spiral cut rib-eye). I say that as someone who lived in Argentina for a year and ate beef twice a day for much of it.

• This reply was modified 54 years, 4 months ago by .

[Kowalski]

I’ve generally found London to be disappointing when it comes to steak. Hawksmoor has probably been the best. If looking further afield, my favourite steakhouse in Europe, which is consistently excellent, is Butchery & Wine in Warsaw, Poland.

[The real Swiss Tony]

TGLoyalty wrote:

Tarmohamed wrote:

Nusret… or Zelman Meats…

Have to be joking with that first one

Zelman @ HN was decent
Enjoyed CUT @ 45 but it was over priced (Amex offer helped)

Anyone have any experience of Blacklock? Next on my list I think.

Blacklock is great fun but not in my opinion high-end. The “all-in” platter is where my money’s at and makes for an absolute bargain meal. To give some context, I work on Hawksmoor being 4x the price of Blacklock.