What is it about a big slab of cow on your plate that's just so darned appealing?
Maybe it's because it's so elemental. It's just you and some meat and a knife and fork. You can save your fancy fusion, unnecessarily complex flavour profiles and pomegranate garnishes... let's chow down on some ruddy good beef.
If you're wondering where you can get the best steak in town... we'll tell you...
From the hefty porterhouse to the more nimble fillet, the steaks at Sophie's are made from British beef and dry aged for 28 days. This restaurant may have been overshadowed by Hawksmoor, but it's still consistently good. Eat here during the day or after 10 pm on a weekday and a three course meal with steak frites as the main is just £16.
With incredibly good value - steak and salad is just a tenner - and yet another of-the-moment no bookings policy, it's little wonder there are nightly queues outside this Soho steakhouse.
Steak is great and London has so many places that do it well but if you’re after a little pizzazz to top off your meat eating then Tramshed is the place. When you think contemporary fine dining hall this is the type of place you imagine. Spacious, Edwardian warehouse? Check. Damian Hirst Bull and Rooster in formaldehyde? Of course. You get the picture. At Tramshed it’s chicken or beef but it’s the Glenarm sirloin that we’re to rave about. The produce is as premium as it comes and the artwork lifts the whole place to restaurant as status symbol.
Steak is a simple dish. If the meat is right then chances are you’re going to have a superb meal. Buen Ayre is all about simplicity and it’s what gives the Argentinean steak house on Broadway Market such appeal. Served up to the table on a candle-lit hot plate you should always opt for the platter. Steak accompanied by Argentinean sausage and grilled cheeses.
As fans of France, we couldn’t forget to recommend our favourite Parisian transplant, Le Relais de Venise. Again, steak is simple and here they take that mantra and run with it. You can choose a salad as a starter but when it comes to mains it’s a choice between steak frites and steak frites. That’s right; there is no choice, which we think is charming. Everywhere we look there are choices to be made and hey, that’s great, but once in a while the entrecote (rib-eye), frites and ‘secret sauce’ at Le Relais de Venise is just what we need, no questions asked.
Hawksmoor are arguably the city’s finest steak specialists and with locations opening across London – The City, Shoreditch and Covent Garden – bookings are relatively straightforward. Choose your cut, pick the weight and delve into Hawksmoor’s exquisite sauces. Whether it’s a chateaubriand for two or a rib-eye for one, Hawksmoor’s premium steak and service will seduce you again and again.
At Smiths of Smithfield the first thing that hits you is its size. It is a mammoth foodie spot that caters for the tastes of, well, as many people as possible. But we’re interested in the steak and as culinary king its place is on the third floor (the top floor) where you’ll also find views across the market. Prices are high but you’re on the fine dining level of Jon Torode’s place, so they are to be expected. The shorthorn sirloin is very good but if you’re with a partner and both in the mood for meat then you <i>have</i> to share the cote de boeuf or the chateaubriand.
Argentina is renowned for its steak so it’s no surprise that our list hosts yet another excellent steak joint from the South American country. Not as famous as the big names on the steak scene but for sheer quality it matches them all. As with Buen Ayre the traditional mixed grill is the way to go. The selection of rib-eye, rump and black pudding for two/three is a bargain at £45.00.
Put a New York spin on something and suddenly it seems all the more appealing right? Maybe that’s just us, but for New York steakhouse Goodman, it certainly applies. The finest cuts are matured in the in-house ageing room and when it’s time for cooking, steaks are grilled over charcoal fire. With steak you get what you pay for so expect to spend.
Gaucho have restaurants all over London but that’s not to say that as a chain their standards are anything less than exacting. They might not have the appeal of independent restaurants and they might not be the most intimate places but they know steak and after talking to the waiters, you will too.
