The Hawksmoor, City of London, London

The 2 of us decided to treat ourselves@ Hawksmoor Spitalfields on a recommendation from a friend that told us this place was amazing…We ended up leaving the restaurant very disappointed in the whole experience.
The service by Rachele was very cold from the very start, and there was no personalised service at all. We almost felt like it was a inconvenience for us to be there. (no smiles, or no explanation of the steak menu at all. All she told us about the menu was that they had run out of the ribs)
The restaurant was so noisy by a few drunks on our next table shouting at eachother that we could barely hear ourselves think
We found a hair in the wine, and the Rib-eye steak 400g which cost £28 each probably had about a 100g worth of fat that i trimmed off it, and the mushroom sauce was luke warm. To be honest the best part of the meal was the side order of mushrooms.
For the 2 fatty steaks, 1 glass of wine, 1 bottle of water, 1 small pot of chips, and a dish of mushrooms came to £86.00
Rachele tried to charge us for an extra 2 cocktails on our bill we didn’t order with the 1st bill TOTALLING £114
They had the cheek to charge us £9.63 service charge without asking us (the service was supposed to be ‘optional’)
To finish it off, we were completely ignored at the reception area on the way out too.
I’m amazed this place has so many good reviews.
For me it was just a average overpriced steak, with poor service and the whole experience left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.
Maybe we caught the Hawksmoor on a bad day, but
i would never return here, or recommend to friends.

Amazing steak definitely worth a visit at some point!

II think most things have been said about how amazing this place is so will keep this short.

The steaks are simply the best I have tried in The UK this place was actually recommend by a Chef I know at a Ramsey resturant and guess you don’t get a better recommendation then that!

Always a great atmosphere and is now open Sunday Daytimes so I go almost every week, They also do a Sunday Beef Roast with all the usual for a daft £10 and if your looking for amazing value then that is just Bargain of the Year.

Me I go for steak and they are the tastiest always perfectly cooked with great service and atmosphere the only place on Par in London is Goodman (also in Moscow) or overseas Del Frescos in New York Or Vegas but after travelling the world several times and having every kind of cow in evry country you can imagine this coming a close second makes this place simply fantastic.

OK, the meat was good. But what blew me away was the CORNFLAKE ICE-CREAM MILSHAKE. Oh my God, I though nothing could top last year's chocolate peanut butter malt milkshake in Ohio, but This Was Incredible. TRY IT.

Right, back to the meat. We were there on a Sunday so it seemed rude not to go for the rump roast, although we were somewhat confused by the blackboard price as it seemed to suggest you had to pay separately for the meat and the trimmings. Our server quickly reassured us that this wasn't the case, which was a relief as I was not prepared to pay over £25 for a roast dinner!

The meat was excellent, as were the trimmings, though the promised bone marrow appeared to be lacking. A decent portion, but no so big that you're unable to move afterwards. The roast, a tasty (and reasonably-priced) glass of prosecco, and a cornflake ice-cream milkshake later, and I was fully set for a day of intense Boris Biking. Thanks, Hawksmoor!

The steaks are undeniable good and cooked to perfection.
But be warned that the cost of all the 'extras' like triple fried chips, mushrooms etc can quickly mount up and present you with a nasty shock when you receive the final bill.

Budget for £50-60 per head with moderate wine.

We elected to have 900g of Bone-in Prime Rib and another 700g of Porterhouse steaks to share between the three of us. The meat itself was well seasoned with salt and cooked exactly how I like it – charred slightly on the outside but oh so pink and juicy in the middle. I was surprised by just how tender the steaks were although the prime rib piece was especially tender, almost akin to eating beef-tasting butter that had a little bit of a bite. Flavour-wise, it was awesome just eating the beef with just a slap of mustard, Gods I loved it so much.

Altogether, the bill came up to £188 for the three of us including a £40 bottle of wine. I was more than a little surprised that I had paid £60/head but we did share 1.6kg of meat between the three of us and we were extremely satisfied.

For full review & photos:
http://www.pigpigscorner.com/2010/03/best-steak-in-town-h...

full review and photos at www.grumblinggourmet.com

As many of you will know (and some may dare to outwardly agree with) there's nothing like a lipsmackingly greasy, salty and robustly overcooked sausage and egg mcmuffin from standardised fast-filth vendors MacDonalds when you need to recover from a hangover. There's something about that combination the morning after the night before that sends grown men (and yes, this is mainly a male thing) into eulogies, willing to trek miles to a shop (I refuse to call it a restaurant) that they'd never normally go near. Thankfully the guys behind legendary Liverpool St steakhouse Hawksmoor have gone and created an up-market version.

The muffin arrives looking promising. While the too runny white lets down the sun yellow yolk of the freerange eggs topping it overall it's a more than worthy classier homage to its high street inspiration. The pork, beef and mutton sausage is a strong, dense patty and full of good fatty flavour. The Ogleshield cheese is a worthy addition, softly yielding, not over-flavoured, soaking into the freshly baked muffin.

I walked straight past when heading to meet my fellow steak lover. Hawksmoor has that Shoreditch vibe about it, extending as far as having no signage whatsoever on the street that I could see. The interior is dark and trendy, and a perfectly comfortable place to spend a couple of hours, but not quite as up market as you might associate with some of the prices on the menu.

Once inside we got down to business. Passing on starters, we went straight into finding out if this really is one of the best places in the city to fulfill an urge for steak.

I ordered the fillet steak, rare, and triple cooked chips.

London is always a difficult place to know how to order steak, in some places a rare steak will come just about warm down the middle, whilst in others (Gaucho for example) it will come close to blue, with a sliver of cold meat down the middle. Hawksmoor is the latter, as my steak appeared to merely have been told where the grill was, but not really introduced.

The steak arrived sat alone in the middle of the plate fat and plump - the menu said 300g but I definitely got lucky here as it appeared far bigger - with the chips served in a china cup to the side.

The flavour of the steak was fantastic, left with little more than salt and pepper to get in the way of the chargrilled beefy goodness. However the big niggle I found was just how much a sauce on the side was missed. As much as I like the simple idea of letting the taste speak for itself, it could really have benefited from a nice peppercorn sauce mixing with the blood and juices seeping out that you can dip your chips in. Even one served in a pot on the side if they don't want to ruin the aesthetic of the steak taking pride of place on an empty plate.

The chips were also a bit disappointing for their price (£4.00), they were certainly good, but no better than any decent gastropub can muster these days.

For dessert a Sticky Toffee Pudding kept my fellow diner happy, and my citrus sorbet with gin was a delicious and refreshing palate cleanser after the meal.

Two steaks, two chips, two puddings and a couple of bottles of sparkling water came to around £90. Very good, would definitely consider it as an alternative to Gaucho next time I'm in the mood for a pricey steak, but the sides could do with some attention.

Amazing food, great service - always leave a little over fed, but that's the point, isn't it?

For photos see Greedy Diva @ http://greedydiva.blogspot.com/2010/03/hawksmoor-new-brun...

"We almost didn't put that on the menu - we thought "who'd have steak and half a lobster for breakfast?""

Will, co-owner of Hawksmoor, and I looked over in unison at TPG, a man up to his elbows in rib eye and lobster meat. There's always one in every crowd.

Hawksmoor is a steak house in East London famed for serving up great quality British beef, grilled on charcoal to blissful perfection. All meat is sourced from the Ginger Pig, and steaks are, patriotically, from Longhorn cattle, reared in Yorkshire and aged for around 35 days. On Saturday, we were there to test out the first trial run of Hawksmoor's new breakfast menu. Thus, the need for TPG to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the hefty surf 'n turf option.

The weekend brunch menu revolves around quality meat products and bears the usual array of Hawksmoor's staples - the steaks, the infamous burger - and some fabulous new additions such as my Sausage and Egg HK Muffin (£8) or (for £30) the full English for two - comprising a bone-in bacon chop, sausages (pork, beef and mutton), short rib bubble 'n squeak, grilled bone marrow, trotter baked beans, Bury black pudding, roast tomatoes, grilled mushrooms and endless thick slices of dripping toast... all with an onion and bone marrow gravy.

The HK muffin had wooed me from afar, practically wolf whistling from across the room on someone else's plate. It tasted as good as it looked. Two runny fried eggs are piled into a lovely thick grilled muffin bun with a spicy flat sausage made from pork, beef and mutton, all topped with Ogleshield cheese. The only slightest critique I can offer is that the sausage was slightly too "spiced up" for me. I added Ginger Pig bacon, which is the closest thing I've had to the best of Australia's mouthwatering bacon in this country.

TPG's steak was so sublime it made us seriously weak at the knees. Perfection. He had it medium, as recommended by our helpful waitress for the rib eye cut, to really get the fatty marbling melting through the meat. If you're a steak and eggs man, this one's for you. TPG saddled it up decadently with a half lobster (add 12 quid), which was slightly overcooked and rubbery. Still, nothing could detract from our adoration of the rest of his plate.

We teamed up our selections with some of HK's renowed fabulous drinks. I was feeling fiesty so opted for the Bloody Mary #10 - made with a refreshing cucumber hit and the bite of horseradish. Loved it!

TPG, predictably, could not go past the cornflake milk milkshake. That's right folks - the cornflakes are soaked in milk overnight, drained (there are no "bits" in it) and then the milk is used to make the ice cream for what is undoubtedly THE BEST FLAVOURED MILKSHAKE in the entire universe. It's even knocked Shake Shack's salted caramel from the top of the perch. This seems to be some variation on similar shakes offered at my beloved Momofuku Bakery in New York - an ingenious addition to the breakfast menu.

We eventually retired, content and bellies full, to the bar to watch the masterful hands of Shaky Pete at work. Pete is not only super friendly, but a cocktail guru. He whipped me up a refreshing ginger brew in no time - ginger, lemon, beer and other secret ingredients giving it a sassy sorbet texture. It's like the best shandy you've ever imagined. Highly recommended.

TPG obviously felt he needed to show his sophisticated side after the milk shake, and chose a superb armagnac. Layers of chocolate, toffee and other delights wafted up to the nose and romanced the palate. Gorgeous. We are hunting down a bottle for home (if only TPG had not washed since he wrote the name on his hand).

Pricing on the new day time menu seems fair. It's not a dirt cheap breakfast, but you're getting top quality ingredients, perfectly executed at a very reasonable price. It's good value. Even better was the pricing on Saturday since we were trialling the menu at a 50% discount to allow any kinks to be ironed out before the official launch this week on 13th March (although I've quoted the full prices here).

The worst thing about the new weekend brunch menu is the complete inability to decide what to have - what can't you live without? Other new lunch options include the roast beef (roasted on charcoal and finished in the oven to achieve that "roasted on a spit flavour") with dripping roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, carrots, greens and bone marrow & onion gravy. My stomach just rumbled while typing.

And, of course, there's the Hawksmoor burger. We had devoured one recently (Valentines Day doesn't get more romantic than this) and it certainly lives up to its reputation.

Gloopy, loosely packed meat from Longhorn cattle (a range of cuts) is enriched by globs of fatty bone marrow in the mix. A simple salad, pickles, mustard mayo and simple brioche bun are, idyllicly, the only distractions from the main game. On this occassion I was surprised to find the bun a little too much on the dry side (while some dryness is required to stand up to the juices, the bun seemed to lack freshness). However, flavourful, rich and decadent, the burger was up there with my all time favourites, and can only be rivalled in London by Goodman's (which is of a completely different style, but similar quality, as reviewed earlier here).

For £15, the burger comes with a choice of triple cooked thick cut chips or a gem salad. A no brainer, surely. Although, this time we went for one of each. I'm a fan of thick cut fries, and not afraid to say it. These were expertly cooked - crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. The salad was the real surprise here - there were no regrets for forgoing the second serve of chips. Fresh and mixed with chopped spring onion and zesty herbs. It was a tasty refresher.

So now I have an embarrassing schoolgirl crush on 2 London steak houses - Hawksmoor and Goodman (reviewed here). Service at both is super friendly and knowledgable. Hawksmoor feels more laid back and breezy, and a little less like a gentleman's club - although I've only been during the day. Its breakfast rocks, its burger is divine, its steaks are pure heaven from a grill. And it serves a white hot cocktail to suit any occassion - that's my kind of place. I can see myself becoming quite the regular here. Shaky Pete, save me a seat at the bar.

The weekend breakfast menu officially launches on 13th March 2010. It's going to be a winner. Bloody Mary #10 with your steak and eggs, anyone?

I have some catching up to do. For ten years, I was vegetarian so would never even consider a steak house. Now, steak houses aren't just a treat, they're catching up on lost time.

And, while my level of comparison is possibly limited, the steak itself is going to have to go a long way to beat the one served at Hawksmoor. Cooked medium-rare it was tender and full of flavour. Make no mistake, this is good quality steak. You can't question this at all. Delicious, if a little strange that my friend's medium-rare steak was a little more bloody. Still, bloody delicious though, and all washed down by a delicious rioja

But I've hovered between giving this three and four for a few different small niggling reasons. Firstly, it is a lot to spend on a meal (a bill for three came to over £160 - EDIT: I accidentally said it came to £200. My memory must have been hazy because of the wine). Second, it's a very nice restaurant but it doesn't quite feel like the special event that a £200 for 3 meal you'd expect.

And then there's the difference in cooking between two medium-rare steaks. Forgivable in a standard restaurant, but one that's surprising from a steak specialist.

But, dammit, it's hard to give this three stars when the steak is just so delicious and the wine so nice. If it turns out I can get just as tasty steak for less elsewhere, I reserve my right to amend this review. Somehow, I'm not sure that I will.

Wow. Just... wow. I'm a little bit in love with The Hawksmoor now. And damn them, after serving me the yummiest steak ever, nowhere in London is really going to stand up. This really is the best steak I've ever had in London. One of the best ever.

I like it here. It's utterly understated, but the staff are great. Fab barmen, who don't look at me weirdly when I explain my stupid berry allergy (but did politely check that they weren't going to accidentally kill me, which was nice). The winter punch for two was fab, all full of rhubarb gin and yum. But drinking from the same glass is fine at the bar, not so much over dinner.

But they're forgiven. Because we supped up quickly, and got to ordering. Three rib-eyes, a medly of sides later and we were very happy campers. I was so happy with my steak. But I'll be honest, I'm teetering between four and five stars. Because my steak wasn't medium rare. It was more rare. My friend's was more medium than the medium rare he'd also requested. We were happy, but it wasn't what we asked for. This is just a little niggle, but if I'm paying £25 for a steak, I want it cooked as I asked.

But, everything else was amazing. Eye watering horseradish. I'm not a huge fan of ketchup so wasn't bothered by it. But I think ketchup should taste of ketchup, rather than a bloody Mary. Heinz would do just fine.

We had no room for dessert, which says just how enormous our steaks were. But I did polish of another glass of Rioja whilst my friends drank their coffee. That was very tasty.

Steak and sides for three, with wine and cocktails was £166 with service. A little more than I was planning on spending (and not something I'm going to do every week), but it was so worth the trip. Even the little niggles don't stop me from giving this place five stars. We had a wonderful evening and I left with a bit of a steak high. Yay.

Hawksmoor's breakfast is a relatively new offering and naturally it's geared towards the carnivore. We were offered so much awesome protein that it made us a little bit giddy, frankly. A deliciously acidic martini helped cut through a morning-after hangover and though a bottomless Bloody Mary is about the worst thing I could think of (loathe tomato juice), all the other diners raved about it.

Full menu is available as well during breakfast serving hours which means the burger, only previously offered Mon-Fri, can be savoured at the weekend too. We'll be going back for that. Make sure you do ask if there is something you fancy that's off the menu as they're really accommodating.

Reading other reviews here about the prices, I remembered that we got a discount (on the food) as it was the first weekend but the prices were comparable to say Roast's 2-for-1 breakfasts before 9:00 on Saturdays, but the food was better.

Blogged here: http://bit.ly/d4po5d

Delicious and perfectly prepared steaks (I had the rib eye), although just a wee bit salty. The service was fine - nothing special, but nothing bad either. One great thing was that they brought out a jug of tap water and then refilled it when that one was empty - this small gesture bumps up the service a few notches for me. The atmosphere was casual, yet definitely luxe. Skillfully prepared cocktails too (even non-alcoholic ones). It was not an inexpensive night by any means - cocktails, starters, main and a bottle of wine will set you back £60 a head. Save this for a special occasion.

Given that the meat for this restaurant comes from the Ginger Pig and that Jay Rayner of the Observer describes it as: “The best steak I have ever eaten in this country” you might expect better, but when I went last time, about a year ago, the rump was as tough as a leather boot and enough to make my jaw ache for hours afterward.

I won't be heading back any time soon, though my brother swears by the place and frequently visits. I suppose it is a case of one bad experience souring my palette, and of course no two cuts are the same, but you can only learn from your experience right?

The ratings I'm giving shouldn't be taken to read that this restaurant is average. It's actually a very pleasurable experience, but you pay fine dining prices for it. The wine list is very good, but the prices are absurdly inflated, and there are very few wines under £50 worth having. It's abusive, frankly, and if restaurants seriously believe that diners aren't aware of this, they are living in a vacuum. However, the meat is tremendous. I doubt there's a better steak in London. The cuts are all from the Ginger Pig, so the origin is flawless. I had a monster sirloin which was pure hedonism and carnivorous sensuality. Lots of noise, atmosphere and fun, and typical London service - i.e. nothing special. Good, but stupidly pricey. For this money I can feed exactly the same food and wine to four times the number of people, in my own home.

8 October 2009 update: Hawskmoor have kindly approached me about this review today via Twitter. It is very gratifying when establishments show they care about their reputation by engaging directly with their customers. They said that "wine and steak in particular are good value" with "much lower mark-ups than most places." I will give the Hawksmoor another go as a result. Lots of people love it and that must be for a reason. I won't amend my original review, because it reflects the experience I had, but I will say this: a place that listens to feedback and takes it seriously deserves respect, and a second chance. I look forward to another steak!

If you want a fine steak in Central London, then the word on the street is that this is one of the places to try out. And it certainly should be on the list, although perhaps not the sole entrant.

If you can summarise Gaucho as good steaks served in uber-glam locations, then the Hawksmoor could also be characterised as good steaks and cocktails served in a humble, almost quiet location. You can almost see Brown/Blair having made their deals here, if this was in Islington.

The restaurant was surprisingly busy for a Monday night, which meant service was a little wanting, but that's understandable. Not everyone can get served like that, but it does get annoying.

The main problem is the price. The most cost-efficient big steak is 600g of bone-in sirloin - which comes in at £26. It's fantastically gorgeous meat cooked just right, but you're definitely paying for it. The steak I chose was succulent, delicious, and just the right side of raw. Likewise, the starter of Tamworth belly ribs was equally succulent, tender to the taste and delicious.

With the exception of the macaroni'n'cheese, the fixings weren't quite as up to scratch, but eminently edible and good enough. Just not great.

I wish I could report on the puddings, but I don't remember a thing about the puddings. I think salt/seasoning and alcohol overload had hit by that point.

The cocktail menu was wide and varied, and I wish I'd had more time to sample some of them.

All in all, a place to prepare for - don't drop in on a whim. Research your meats and cocktails, starve yourself - it's a marathon, not a sprint. And it's gorgeous delicious food.

But if you want to impress a date, perhaps Gaucho's would be a better 'experience'.

It's finally happened.

I finally made it to Hawksmoor. To eat their legendary meat.

I'm not joking when I say I've been waiting to go here since they opened. Which was years ago.

I could never persuade my friends to go, due to spendiness, nor my family since it doesn't seem posh enough for a proper blow-out.

Anyway, to introduce this, my expectations were sky high. So was it the transcendental steak experience I was expecting?

Yes, and as usual, no.

To cut to the chase, the meat is flawless. Faultless. Best of breed.

The sides are also perfect in their own little way. Best macaroni cheese I've had in London. Great chips. Good crisp to fluff ratio. Nice wine. Pricy cocktails.

The big, big problem with Hawksmoor is it costs about 25% more than I think it should. You're looking at £70-80 for three courses plus booze, and it's just not special enough for that kind of money. The things that keep it out of that bracket are the state of the dining room, the staff, the speed of service and the weird City / Shoreditch location.

I think these guys could have nailed Gaucho to the wall, but it's just too expensive for me and mine, despite being the committed carnivores we are.

Go. If someone else is picking up the tab.

Hawksmoor Restaurant

In a subtly lit room towards the back of the venue, the table was laid for 12 Qype people. With cocktails and wine on offer from the outset, the red velvet wallpaper was soon a distant memory. The restaurant was apparently short-staffed and running completely full, an unusual occurrence which was what accounted for the significant delays.

The cocktails are not what made this place such a draw on a Monday evening and that draw is related to the images drawn in pencil on paper on the walls to the ladies – it was the MEAT. Yes, it was another Qype meat-up and this time it was at the wonderful Hawksmoor restaurant which serves what has to be the finest selection of MEAT I have seen for awhile.

Trusting in the chef, I ordered a prime rib steak thing of some sort of flamed level which was bliss. I’m not sure what I was eating there for awhile because I had entered a sort of meaty heaven. Each bite was a lovely melt-in-the-mouth sensation which required all your attention. My fellow Qypers were briefly forgotten in the silent bliss that followed our service.

While the meat itself was great, special mention has to go to the dessert which I am not entirely sure how I managed to eat after the generous meat and healthy salmon starter. The hot fudge brownie ice cream thing with the extra hot chocolate sauce was worth the visit alone had I not eaten MEAT.

Trust the chef and order a nice cut of meat. Let the chef cook it to the meat’s best temperature and you will have a blissed-out evening but be warned – STARVE YOURSELF so that you can enjoy both a starter AND pudding or you’ll regret it ;-)

Yet another review from the Qype Meat Up...!

So let's start with the good points. As everyone else here has mentioned the steak is transcendentally good. I think my share of the Porterhouse was £19, and many of the other steaks seemed to be around the £20 price mark. Given that you'd pay £10-15 for a rubbish steak in a gastro-pub, the Hawksmoor steaks are brilliant value and perfection in a beef-based format.

So what about everything else? Well, I wasn't impressed. The service was almost painfully slow, and it took well over an hour in between ordering our meal and receiving our main course. The banter was good enough that I didn't feel time passing too slowly, but we then waited another hour to get our desserts. It got to the point where a couple of people around the table were beginning to wonder whether they'd make the last train home!

The starters, side dishes and puddings were pretty average, and probably a bit over-priced given how ordinary they were. The cocktail range was impressive, but the actual drinks were again quite ordinary, with the alcohol often overwhelming the other flavours. I've certainly had better cocktails, and for the price Hawksmoor are charging they should be of a higher standard. I also thought the wine list was fairly expensive, although as mentioned in other reviews, we weren't paying for drinks ourselves!

I'm not sure if I'd go to Hawksmoor again, but if I did I'd get a massive steak and not much else.