Best steak in London?
Discussion
Scantily said:
I've not been to a high end London steak house, but is it really that much better than buying high quality steaks from a butcher and cooking them yourself?
I don't usually order steak in restaurants due to the silly mark up, but the prices at the London restaurants are truly eye watering! Really not sure if i could justify the cost given that even very high quality steak from a top butchers costs a fraction of what a restaurant would charge.
No.I don't usually order steak in restaurants due to the silly mark up, but the prices at the London restaurants are truly eye watering! Really not sure if i could justify the cost given that even very high quality steak from a top butchers costs a fraction of what a restaurant would charge.
I actually prefer a steak from a good butcher (Ginger pig Marylebone for example), cooked in my garden on the barbi.
For me it easily beats the steakhouses around London and I've been to the standard places; Goodmans, Hawksmoor, Cut etc. Still go quite a bit, but it's not as good, no.
R11ysf said:
If you do go I'm sure you'll love the food but we actually commented it would be one of the worst date places you could ever take someone!! Good luck!
Many thanks for your detailed and well considered thoughts, they will help prepare us for the evening! We've got 3 days in each other's back pockets without the kids so this meal out will be more about the "experience" than a "date". We have quite a lot of "nice" meals but fine dining can be a bit samey so Beast sounds like it's going to be a bit different from the other meals we'll be having over the weekend.PurpleMeanie said:
You *could* dry age the steak some more at home. And then if your grill is hot enough you could probably do something similar.
But charcoal Josper grill meat that has been well aged is rather good. It would be hard to do at home.
At home I briefly sear the meat as hot as I can then put into a low temperature oven with a thermometer until it reaches the required temperature.
If i'm cooking steaks properly then i'll salt them and leave on the counter all day to dry them out before cooking over a red hot charcoal bbq, doesn't seem like i'm missing much from the fancy steakhouses then.But charcoal Josper grill meat that has been well aged is rather good. It would be hard to do at home.
At home I briefly sear the meat as hot as I can then put into a low temperature oven with a thermometer until it reaches the required temperature.
Scantily said:
PurpleMeanie said:
You *could* dry age the steak some more at home. And then if your grill is hot enough you could probably do something similar.
But charcoal Josper grill meat that has been well aged is rather good. It would be hard to do at home.
At home I briefly sear the meat as hot as I can then put into a low temperature oven with a thermometer until it reaches the required temperature.
If i'm cooking steaks properly then i'll salt them and leave on the counter all day to dry them out before cooking over a red hot charcoal bbq, doesn't seem like i'm missing much from the fancy steakhouses then.But charcoal Josper grill meat that has been well aged is rather good. It would be hard to do at home.
At home I briefly sear the meat as hot as I can then put into a low temperature oven with a thermometer until it reaches the required temperature.
I like trying different meats, which is somewhat easier in steakhouses. USDA Prime grain fed for example is interesting to taste against a UK Grass Fed.
Add in having to make the chips, bone marrow, maybe some Lobster Mac'n'Cheese.... and having a huge plate of cuts brought out on a plate by a foxy eastern european lady....
So yes, you could probably grill a standard steak at home about as well. But you would miss out on the experience. Unless it is all about this pervasive anti-London thing that seems so popular at the moment.
PhilboSE said:
Many thanks for your detailed and well considered thoughts, they will help prepare us for the evening! We've got 3 days in each other's back pockets without the kids so this meal out will be more about the "experience" than a "date". We have quite a lot of "nice" meals but fine dining can be a bit samey so Beast sounds like it's going to be a bit different from the other meals we'll be having over the weekend.
I thought they'd be helpful, it really is a great place. The crabs in the tanks as you go in look truly prehistoric! Please let us know how you get on, the food was excellent when I went and I hope it is for you both too.DeanR32 said:
Out of curiosity, I'm thinking of trying out this hawksmoor in dec.
What sort of dough are we looking at per head (four ball, eating well, and two wine drinkers)?
Probably little change form £125 per head if all eating and drinking reasonably well...What sort of dough are we looking at per head (four ball, eating well, and two wine drinkers)?
Has any one mentioned Goodmans??
willyjc said:
DeanR32 said:
Out of curiosity, I'm thinking of trying out this hawksmoor in dec.
What sort of dough are we looking at per head (four ball, eating well, and two wine drinkers)?
Probably little change form £125 per head if all eating and drinking reasonably well...What sort of dough are we looking at per head (four ball, eating well, and two wine drinkers)?
Starter: £10
Main: £30 + say 1 side at £5 = £35
Dessert: £8
So food = Say £50-60/head if doing 3 courses and not going down the surf and turf route (steak/lobster combo as a main)
Drinks are beers at £5-ish, cocktails at £10-ish and wine at whatever price the bottle/glass is you choose.
blindswelledrat said:
The ones mentioned are all similar in quality if you ask me (in a good way).
Also as good is the Tramshed
http://www.chickenandsteak.co.uk/
which has the added appeal of a massive Damien Hirst dead-cow-in-formaldehyde piece of art to make the place interesting.
Regardless of your opinion on that (which is probably the same as mine) it was far more impressive in the flesh than I would have imagined.
I love Tramshed. Although we are talking about steak the chicken there is a truly wonderful experience!Also as good is the Tramshed
http://www.chickenandsteak.co.uk/
which has the added appeal of a massive Damien Hirst dead-cow-in-formaldehyde piece of art to make the place interesting.
Regardless of your opinion on that (which is probably the same as mine) it was far more impressive in the flesh than I would have imagined.
Steaks are great though. Can I throw Christopher's in Covent Garden into the steak melting pot as well?
OzzyR1 said:
willyjc said:
DeanR32 said:
Out of curiosity, I'm thinking of trying out this hawksmoor in dec.
What sort of dough are we looking at per head (four ball, eating well, and two wine drinkers)?
Probably little change form £125 per head if all eating and drinking reasonably well...What sort of dough are we looking at per head (four ball, eating well, and two wine drinkers)?
Starter: £10
Main: £30 + say 1 side at £5 = £35
Dessert: £8
So food = Say £50-60/head if doing 3 courses and not going down the surf and turf route (steak/lobster combo as a main)
Drinks are beers at £5-ish, cocktails at £10-ish and wine at whatever price the bottle/glass is you choose.
The best steak I have eaten in London was here http://www.buenayre.co.uk/index.htm Off the beaten track but superb.
Having said that I think that the steak sold by East London Steak Co and cooked in my kitchen (now called Turner and George) takes a hell of a lot of beating.
OzzyR1 said:
I'd say average Hawksmoor prices:
Starter: £10
Main: £30 + say 1 side at £5 = £35
Dessert: £8
So food = Say £50-60/head if doing 3 courses and not going down the surf and turf route (steak/lobster combo as a main)
Drinks are beers at £5-ish, cocktails at £10-ish and wine at whatever price the bottle/glass is you choose.
I'd say the £125 a head figure was about bang on, I've eaten there 20+ times and 15 of them have been £100-150. £30 for a steak is on the low side and often people will have 2 sides or 6/7 between 4. Also don't forget the 12.5% service + water + coffee and that's before you even get to wine.Starter: £10
Main: £30 + say 1 side at £5 = £35
Dessert: £8
So food = Say £50-60/head if doing 3 courses and not going down the surf and turf route (steak/lobster combo as a main)
Drinks are beers at £5-ish, cocktails at £10-ish and wine at whatever price the bottle/glass is you choose.
You can't got far wrong if you budget £125-150 a head.
willyjc said:
Probably little change form £125 per head if all eating and drinking reasonably well...
Has any one mentioned Goodmans??
Just to note, Hawksmoor does a BYO £5 corkage charge on Mondays, (I'm sure it was free a couple of years back when my birthday fell on a Monday and my wife adn I took a bottle of Nytimber sparkling to start with and a bottle of Catena Alta Malbec to go with the bone in ribeye we shared).Has any one mentioned Goodmans??
Even at a fiver it's worth it if you want to drink your own choice of wine at non restaurant prices.
I've been to Beast twice now and have enjoyed it. Couples will always be seated next to - rather than opposite one another and its not that bad.
The USDA Nebraskan rib-eye is superb and what I consider to be the main event - I treat the crab as dessert. If you want more steak just tell them!
It isn't cheap though - as others have mentioned expect £125-150 without drinking that much, plus a 'discretionary' 12.5% tip.
The USDA Nebraskan rib-eye is superb and what I consider to be the main event - I treat the crab as dessert. If you want more steak just tell them!
It isn't cheap though - as others have mentioned expect £125-150 without drinking that much, plus a 'discretionary' 12.5% tip.
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