I didn’t actually like steak when I was younger. I was fussy about meat if it didn’t ‘look right’ so I would avoid anything near a bone, too fatty, the wrong colour etc and I would certainly not eat a steak if I could see pink or heaven forbid actual blood. Therefore, on the rare occasions I ate it, I would have it well done and consequently I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. I was missing the point of a good steak. That all changed a couple of years ago when my boyfriend at the time introduced me to Gaucho. I had a lesson in meat and ate my fillet medium, what a revelation! Now I’ve done a complete 180 and love nothing more than a juicy rare bloody steak. I became a total carnivore. I cook them at home quite a lot now; it always has to be good quality steak and cooked for 2-3 minutes each side on my Le Crousset griddle pan. Here’s one I devoured last night.
I admit that now when I eat steak out, I am a restaurant snob about it. My favourite steak restaurant is Hawksmoor; I’ve been to the Covent Garden branch twice. I like the dark wood and leather decor, it’s how I feel a steakhouse should look. The steaks were cooked to the perfection, once a juicy fat fillet and the other time a meaty 950g bone-in prime rib that I shared with my delighted dad. We are also big fans of the bone marrow starter, the soft meat sweetened by onion, and the peanut butter shortbread is to die for.
As mentioned earlier, my first memorable steak experience was at Gaucho. My first visit was to the Chancery Lane branch and it’s pretty much only the steaks that stick in my mind. As it was my introduction to good steak, I went through the full lesson where the waitress brought out a board of raw meat to show off the cuts and explain how they should be cooked. I also had a red wine tasting session but I’m afraid I still can’t take to it. More recently I went to the Piccadilly branch with work. At that visit I had a 300g bife de lomo, a fillet, which is my favourite cut of steak. Again, the meat was beautiful in texture and flavour. To start I enjoyed succulent king prawns with soft black pudding and orange segments, after warm cheesy bread rolls, and to finish one of my favourite desserts, a classic sticky toffee pudding.
For my latest birthday I tried out Goodmans, off Regent Street. This was another family outing, so following the tradition set at Hawksmoor, I shared a huge steak with my dad. This time it was an 850g chateaubriand which melted in the mouth and had a delicious crisp salty exterior. We all enjoyed our big starters, my rich sweet foie gras, mum’s thick cut smoked salmon and dad and Martin’s herring served Russian style ie with a shot of vodka! The truffle chips were the best I’ve ever had and I’m not a fan of chips so they have to be special to impress me and these certainly were, fluffy and light in the middle but crisp on the outside. My dessert was fairly average but the candle and birthday message were a nice touch.
Another great steakhouse is JW Steakhouse in Mayfair, where I have been twice. While I stuck to my usual fillet, the boys attempted a caveman style kilo Tomahawk steak each. Their desserts are of equally impressive size; the cheesecake wasn’t a slice, it was a whole cheesecake, and the peanut butter mousse was a huge slab. JW serve one of my favourite sides, bourbon sweet potato mash topped with marshmallow, for those with a sweet tooth.
At the bottom of my London steakhouse ratings is STK. There was nothing wrong with the steaks, they match up to the high standards of the above, but the restaurant is not my cup of tea, not to mention the horrendous service. STK is a steakhouse for girls; from the blinged up decor of sparkly silver and mirrors, to the menu of small sashimi plates and a fairground wheel dessert. I ordered the latter in great excitement then realised it’s just a combination of tacky sweets you could buy at the funfair for a couple of quid.
Apologies for the cheesy title of this post, but a steak pun is a rare medium well done.
The Bright Side Foodie 