Historical version 24 of Hawksmoor, E1 6BJ (view current version)

A very well-reviewed and externally unassuming steak house on the north edge of the City, on Commercial Street.

All its meat is sourced from the Ginger Pig and is of high quality. They mark weights in grammes and can obtain pretty much any cut of meat if you ask 48 hours before you eat there. It is advisable to book in the evenings, but walk-ups at lunchtime look to be possible (it was quite empty on a Thursday lunchtime when I last visited --billy).

Starters range between £6 and £9 and mains range from £14 (daily changing vegetarian option) to £25 (large steak) on the menu, and they sometimes have extra dishes not on the menu (we were offered t-bone and fillet steak - the latter in 200g and 400g portions for £10 per 200g). They also do a range of vegetable side dishes for between £3 and £6. The food quality is good and meat portions are quite large. (The pork rib starter was rather good, being both scarily large and very well cooked --billy.)

Martin visited in January 2009. Three steaks on the menu were priced per 100g rather than outright - prime rib and porterhouse (both £6/100g), and Chateaubriand (£12/100g). The menu also warned that the prime rib and porterhouse are large. Upon enquiry, it emerged that one must select from certain fixed weights - we asked about the porterhouse and were offered 750g or 800g. Fortunately, they are quite happy for two people to share the larger steaks (in the end, two of us shared the 800g porterhouse). The quality of the meat and cooking were excellent - the steaks are grilled over charcoal, giving a great smoky flavour to the outside of the meat, with the inside juicy and melting. To accompany, we had chips, field mushrooms and creamed greens (all around £4-£5). The menu proclaims the chips as "triple-cooked" - they were superbly crunchy. All portion sizes were large - apart from the very large steak, the sides were all more than enough to share, and the starters we had (Tamworth belly ribs and crab and crayfish cocktail) were both very substantial. Neither of us had room for dessert (which seems a common theme among the reviews).

They serve a large range of cocktails (including two pages of juleps and a range of punch bowls) at about £6.50 a glass, a few beers (none of which Martin recognised) and good range of wines varying from £25 to silly money. They also have a very well-stocked bar for spirits. I tried an IPA, which was palatable but rather fizzy (probably out of a bottle). A cocktail ("Cobra Fang") came in an enormous glass (at least a pint, I'd say) shaped like an Easter Island head, and was very good.

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Last visited by Martin, 30 January 2009. Opening hours taken from the website, September 2007.
OS X co-ord: 533559 OS Y co-ord: 182057 (Latitude: 51.521137 Longitude: -0.074715)
This is version 24 (as of 2009-09-27 15:04:48). View current version. List all versions.