Steak is an institution.
So writing about the best steak restaurants in London is like Santa writing a list of who’s been naughty and who’s been nice – there’s a lot of work to do, and some grey areas. So, we’ve been methodical in our approach, trimming the fat and focusing on the meat.
As all good steak should.
STEAK RESTAURANTS
Hawksmoor | Across London
The Hawksmoor founders travelled around the world in search of their version of the best steak, from Kobe in Japan to Pampas in Argentina; passing through Italy, Australia and Texas along the way. They decided, after this grand tour, that their ideal steak came from breeds native to the UK. 35-day aged grass fed Aberdeen Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn and Guernsey cows, to be precise. Each one of their effortlessly elegant restaurants boasts a daily changing board of specials (prime rib, chateaubriand etc) alongside a menu of stalwarts, all cooked over an open flame grill and plated up alongside their legendary beef dripping chips.
Details: Across London | Book here
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Flat Iron | Across London
Good steak for the masses for a tenner*. That was the philosophy of Charlie Carroll, creator of Flat Iron. Now all across London, these dedicated steak restaurants are famous for their commitment to one cut – the eponymous flat iron (so-called because it’s shaped like a Victorian iron). It actually comes from the feather blade, buried in the shoulder of the cow, and was once considered a slightly inferior cut. However the Flat Iron team know how to make it sing, wet-ageing the steak (in a vacuum pack) to retain moisture, before cooking it sous vide in a water bath and then scorching it to order. As for the sides? You’ll struggle to pick between the beef dripping chips; bone marrow garlic mash; creamed spinach and aubergine parmigiana – so go in a big group, and get them all.
*It’s now £14 but let’s face it, that’s still dirt cheap for a steak in London.
Details: Branches across London| Book here
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Blacklock | Soho, City, Shoreditch, Covent Garden & Canary Wharf
Blacklock has Matt Chatfield (of Cornwall Project fame) to thank for its success, as he was the one who introduced the team to their original supplier (the very same they still use now, exclusively). Warrens in Cornwall is a third-generation farm and butchery that’s been rearing native and rare breed animals since 1880. The result? Prime rib, porterhouse and bone-in sirloin in cuts by the 100g, as well as picanha (Portuguese for rump cap, and famous in Brazil) and sixth ribeye on the menu, scorched with an actual Victorian flat iron on a home-made grill, by an ex-Hawksmoor chef.
Details: Across London | Book here
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Hill and Szrok | Broadway Market
Butchers by day, steak restaurant by night. Broadway Market‘s Hill and Szrok is committed to the ethical use of the animal, minimising waste. This is why they buy whole carcasses directly from small herd farms. Their suppliers are so small, in fact, that their meat is only usually used for private consumption or for grazing on farm land – so the only other place you can get this meat is directly from the farm. The menu here changes daily depending on what’s in stock, but there’s always a handful of excellent steaks, served to just a handful of diners clustered around the butcher’s block.
Details: 60 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ | Book here
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Goodman | Mayfair, City, Canary Wharf
When you want options, head to Goodman. This smart micro-empire of steak restaurants sources its meat from both small UK farms rearing native breeds, and Nebraskan ranches providing high-USDA grade cuts. That meat’s all then aged in-house for 30 days, with the chefs making a daily selection of the beef that makes “The Cut”; a daily menu priced by the 100g. Pick your cut, and your steak will be lovingly hand-trimmed and scorched in a charcoal oven at 375-400 degrees, before receiving a simple but highly effective brush of butter and a scattering of rock salt.
Details: Across London | Book here
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Smith and Wollensky | Covent Garden
Smith and Wollensky got its name from two randomly selected surnames in the phone book. Luckily, they’re a little more picky about their meat. Established in New York back in 1977, this is a true American steakhouse. So while they do have some meat from English and Irish cows, the main event is their USDA prime cuts – falling in the top 2% of all American steak, where the marbling (veins of fat running through the meat) is a minimum of 8-11%.
Details: The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam St, WC2N 6HT | Book here
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Le Relais de Venise | Marylebone & City
Originating in Paris in 1959, this fantastically uncompromising outfit serves one thing – steak frites. No menu. No fuss. Let your server know how you want your entrecote steak cooked, they’ll scribble it down on your paper table cloth, and that’s you done. A vinegary lettuce and walnut salad will soon arrive, followed by your steak frites, covered in their insanely good oh-my-god-what-is-in-that-dedicate-your-life-to-finding-out secret sauce, and that’s it. They hold part of your steak back so that you get two portions, and it’s £31. Fin.
Details: 120 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2GQ & Throgmorton St, EC2N 2AD | No bookings, get there early
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Macellaio RC | Marylebone, Liverpool Street
Macellaio – butcher in English – is a group of Italian restaurants that originated in Genoa. They deal exclusively in the rare Fassona breed from the Piedmont region of north western Italy. This cow is renowned for its natural muscular hypertrophy (basically double-sized muscles) that yields a lean, tender meat low in saturated fats and – praise be, it’s actually a healthy steak. As for Macellaio? Fiorentina (T-bone), Costata (prime rib), fillet and rump are all butchered and presented to you with theatrical flair before it’s taken away to be cooked. Thanks to the cow’s uniquely tender flesh, the raw beef dishes (carpaccio, tartare, etc) are reliable hits here too.
Details: Across London | Book here
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Popeseye | Kensington
Maybe it’s the location in Olympia. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s proudly Scottish, a red flag to some snobbish restaurant types. But you probably haven’t heard of Popeseye. The name refers to a Scottish term for rump steak, and you’ll find it on the menu here – along with virtually nothing else. There are no starters, no sides. Just fillets, rump, sirloin, rib eye, and T-bone, in whatever size you want. They’ll come with a small herd of sauces, they’re all Scottish grass-fed Aberdeen Angus, and they’re brought in daily from the Highlands.
Details: 108 Blythe Road, W14 0HD | Book here
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Santa Maria del Sur | Battersea
This Battersea restaurant doesn’t look the slickest, nor does it project the kind of polished corporatism that so many steakhouses do these days. But they do make a damn fine steak, scorched on their huge cast-iron grill. Argentinian-style. And it’s all finished with dulce du leche everything: flans, cheesecakes, pancakes, banana cakes, and more.
Details: 129 Queenstown Rd, SW8 3RH | Book here
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Omnino | The City
Slapped right in the bustling heart of The City in Leadenhall Market, Omnino might be easily overlooked. And unless you knew it was good, you’d be tempted not to risk wandering in considering the known quantities surrounding it. But it is good. It’s run by an Argentinian family, and they serve steaks from across the globe: Australian, American, British, Argentinian, you name it. You can even get a ‘Ribeye Trio’ with 300g each of Wagyu, Prime US, and Argentinian rib eye.
Details: 79 Leadenhall St, EC3A 3DH | Book here
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Knife | Clapham
A neighbourhood steakhouse in between Clapham and Brixton that could hold its own against any of the central London giants. Knife serves four cuts from four breeds of ethically-reared, grass-fed, Cumbrian-raised cows, with sides that might just risk stealing the show, from the trio of potato dishes to creamed spinach, Stinking Bishop mac ‘n’ cheese, and roasted corn crème brûlée. Plus, Saddleback pork scratchings to start.
Details: 160 Clapham Park Road, London SW4 7DE | Book here
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Casa Malevo | Bayswater
While Casa Malevo is certainly one of the better-known steak restaurants in London, it still may nevertheless have slipped under some radars. It comes to us from Argentinian chef Diego Jacquet, and it has a very unpolished feel in a very polished neighbourhood. But make no mistake, the menu is as finely tuned as they come. Starters range from empanadas to sweetbreads, while the steaks come in all the traditional cuts with delicious chimichurri, and enough red wine for anyone.
Details: 23 Connaught Street, W2 2AY | Book here
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The Guinea Grill | Mayfair
You’d be forgiven for thinking that the Guinea Grill was a simple old-fashioned boozer, because for the first 300 years of its life, that’s exactly what it was. It was only in the 1950s that they decided to start serving steaks, so it’s a relatively recent innovation… for them. It’s the kind of place where you can get a sirloin on the bone, with a lamb cutlet as a garnish. And we hope it never changes.
Details: 30 Bruton Place, W1J 6NL | Book here
RESTAURANTS THAT DO GREAT STEAK
Dinner by Heston | Knightsbridge
Let’s face it, a two Michelin starred restaurant inspired by the history of British gastronomy and owned by one of the world most renowned chefs is going to do a great steak. Here they serve Hereford beef (rib-eye, fillet or bone-in rib for two to share), dry-aged for three weeks and grilled over charcoal embers, then plated up with triple cooked chips and mushroom ketchup. Just like the Victorians would have done.
Details: 66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA | Book here
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Quality Chop House | Clerkenwell
This old-school stalwart has been serving up best-of-British produce since 1869. So with 150 years of quality chop flogging under their belt, their steaks have gotten pretty good. Their menu changes often, but you can always find a handful of native, rare breed steaks on there, from a 400g Dexter sirloin to 800g Highland bone-in sirloin. And they’re the perfect accompanied to the real star of the show at QCH: the perfectly cubed crispy confit potatoes.
Details: 88-94 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3EA | Book here
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Fallow | St. James’s
What does Fallow do differently to other steak restaurant in London? Or, indeed, almost all other restaurants? Sustainability. The ethos is baked into almost every dish, including their steaks, which all come from ex-dairy cows. This gives them an extremely rich flavour profile, which is almost an acquired tase in itself – and it’s easily one of the meatiest steaks you’ll ever eat. Goes well in their burger, too.
Details: 2 St. James’s Market, SW1Y 4RP | Book here
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The Marksman | Hackney
Harriet Clare Photos
The Marksman pub on Hackney Road was the first London boozer to be crowned Michelin Pub of the Year, so expect a little more than pork scratchings on the menu. Their upstairs dining menu has a regularly changing menu of British dishes, but you can normally find a rare breed sharer steak for two on there, lavished with bone marrow gravy.
Details: 254 Hackney Road, E2 7SJ | Book here
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ACME Fire Cult | Dalston
The only reason that ACME Fire Cult isn’t the best steak restaurant in London is because it’s not a steak restaurant. But among the many things it manages to cook over its open fire with its inventive mix of ferments, sauces and dressings… is a steak. Specifically, a Longhorn bavette steak, with pickles and spicy ancho beef butter – which’ll wash down quite nicely with a tank-fresh beer from the 40FT Brewery across the road.
Details: Abbot Street Car Park, E8 3DP | Book here
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Sagardí | Shoreditch
Sagardí serves food inspired by the Basque country in Spain. Know what the Basque country is famous for? Correct. Txuleton – thick-cut, bone-in rib steaks from ex-dairy cows. At Sagardí, they cook them as per Basque tradition: slowly, over hot coals, using cows that are a minimum of 8 years old (which means tastier fat) and native to Galicia, with cuts weighing at least a kilo.
Details: Cordy House, 95 Curtain Rd, EC2A 3BS | Book here
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Coal Rooms | Peckham
Once ex-head chef at Smokehouse, Sam Bryant – now head chef and part owner of Peckham’s Coal Rooms – is probably one of those people you want cooking your steak. Here, he tosses them onto the robata grill he had designed specifically for the restaurant. The menu changes frequently, but think hefty Dexter sirloins and Hereford T-bones to share.
Details: 11A Station Way, Peckham, SE15 4RX | Book here
Like steaks? Then you may just like this connoisseur’s guide to London Sunday Roasts, too