Hawksmoor. It's rarely been doubted that the guys behind the two previous locations have been turning out some of the best steaks this side of Argentina. They've opened a third location just a stone's throw from Bank station. So what makes it special? A tasting menu and in true Hawksmoor fashion it's all about the meat.
The tasting menu encompasses as much of the cow as they can and is composed of the following courses:
1. Beef Tea
2. Tongue and Tail Salad
3. Oysters with Braised Short-Ribs & Kimchi
4. Steak Tartare: Beef vs Veal
5. Beef Shin Macaroni
6. Bone-in Prime Rib, Porterhouse, Hawksmoor Sausages, Beef Dripping Chips
7. Suet Sticky Toffee Pudding with Clotted Cream
You may be thinking 7 courses isn't really that much. I've had tasting menus that went on for over 20 courses (and that's not including those mid-meal palate cleansers that are all the rage these days). But Hawksmoor's "tasting" menu is more comparable to the Medieval Era feasts where a whole suckling pig (apple included) was considered an appetiser for one.
First, let's set the tone for the meal. Bank is a perfect place for this bastion of meat and they've designed it to fit right in. You enter at street level and two beautiful girls greet you, take your name for the reservation (assuming you made one and didn't just drop by for a power lunch), and effectively relieve you of your coat and bag. Then you descend down a wide stair case and the bar area comes into view. Again, it's designed with a theme in mind and its full of deep dark woods and comfortable leather chairs. You can virtually picture the bankers of old in their three piece suits relaxing back with a good glass of Scotch and a thick cigar. So that's what I did. Minus the suit and cigar. And I was drinking Sazerac rye instead of Scotch. But it was basically the same thing.
When you are finished with your pre-dinner drinks (and your group has finally all made it), a quick word to your waiter will get you to your table for dinner. In our case, we lucked out as they gave us the private dining room to apologise for rescheduling our reservation (it was in the soft opening and they had a kitchen fire the day we were supposed to go for dinner). The private room is tucked away at the back of a sizeable regular dining room (at a wild guess, I'd say there were around 30+ tables for at least 4 people). Normally, the room has a minimum spend of £1,500 but we were lucky to have that waived. That being said, it might still be worth it if you had a larger party of 10+ people as it comes with the following: a dedicated waiter, pretty good sound insulation, built in sound system with iPod dock, and what looked like the ability to play movies on a projector. If you wanted to make a night of it, between food and drink you could probably spend £75-100 per person without much trouble.
Anyways, let's get to it. I'm not going to go through the menu individually, but stick with the highlights. The beef tea (served in a china cup) is a perfect amuse bouche for this full out meat assault. The taste itself isn't heavy as you might expect but more delicate with the high notes you get when you take that first bite of steak but no booming textural undertones of the actual meat. The end result is that you slurp it down happily and your steak craving shoots up to a whole new level. It does what every amuse-bouche aims for: gets you salivating and hungry for the meal.
My favourite dish of the night was the beef shin macaroni, and I should add that I'm not a pasta person so I was actually dreading this one a bit. This is a massive dish that can easily feed 10+ people on its own, let alone as part of a 7 course tasting menu. I did mention earlier that Hawksmoor has its own ideas on what qualifies as a "tasting" dish. Essentially, it's about 1-2 pounds of elbow macaroni baked with a rich meaty sauce, bone marrow, and a 3 pound beef shin. Then you cover the whole thing with a good helping of melted parmesan (liberally cover it). You end up with this tangy rich cheesy dish with clumps of seared bone marrow and flaky chunks of shin meat. It's absolutely fantastic and we devoured as much as we could handle. And then there was still enough for me to take home and eat for 5 more meals. So good...I want it again!
And finally, the suet sticky toffee pudding! I love sticky toffee pudding, like seriously love it, more than a fat kid loves chocolate cake (I was that kid...and still am). I don't know what exactly they did to it, but it was one of the best I've ever had. Rich, sweet, spongy, and incredibly decadent, I managed to finish mine in a heartbeat.
For £700 for 8-10 people, it's not that unreasonable for some excellent food. My only issue would be that by the time you get around to the steak course, you are stuffed from the macaroni and can't really enjoy it. Which is a pity, as Hawksmoor does steak pretty damn well. read more