From steak powerhouses like Hawksmoor and Goodman to more affordable spots like Flat Iron, there's a huge choice of steakhouses in London. So we've picked some of the restaurants that we think are serving up some of the best steak in town.
Hawksmoor
Spitalfields, Seven Dials, Guildhall, Borough, Knightsbridge, Air Street
This is one of the big steak success stories in London, and probably the group that most people have heard of. They've managed to make the steakhouse experience considerably less fussy than it was before, a template that's been taken up far and wide. And there's a lot more to Hawksmoor - the bars are worth a visit on their own with a great cocktail list, and you will want to leave room for their sticky toffee pudding.
Best sides: So, so many to choose from. Although the mash and Tunworth (a slab of melted Tunworth cheese at the centre) takes some beating.
Book Hawksmoor: Spitalfields | Guildhall | Seven Dials | Air Street | Knightsbridge | Borough | Canary Wharf
Goodman
Mayfair, City, Canary Wharf
Goodman are also behind Burger & Lobster and Zelman Meats and this is their more high-end flagship brand. A serious steakhouse with well-sourced meat aged in-house (if you're really into it, ask to see inside their meat fridge) and a huge variety of cuts.
Best sides: Mac n cheese with truffle salsa
Book Goodman: Mayfair | City | Canary Wharf
Flat Iron
Multiple locations across London
Flat Iron have broadly been responsible for making the steak dinner available to all with their titular flat iron steak. It's just £14 right now and that's only a few more quid more than the price they launched with many years ago. In addition that, there are always more special cuts to look out for on the blackboard menu.
Best sides: The crispy bone marrow garlic mash or the roasted aubergine
Guinea Grill
30 Bruton Pl, Mayfair, London W1J 6NL
One of the oldest restaurants on the list, there's actually been an inn on the site of The Guinea Grill since 1423, while the Guinea Grill itself has been here since 1952. You'll find the main restaurant at the back of the pub where you can expect to be cosseted. This place found a new lease of life when legendary landlord Oisin Rogers took over (he's now departed for The Devonshire). Expect the usual cuts via top Highbury Butcher Frank Godfrey, who has a dry ageing room dedicated to The Guinea.
Best sides: The chips fried in beef dripping or gratin potatoes. Or, frankly, one of their pies.
Blacklock
Soho, Shoreditch, Covent Garden, City of London, Canary Wharf
Blacklock is a chops restaurant first and a very affordable one at that. The skinny chops piled on bread is the order of the day here, but you can also have some bigger bone-in cuts. They include prime rib, sirloin and porterhouse - and the rump cap is worth a look too. Wash it down with all the cocktails for a fiver.
Best sides: The 10-hour ash-roasted sweet potato is a must
Book Blacklock: Shoreditch | City | Soho | Covent Garden | Canary Wharf
Lurra
9 Seymour Pl, Marylebone, London W1H 5BA
Lurra is a Basque restaurant from the same people as Donostia and, being Basque, Galician beef is a big draw here. You'll see these enormous cuts on display, and they're pretty damned big - served at 800g to share. Before that, you'll want to roam through the tapas plates - and the sourdough with bone marrow can't be missed.
Best sides: The fries with smoked paprika and alioli are outstanding.
M Restaurant
City of London
M restaurants are headed up by Martin Williams (who's also CEO of Gaucho) - that's what the M stands for. Steak is at the heart of the menu here, with a particularly strong focus on wagyu. M gets cuts like beeswax wagyu that you won't see anywhere else. There's even steak roulette which gives you a chance to win and upgrade your steak.
Best sides: 15-hour wagyu parmesan chips - a thousand-layer fat chip, finished with parmesan table-side
Temper
Soho, City, Covent Garden, Shoreditch, Paddington
Originally more barbecue-focused, Temper has now switched to being much more of a steak restaurant (although you will see some tacos on the menu too). The steaks of the day are all on the board and there's even a Sunday roast of a Three Beast Feast - smoked and pulled lamb shoulder, roast aged beef and roast pork.
Best sides: Beef-fat potatoes with Ogleshield
Book Temper: City | Covent Garden | Soho | Shoreditch | Paddington
Sophie's
Soho, Chelsea
The original Sophie's is over 20 years old, and a very handy steakhouse if you're heading to see Chelsea playing. It's a more relaxed neighbourhood steakhouse and all their meat is butchered and dry-aged in-house. The Soho Sophie's is a much larger restaurant and its defining feature is an absolutely massive firepit where you'll find massive cuts like their slow roast prime rib of beef or axe handle ribeye.
Best sides: Their roasted new potatoes or the truffled mac n cheese.
Book Hot Stone: Islington | Fitzrovia
Hot Stone
Islington, Fitzrovia
As the name gives away, there's a bit of a DIY element to the steaks at Hot Stone, where you cook them using "searing-hot stones crafted out of volcanic rock". Choose your steak - cuts include Australian and Japanese wagyu as well as Kobe sirloin and then cook it yourself (with handy instructions) on the hot stone at your table. Simpler than it sounds - and with great results.
Best sides: Steamed rice or spinach with sesame dressing
Book Hot Stone: Islington | Fitzrovia
Macellaio RC
Soho, South Kensington, Exmouth Market, Battersea, Fitzrovia
Macellaio RC is an Italian grill restaurant with a particular focus on steak - the dry-aged steak from the Fassona breed is the backbone of their menu. There's a strong focus on the butchery element too, with the meat front and centre at all restaurants (they call them "butcheries with tables").
Best sides: They change between locations, bur the grilled sweet potatoes are a mainstay
Book Macellaio RC: Soho | South Kensington | Exmouth Market | Battersea | Southwark | Fitzrovia
Quality Chop House
92–94 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3EA
While there's a lot more to the menu, with the word "chop" in their name, there's still a definite focus on meat at Quality Chop House. There's always a steak section on the menu and at the time of writing, the star of the show is the Hereford bone-in ribeye - available in sizes up to 1.2kg.
Preferred steak side: No question - it has to be the confit potatoes, possibly London's greatest side
Book Quality Chop House: Book Online
Coal Shed
One Tower Bridge, London SE1 2RZ
The Coal Shed made a name for themselves in Brighton and have managed to transfer that success to their London outpost. There are plenty of steak cuts on the menu (and the specials board) but also a pretty good fish selection too. The set menu is pretty handy before a visit to the nearby Bridge Theatre.
Best sides: Crispy crushed new potatoes with truffle sauce
Brat
Shoreditch and Hackney
Tomos Parry's Shoreditch Brat in one of Shoreditch's biggest hits. The restaurant has a Basque accent and from a steak perspective, the Galician whole beef sirloin or rib is where it's at. It's easily one of London's best beef cuts (the turbot is a bit of a must-have too). They've followed this up with a semi-alfresco second Brat at Climpson's Arch.
Best sides: The smoked potatoes are divine.
Book Brat: Shoreditch | Hackney
Also see
The Devonshire (Soho) - If you can actually manage to get a table here, they do a mean steak.
Fazenda (City of London) - This is an all-you-can-eat rodizio experience which some high-grade meats available.
Hill & Szrok (Hackney) - By day a butcher on Broadway Market, at night this spot transforms into a neighbourhood restaurant and all the meat here comes from British farmers who practice sustainable farming.
Cut at 45 Park Lane (Mayfair) - The UK home for US chef Wolfgang Puck, the steak is all about USDA Prime Beef here.
Beast (Mayfair) - This Goodman offshoot is mainly about two things, king crab and huge steaks. Upmarket surf n turf in an impressive underground room.
Buen Ayre (Broadway Market) - grass-fed Argentine steaks are a speciality at this Broadway Market spot.
Kitty Fisher's (Mayfair) - Still a top place for Galician steak in London.
Sagardi - if you're looking for a great Spanish steak, then you can't go wrong here.
Smith & Wollensky (Strand) - Another US import, this "classic American steakhouse" features a huge range of steaks, including USDA prime.
STK: This is the party version of a steakhouse.
Zelman Meats - A more affordable steakhouse, the Soho original has gone, but Zelman continues on the 5th floor of Harvey Nichols.
Gaucho (Various locations) - From the same people as M Restaurant, you'll find many more of these Argentinian steak restaurants around town.
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