I have heard a lot of great things about Hawksmoor and the amazing steaks and burgers. So yesterday lunchtime, after an incredibly long slog of a week I decided it was time for a TrEat.
Mr Old Fashioned and I racked our brains for what was close and easy. I wanted a burger and nothing nearby was seeming appealing, when suddenly he suggested Hawksmoor Guildhall. Since I haven’t been to any of them before and managed to bag a booking immediately (rare), we walked over.
The building itself looks inconspicuous from outside. To be honest, I didn’t know where it was, even though I have been to the place next to it several times to watch football and have a bit of Italian yumminess! As you enter, it is all dark and wooden panelled, very moody.
The enthusiastic staff sent us down to be seated. At the bottom of the stairs, there is a cool little bar area with some tables for bar menu eating. In front of you is an expansive open space with a low, brightly lit ceiling. It reminds me of a German beer hall. The atmosphere is buzzing, even at 2pm. Tables are busy and large groups are gathered around having beers/ cocktails and lots of meat. Apparently in the past this was known more for sausage than steak, if you catch my drift… but at this sitting the patrons seem a little more evenly distributed! The great thing was, that although we were in the basement of this building with suddenly no phone signal (panic!), there was free public wifi (phew!).
Mr Old Fashioned went for a beer whilst I stuck to soda water and lime for a light beverage at lunch. I was delighted that they took some care to make my drink look appealing even though it was sans alcohol, as most of the time that isn’t the case!
The menu was good and a had lot of interesting things. I would probably like to try the Bone Marrow & Green Sauce or Potted Beef & Bacon with Yorkshires (if I ate pork!) just from the starter menu. In the snacks menu, the marmite cheese straws looked like fun. In the end Mr Old Fashioned went for the fillet steak with triple cooked chips and mac n’ cheese. I couldn’t help myself… debating over the bone in sirloin… I went for the burger (which is on the bar menu but they served it to us in the restaurant). After all, I was already sure I will be coming back.
Some of the other menu items sounded like fun – for the Meat Feasts it states:
The service was good and the food was delicious! Definitely a winner. The prices aren’t cheap but reflect the quality of the meat and the perfection of cooking. I was very happy with my burger – which includes nuggets of bone marrow and comes with a gorgeous char-grilled tinge to its taste. After a long discussion with our waiter about ordering ‘pink’ or medium (and not bloody) my meat came perfectly succulent and delicious – so go with less cooked! With the Ogleshield cheese (I don’t like stilton too much) and beef-dripping fries (instead of salad or triple cooked chips) it was a delicious meal and definitely worth its £15. I think it will definitely make it to my top 5 burger list.
And I want to get back for some desserts, with things like ‘mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich’ and ‘salted caramel rolos’ on the menu.
Hawksmoor also has a great breakfast I am told by a number of people, probably most enthusiastically by Honeymonster. According to the website, this is what you will get for £35 for two to share:
You can also get a 3 course sharing menu, starting at a very reasonable £55. Or if you are feeling fancy, you can try the beef tasting menu. There is also a private space for events, although I think you would have more fun in a busier part of the venue.
*Some photos courtesy of the Hawksmoor website