Hawksmoor Seven Dials – version 2 of London’s best meat restaurant

Long time readers will know that in my opinion Hawksmoor is the most stunning, staggering and stupefyingly brilliant source of steaks in London. I’ve had so many blissfully happy meals in the restaurant near Spitalfields that I’ve come to view it as a home away from home, although I admit my home is less themed on ludicrously high quality beef and coruscating cocktails. Tonight the Elitistreview team dined at their new venue and I am emphatically gruntled to report it is a wonderful establishment.

The new venue is on a microscopically tiny back alley near Covent Garden. This will not help draw in the passing tourist trade but Hawksmoor has always been more of a destination for those after transcendent bits of grilled animal rather than somewhere one might anfractuosly encounter. For those who know where to find it, the new venue provides all the pleasures of the original but with some definite enhancements.

As you walk in and descend from street level the first advantage becomes apparent: the bar is tremendous.

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It has plenty of space with a lot of seating, something lacking at the original restaurant. We thought if the cocktails were up to the original’s standard this would be a great place to while away a few hours of an evening. To test this out we ordered drinks.

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They were first-rate, so naturally we ordered more to fortify us for the difficult task of tearing ourselves away from the bar and hitting the dining room. The dining room struck us as very much the kind of place one could relax and eat steak.

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The menu was pretty much identical to the Spitalfields operation – no bad thing when that is so good. I had a quick flick through the wine list and was distinctly impressed. It had clearly been extremely carefully constructed with good wines at every price point, ranging from the rather spiffy Fleurie we drank whilst scoping the menu to the heady heights of Petrus and five different vintages of Henri Jayer Echezeaux – “Oooh fancy!” indeed. Such was our interest in the list they decided to show us the cellar.

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I will not subject you to yet more pictures of Hawksmoor steak and starters, if you haven’t seen them already just look at one of my innumerable previous reviews. The lamb chops get my enthusiastic recommendation as a starter, by way of a change from the perennial favourite Tamworth belly ribs. Any cut of steak you order will be of unrivalled quality and prepared with consummate skill; standards have not slipped at the new venue.

So Hawksmoor v2 certainly tickled the rude bits of the Elitistreview team. Not only is the food exemplary but also the wine list is a top effort. Moreover, the bar is pleasingly spacious and fulfilled our requirements for top-drawer booze action. Indeed, I can see myself dropping by the bar for a swift cocktail should I be even vaguely in the locality. Go there, drink, eat and grin broadly due to the spanking time you are having.


Contact details: Hawksmoor Seven Dials, 11 Langley Street, London WC2H 9JG Telephone: 020 7856 2154