Hawksmoor Spitalfields

Back in 2006, this is where it all started for Will Beckett and Huw Gott – founders of the steakhouse group that now has branches across London and beyond. Located near Christ Church Spitalfields, whose architect (Nicholas Hawksmoor) provided the name, the group stakes its reputation on dry-aged beef from native British herds. Joyously flavoursome cuts (T-bones, ribeyes, fillets, rumps and more besides) are priced by weight, chargrilled to order and served with the now-familiar Hawksmoor sauces and sides – anything from beef-dripping fries and grilled bone marrow to buttered greens, macaroni cheese and creamed spinach. Alternatively, ring the changes with chilli-spiked chargrilled sea bream or whole native lobster with garlic butter. You can open your account with roast scallops in white port and garlic, potted beef and bacon with onion gravy or the house Caesar salad before concluding with the famed Ambassador chocolate bar, a wickedly indulgent sticky toffee sundae or yoghurt and lemon cheesecake. A daytime set menu pulls in those on tighter budgets, while Sunday roasts are an uninhibited meat fest built around a whole rump of slow-cooked 35-day aged rump of beef with myriad accompaniments including the most luscious bone-marrow and onion gravy. The setting for all this is a glamorously refurbished, glossy space complete with swathes of green leather – although the venue also sports a must-visit basement bar where burgers and other Hawksmoor classics go down a treat with cocktails, beers and selections from Hawksmoor’s red-blooded wine list. Note that the bar is currently tailored for private hire, so check the website for updates.