There are a few things that really please me. A good technical boxing match, Saturday morning lie-ins with spotify, and a good steak. Let’s concentrate on the latter for this post, as last month I had the pleasure to try out the Spitalfields branch of the trendy Hawksmoor British steakhouse franchise.

Upon arrival, we were warmly greeted by the staff and were informed our table wasn’t ready yet, so we headed to the downstairs bar. The place was so packed, there were no seats available to sit down, so we ordered some drinks and waited until we got the nod to come up and dine.

Moments later our table was ready and were running up to try this place out. Now some might say the place is cosy but I think the term better suited would be overcrowded. The tables are very close to each other unfortunately a little uncomfortable.

Anywho, let’s put those niggles away and eat!

As I knew I was going to be stuffing myself with meat of the bovine variety, I went for the lighter option and got myself a Doddington Caesar Salad. Don’t ask me what the Doddington part meant though.

The salad didn’t exactly blow me away, but it is a salad I suppose. Pretty nice though, and an interesting display of the leaves.

My food partner for the evening ordered the Belly Ribs with red cabbage, and as she ordered, I secretly thought to myself, what a rookie mistake; to order something this filling before a big meat meal! But alas, the dish turned out to be the best part of the entire experience here. The belly ribs were cooked to perfection and just melt in your mouth. If I came back, I would order two of theses as part of my mains. Just. Perfection.

I opted for the rib eye and I might have read too many reviews on the high quality of meat here but unfortunately I thought it was too overpriced for what it was. It certainly was not terrible, but for the price I paid, I was expecting it to be nicer.

My accomplice, got the fillet steak and this was fine. Quite tasty, but she did remark that she didn’t  think it tasted any better than cheaper cuts, she had tried elsewhere.

At the Hawsmoor, you have to essentially build your meal, adding in extras etc. It’s good to know that there  is a cost to each side and if you add in a few extras, it can quickly add up.

I added the roasted field mushrooms,  English lettuce and herb salad, triple cooked chips and peppercorn sauce to my meal.

This was the first time I ever ate triple cooked chips and they were just ok, but then again I’m not a fan of crispy chips.

I was recommended a dish to try called Mac & Cheese with lobster, but unfortunately the Spitalfields branch didn’t serve this exact dish, so I ordered the Mac & Cheese on it’s own. It was very tasty, but I only ate half as I ordered too much food! 🙂

I finished the meal and had no room for dessert but that didn’t stop me from ordering the sticky toffee pudding. Again, I’m going to sound like my standards are too high, but this was only ok. It just tasted like heated up pudding with ice cream.

So would I go back to the Hawksmoor? Well yes, I would. I feel the overall experience was good, we had a great time here, but things like the very close seating and expensive meat do take away a few points.