Hawksmoor Seven Dials

Fantastic!
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Have just come back from a meal at the Hawksmoor (Seven Dials) and whilst it was a good steak it was amazingly overpriced. We had no starter, a 900gram porterhouse, 2 chips, a £23 bottle of wine, lettuce salad (£4 for 4 lettuce leaves btw), water and one apple pie and custard, the total of which came to over £120. You make your decision, yes it's nice steak, I have had a lot nicer for cheaper and to be perfectly honest me and my girlfriend are still a bit hungry and we came away not entirely satisfied.
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6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Sunday, March 27, 2011

Tasty cocktails followed by wonderful steaks, all served by friendly and efficient staff. The only problem was identifying chunks of meat of a size we could actually cope with. One of the jumbo-size cuts would have satisfied all of us, but needed to be cooked three different ways!

Mrs Kentish was the only diner who could face a pud, and raved about it.

I've yet to encounter perfection so no ten out of ten, but for carnivores it can't get much better than this.
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Kentishwanderer
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, March 25, 2011

I used to work right near the one in Spitalfields and was a regular so imagine my delight when the new one opened round the corner from where I now work in Covent Garden.

Managed to get a table there last week with two friends.

I knew to expect sumptuous steaks that would make me feel leaden in my feet for three days afterwards.

What I wasn't expecting was the grand surroundings when you consider how ordinary the east london building is.

The huge cellar type room is spectacular. Brick walls and lots of wood. The sort of place you can sink into and never want to venture outside again.

You really feel like you're on a night out here. And that's before you've sat down.

Service is friendly if a little casual. I don't want them fawning but a tad more formality might not go amiss after all it isn't cheap. But some people prefer that and I'm happy to go with it.

Loud buzzy room. Simple menu. Steak steak and more steak.

I had what I always have. A big old rib eye. And I finished every bit. I have to say I always order it medium. I know this is frowned upon but the steaks are big here and I find if you order medium rare a lot of the fat hasn't rendered which can be a little unpleasant. So I tucked my medium steak (not in size you understand, the table groans under the weight of the thing) away with gusto along with the perfectly done greens.

We shared a peanut butter shortbread ice cream thing which was delicious even though puddings aren't really for me.

Pathetic person that I am I stuck my whereabouts on gowalla (like foursquare) so I could boast on facebook. They have free wifi here and encourage use of it (not that you want to be concentrating on that over your guests obviously). I was thrilled to get a reply from the Hawksmoor themselves via twitter and we entered into a little banter. Not everyone's cup of tea clearly but it shows that these people are on the ball and putting attention into every detail.

The bar outside the main dining room was a delight to lounge in.

One quibble. We had a lovely bottle of Rioja and followed it up with the house red which, whilst not corked, was completely manky. Steer clear of that one. It's a false economy I warn you.

Cheap it isn't but value for money it is. It's everything its sister restaurant is and a whole lot more.

Top steak. Top room. Top night. I'll be back.
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benjamin163 - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, March 23, 2011

I did like this place although it is very expensive. We went on a Monday evening for the BYO night.

Service was very good (apart from the staff on the door and who you call to make a booking which come across as very unprofessional - I had to wait for 10 minutes and had someone hang up on me when i was trying to make a booking).

However, the rest of the staff were very good, friendly, attentive and knowledgeable. Cocktails were great, and I did like the bar and restaurant area.

Food was delicous but sadly no better than what I've had at Gaucho or from the Ginger Pig and cooked at home. Desserts were outstanding however and if I wanted to treat myself would probably go back again.
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Annie - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Thursday, March 17, 2011

Great steak, great cocktails, very good wine list. No complaints there but the service is a little amateurish and the whole place has a slight whiff of a corporate lads night out. Slightly lacking in atmosphere and a little over-priced but very tasty food
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Toby Tuucker
7 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, March 01, 2011

In my humble opinion this is probably the finest "steakhouse" in town. I was treated to dinner here on Saturday night, many thanks to B, and it was a wonderful experience in every respect.

We kicked off our evening by grabbing a couple of stools at the bar and settled in for a cheeky cocktail. After a brief consultation with the very affable fella tending the bar I plumped for Shaky Pete's Ginger Beer while B had the Marmalade Cocktail, both from the Anti- Fogmatic section of the very extensive drinks menu. Excellent drinks, expertly made and lovingly presented, they certainly lifted the spirit and put us in the mood for the soon to come meat feast. At £7.50 a throw I thought this was pretty decent value given the location.

After finishing our drinks we wandered through to the main room which is a very impressive "industrial" type space with exposed brickwork and blackboards dotted about showing the sharing cuts of meat and the weights that are available (be warned the smaller sizes where getting crossed of pretty quick).

We kicked off by ordering up some sparkling water which B thought would help with the digestion of the beast we planned on devouring later. We also had a 500 ml flask of the Torrontes Finca La Linda, Luigi Bosca 2010 from the very well put together wine list which had plenty of decent bottles at under £25.00 (trust me for this kind of place in central London that’s good pricing). This was a lovely fragrant floral white that went down well when paired with the oysters and the very tasty little beef sausages we shared as a starter.

The main event was a 900g Porterhouse bad boy from Longhorn cattle reared in the lovely county of Yorkshire. To my mind the Porterhouse is probably the finest cut of beef and we ordered it medium rare as suggested by our lovely waitress Isabella. We paired this up with a 500ml flask of the Moulin Montarels Syrah 2008 which was nice easy drinking and went down very well.

When the beast arrived it was a joy to behold, with a great looking char and vivid red flesh. The smell wafting up from serving dish was divine and I was sorely tempted to grab a chunk and eat the thing by hand. Going with the advice of Isabella we shared a portion of the Stilton Hollandaise which, as she suggested, was more than enough for two. On the side we had a portion of the beef dripping chips and also the triple cooked chips. These were pretty good but not quite the standard of chip that we had at "Dinner" a couple of weeks ago.

However, that’s a very minor quibble because the steak was fantastic and I would say it was the best I have ever had in London. If you are a fan of good steak I would recommend this place without hesitation; if you like the Gaucho chain I would definitely give Hawksmoor a try because in the steak world this is very near the top of the premier league.

Somehow we still managed to squeeze a dessert in and we shared a portion of caramel ice cream and peanut butter shortbread which was very toothsome indeed.

Thoroughly stuffed by this point we retired back to the bar, which was pretty heaving by now and was playing host to some very “happy” people. We had a couple of the Square Mile coffee martinis, a great way to get a caffeine and alcohol hit at the end of the meal, and spent a fun hour chatting and people watching.

This is not a cheap night out by any means, but I think that overall you get pretty good value for your hard earned cash. You will be treated very well by the casually attired but very professional staff and any special requests you have regarding particular cuts of meat etc will be met if you let them know in advance.

I'm already looking forward to going back to spend an evening in the bar and try one of the legendary Hawksmoor burgers.
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NunheadNeil - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, February 28, 2011

So I have now been to both Hawksmoors a few times, but I have to say my visit last weekend for Sunday lunch celebrating a friend’s birthday was fantastic - even for a restaurant high on my list of favourites.

We went to Seven Dials. The staff were great, from the friendly receptionist, to the funky guy who sorted our table and to the lovely, lovely waitress who pandered to a table of ten with a smile all afternoon. The restaurant itself is a great balance of roominess and atmosphere under the open brickwork and arches of the ex-brewery cellar.

The rich bone marrow starter was a new experience for me and I enjoyed it. In a greedy mood, I then ordered a rare 600g Rib Eye from the board. When it arrived, I noticed that although big, it seemed similar to a 400g served to one of my friends and queried if I had received the right plate??? After a quick check the waitress suggested I started on the steak and she would look into it. 5min later an entire new 600g Rib Eye appeared, much bigger that the first and I was told the first was on the house...

The first steak was superb, the second was even better – I suspect due to the extra thickness and speed of cooking to get it to the table in a hurry. I made a brave attempt to demolish them both but alas, a kilo of meat was beyond even my dedicated carnivore intentions. A few delicious beef dripping cooked chips were also consumed.

My companions all enjoyed their slightly less excessive meals, mainly beautifully cooked roasts with perfect Yorkshire puddings.

When the waitress brought us all complimentary desserts to try, I started to think maybe she was trying to kill me by making me explode! They were all delicious again, with the peanut butter shortbread served with salted caramel ice cream being a particular winner for me. Needless to say I spent the evening lying down…

If I was being very picky, as some others have commented, the chefs are a little heavy handed on the seasoning. It is not cheap, but I would argue for the quality and quantity of the food, it is good value. If you are put off by big plates of food – avoid! If however, you are like me a lover of good meat, then this has got to be on your list.
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Wooly - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 25, 2011

I can't rate Hawksmoor highly enough. I'm pretty sure that was the best steak I've ever had (we shared a 900g porterhouse), and the beef dripping chips were definitely the best chips I've ever had. Dessert was also top stuff (peanut and caramel shortbread, can't fault it), as are the classic cocktails from the bar and the Kernel brewery IPA.

The atmosphere has that mix of old school British that feels classic and welcoming rather than tacky or pompus. The waiter was very knowledgeable, efficient and friendly. I will definitely be going back.
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Peter, Fitzrovia - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 24, 2011

Over recent years I have heard many good things about Hawksmoor at Spitalfields, but never finding myself conveniently in that part of town, the restaurant has remained on my to do list. Now, with the opening of Hawksmoor Seven Dials, far better located for my needs, I took the opportunity to visit on Saturday night. I can report I was very happily satisfied by the whole experience. The space has been sympathetically converted into a very comfortable restaurant, with the feel of a late Victorian London chophouse, with perfect ambient lighting and hefty polished mahogany furniture. Who wouldn't like that spirit cupboard in their own dining room?

Once we had negotiated the reception, ('Hawkins' was misheard as walk-ins and thus we were told there wasn't a table available - relief all round when the confusion was unravelled), we settled in to the cocktail bar and gave Shaky Pete a brief to fulfill. He scored 4 bullseyes for my guests but my 'wet martini' didn't quite hit the spot for me.

As we were a five, we were given one of the round tables down the centre of the dining room. Memo to self: All dining tables should be round, must start Facebook pressure group.

Being 5 trenchermen and women, we selected six different starters and had them served tapas style, which the staff did effortlessly. How many times has that simple request been botched by restaurants, who serve 4 of something to 5 people, or can't give you an empty plate, or means to be able to share. I must give a special mention to our main table waiter, Matt, who was to me like Jeeves is to Wooster, he read my mind and anticipated what I was going to ask for all evening. He fell short of actually saying "I've already taken the liberty, Sir" but you could see it in his eyes. Exemplary work. Of the starters, the sticky Tamworth belly pork was a personal favourite, but everything was well liked by all.

We then had an intermediate course, on the house, simply because the kitchen wanted us to try them and as we hadn't ordered them sent out a plate of lamb chops. Not sure why they weren't ordered in the first place, but I'd happily eat them again and again.

Everyone knows the steaks are good at Hawksmoor, its reputation proceeds it. They are good. It is churlish to say they are the best, it is an argument that can never be won, but what I will say is they are as good as anyone's I've had and far better than most. Doggy bags are de rigueur. Steak is the thing.

I don't do steak sauces so cannot comment on them, but I've deducted a point for the pre-made Colemans mustard, English mustard should always be made from powder about 10 minutes before it is needed.

The bill sneaks up on you, particularly if you let a guest in the wine trade choose the wines, but 4½ hours in Hawksmoor cost me the same as 20 minutes of my solicitor's time, and I know which I'm happier to pay.

Would I return, you bet, many many times.
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Hawko
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Monday, November 29, 2010