From steak powerhouses like Hawksmoor and Goodman to more affordable spots like Flat Iron, there's a huge choice of steakhouses in London. So we've picked some of the restaurants that we think are serving up some of the best steak in town.
Ibai
City of London - 92 Bartholomew Cl, London EC1A 7BN
This Spanish restaurant in the City is owned by a company that imports Galician steaks, so you know you're in for something special here. The Galician Blond steak is the one to go for, available as a 1kg T-Bone, rib or sirloin. That said, other options are available, including a Spanish Black Angus as well as fullblood wagyu from Wales. There's also a steak frites at lunch for £35, which is well worth a look. While you're here, make sure to put their excellent Spanish wine list to good use.
Best sides: Beef fat fries are a must, but if you want to go all out, you'll want to add on their seared foie gras or XL carabinero prawns.
The Devonshire
Soho - 17 Denman Street, London W1D 7HW
Downstairs, The Devonshire might be best known for its Guinness but upstairs it's all about the food, with the menu led by Ashley Palmer Watts. Billed as a Grill Room and with a hugely impressive wood-burning grill on the first floor, the beef truly is something to behold here. Head butcher George Donnelly (with over 30 years experience) is in charge of the meat and dry ageing so that the steaks here are some of the best in town. Cuts change but at the time of writing, T-Bone, grass-fed wagyu ribeye, and fillet were all on the menu. There's also an exceptionally good value set menu here, which features skirt steak and chips as the main. Make sure to add on a lamb chop or two to your order here.
Best sides: Order the duck fat chips, but we also recommend the peas, onion and bacon.
Hawksmoor
Spitalfields, Seven Dials, Guildhall, Borough, Knightsbridge, Air Street
Hawksmoor continues to be one of the big steak success stories in London, and probably the group that most people have heard of (even managing to break into America). They made the steakhouse experience considerably less fussy than it was before, a template that's been taken up far and wide. And there's a lot more to Hawksmoor - the bars are worth a visit on their own with a great cocktail list, and you will want to leave room for their sticky toffee pudding.
Best sides: Many to choose from (14 options at the last count), but the mash and Tunworth (with a slab of melted Tunworth cheese at the centre) takes some beating.
Book Hawksmoor: Spitalfields | Guildhall | Seven Dials | Air Street | Knightsbridge | Borough | Canary Wharf
Goodman
Mayfair, City, Canary Wharf
Goodman are also the people behind Burger & Lobster and Zelman Meats, but this is their more high-end flagship brand and the Mayfair restaurant was where the group started. It's a more serious steakhouse with well-sourced meat aged in-house (if you're really into it, ask to see inside their meat fridge) and a huge variety of cuts. They source the beef from farmers in the Lake District and Nebraska, so that as well as UK options, they put a big focus on USDA steak. You'll also have the option to see all the cuts on a platter before you choose, which really helps.
Best sides: Mac n cheese with truffle salsa, but the truffle parmesan chips are also excellent.
Book Goodman: Mayfair | City | Canary Wharf
Flat Iron
Multiple locations across London
Originally launched by Charlie Carroll (now co-owner of The Devonshire), Flat Iron have broadly been responsible for making the steak dinner available to all with their titular flat iron steak. That's just £15 right now which is only a little more than the price they launched with many years ago. In addition to the flat iron, there are always more special cuts to look out for on the blackboard menu. They're adding more steakhouses, but on busy nights it's always worth booking well ahead. The burger here is definitely worth a look, and you'll also get free soft-serve ice cream to finish up.
Best sides: The crispy bone marrow garlic mash or the roasted aubergine should be your first go-tos.
Guinea Grill
30 Bruton Pl, Mayfair, London W1J 6NL
One of the oldest restaurants on the list, there's been an inn on the site of The Guinea Grill since 1423, while the Guinea Grill itself has been here since 1952. You'll find the main restaurant at the back of the pub where you can expect to be cosseted. This place found a new lease of life when legendary landlord Oisin Rogers took over (he's now departed for The Devonshire). Expect the usual cuts via top Highbury Butcher Frank Godfrey, who has a dry ageing room dedicated to The Guinea.
Best sides: The chips fried in beef dripping or gratin potatoes. Or, frankly, one of their pies.
Blacklock
Soho, Shoreditch, Covent Garden, City of London, Canary Wharf
Blacklock is a chops restaurant first and a very affordable one at that. The skinny chops piled on bread is the order of the day here, but you can also have some bigger bone-in cuts. They include prime rib, sirloin and porterhouse - and the rump cap is worth a look too. Wash it down with all the cocktails for a fiver and the white chocolate cheesecake to finish.
Best sides: The 10-hour ash-roasted sweet potato is a must
Book Blacklock: Shoreditch | City | Soho | Covent Garden | Canary Wharf
Lurra
9 Seymour Pl, Marylebone, London W1H 5BA
Lurra is a Basque restaurant from the same people as Donostia and Ibai (above). Being Basque, Galician beef is a big draw here (and as with Ibai, they supply it themselves). You'll see these enormous cuts on display, and they're pretty damned big - served at 800g to share. Before that, you'll want to roam through the tapas plates - and the sourdough with bone marrow can't be missed. There's an excellent hidden terrace here too, that's an oasis from the busy London streets.
Best sides: The fries with smoked paprika and alioli are outstanding.
Temper
Soho, City, Covent Garden, Shoreditch, Paddington
Temper is not equally about barbecue and smoked meats as it is about steaks (it gave up being barbecue for a while but that's properly back on their menus now). Steaks here include rump, sirloin, fillet and picanha off the bone and porterhouse and ribeye on the bone. There's also a steak frites special, which was an impressive £15 at the time of writing. You'll want to add some smoked meats to your steak order here, the beef brisket carnitas would work very well as an add-on. The Sunday roast of a Three Beast Feast - smoked and pulled lamb shoulder, roast aged beef and roast pork - is also worth noting.
Best sides: Beef-fat potatoes with garlic raclette, and maybe a couple of tacos too...
Book Temper: City | Covent Garden | Soho
Sophie's
Soho, Chelsea
The original Sophie's is over 20 years old, and a very handy steakhouse if you're heading to see Chelsea playing. It's a more relaxed neighbourhood steakhouse and all their meat is butchered and dry-aged in-house. The Soho Sophie's is a much larger restaurant and its defining feature is an absolutely massive firepit where you'll find massive cuts like their slow roast prime rib of beef or axe handle ribeye. The set menu with slow-roasted beef is a great deal for Soho too.
Best sides: Their roasted new potatoes with garlic or the truffled mac n cheese.
Macellaio RC
Soho, South Kensington, Exmouth Market
Macellaio RC is an Italian grill restaurant with a particular focus on steak and the seven-week dry-aged steak from the Fassona breed is the backbone of their menu. There's a strong focus on the butchery element too, with the meat front and centre at all restaurants (they call them "butcheries with tables") and the steaks cut to order. They also now offer Irish wagyu on the bone.
Best sides: Probably the truffle and Parmesan chips.
Book Macellaio RC: Soho | South Kensington | Exmouth Market
Quality Chop House
92–94 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3EA
While there's a lot more to the menu, with the word "chop" in their name, there's still a definite focus on meat at Quality Chop House. There's always a steak section on the menu and at the time of writing, the stars of the show are the Hereford bone-in ribeye or bone-in wing rib. Ideally, get one of those with a chop on the side.
Preferred steak side: No question - it has to be the confit potatoes, possibly London's greatest side
Coal Shed
South Bank - One Tower Bridge, London SE1 2RZ
Coal Shed made a name for themselves in Brighton and have managed to transfer that success to their London outpost. There are plenty of steak cuts on the menu (and the specials board) but also a pretty good fish selection too. A number of cuts are aged in their Himalayan salt chamber and it's well worth ordering them. The set menu, which features steak frites, is pretty handy before a visit to the nearby Bridge Theatre.
Best sides: Espelette fries with parmesan and confit garlic, for sure.
Also see
Brat (Shoreditch and London Fields) - Tomos Parry's restaurant may be best known for the turbot, but the whole beef sirloin or rib is also excellent.
Brutto (Farringdon) - Taking its influence from Florence, you'll find huge Florentine steaks on the blackboard every night here.
Cut at 45 Park Lane (Mayfair) - The UK home for US chef Wolfgang Puck, the steak is all about USDA Prime Beef here.
Fazenda (City of London) - This is an all-you-can-eat rodizio experience which some high-grade meats available.
Buen Ayre (Broadway Market) - grass-fed Argentine steaks are a speciality at this Broadway Market spot.
Kitty Fisher's (Mayfair) - Still a top place for steak in London, and at the moment it's a belted Galloway wing rib.
Smith & Wollensky (Strand) - Another US import, this "classic American steakhouse" features a huge range of steaks, including USDA prime.
Gaucho (Various locations) - You'll find many more of these Argentinian steak restaurants around town and it's still a pretty reliable mid-tier steakhouse.
Beast (Mayfair) - This Goodman offshoot is mainly about two things, king crab and huge steaks. Upmarket surf n turf in an impressive underground room.
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