The main dining room, where they've made lots of changes which, considering they turned this around in less than four months, is quite the endeavour.
So what can you tell us about Hawksmoor?
We're going to assume that most people reading this already know about them, but just in case you don't, here's a brief catch-up. Hawksmoor is one of the UK's most well-known and successful steak restaurant groups, the one which arguably ushered all the decent UK steakhouses that followed. They've been so successful at their mix of great service, dishes and steaks that they've event managed to open two very successful restaurants in New York and Chicago in a kind of reverse "coals to Newcastle" moment. This is their eighth London restaurant (they have 14 in total around the world), but it might also be their best location yet.
Where is this one?
They've taken over the main dining room inside the St Pancras hotel (the hotel has been through a few names; it's currently an Autograph Collection hotel). For a decade, that was run as The Gilbert Scott by Marcus Wareing. Once he left, it went through a fairly bumpy period. Developer Harry Handelsman (who also owns Chiltern Firehouse) took it over and gave it an undeniably impressive revamp, reopening it as The Midland Grand with Patrick Powell in the kitchen. Powell then left (to greater acclaim at 2025 success story One Club Row) to be replaced by SOLA's Victor Garvey, but that iteration only lasted six months.
After that last surprise closure, Hawksmoor were often pitched as the ideal people to take over. And just four months later, here they are with Hawksmoor St Pancras.
And how do we find it?
See that massive hotel right beside St Pancras? It's in there. You can get to the restaurant either by walking through the hotel, or via an entrance just off the Euston Road.
The entrance from outside. Note that, unlike in previous guises, the entrance is now on the side.
And how much have they changed?
Given how quickly they opened here, much more was changed than we expected. The entire floor has been completely replaced with their signature parquet flooring, and the whole room has been given a full makeover, dominated by their "Beef and Liberty" mural. The structure of this room has always been beautiful but they've really made this one their own.
But it's not just the restaurant?
No, the bar here is almost as important as the main restaurant. Hawksmoor bars (and their cocktails) have always been a big part of the experience and that's certainly the case here. The bar space has always been a gorgeous space since it was relaunched as The Midland Grand, and it seems (on a quick glance) that Hawksmoor have made less changes to the overall design here. While it's always been an impressive bar, it maybe hasn't had the exposure it deserved. But now, as The Martini Bar, that's changed with it becoming as big a destination as the main restaurant.
If you're having a meal at Hawksmoor St Pancras, we'd say a drink before or after at the Martini Bar is a must. But if you're just looking for a decent bar in the King's Cross area, this should also be at the top of your list. There are also new snacks to try here (they're not on the main cocktail menu, so that's something to be aware of), like their beef dripping hash browns or celeriac nuggets. But the main draw, clearly, are their sub-zero martinis. There are five of those on the list, with a further two inspired by Duke's Bar martinis.
The Martini Bar - possibly one of London's most beautiful bar spaces.
Vesper’s Vesper (Plymouth Gin, Absolut Elyx, Sacred Amber Vermouth, £15) - A Vesper is always our go-to Martini and using Catherine's martini chill scale, we'd put this at an impressive 8.
Onto the restaurant, what can we expect from the menu there?
If you're familiar with or a fan of Hawksmoor, their most popular dishes are all on offer here at St Pancras. So you will find starters like the bone marrow & onions, Old Spot belly ribs and their Caesar salads on the list. But it's also on this part of the menu where you'll find a few new additions, so we focused on those first.
Vietnamese oysters - the ones to go for, we think (although roasted bone marrow oysters are also planned).
Yorkshire Sloppy Joes - Yorkshire puddings, Farm Wilder mince, horseradish (£16). This is a twist on their classic potted beef and Yorkshires and also a take on St John's mince on toast. At the time of visiting, this had been temporarily relegated to the bar menu only, but personally we much prefer it to the potted beef. It's a perfect winter dish and highly recommended.
Dressed Devon crab (£19.50) - Another new arrival is their seafood platter. But that comes in at £75, so if you want a taste of it, this part of the platter is available on its own. It's a phenomonally good dressed crab, which is one of our favourite things at the best of times. Another must-have.
Moving onto mains, steaks are really what it's all about at Hawksmoor. There are specific cuts starting at a pretty reasonable £27 for a 275g rump steak, but ideally, you'll want to be sharing one of the larger cuts. We went for the bone-in prime rib:
Bone-in prime rib (£13.50/100g) - yes, the steaks are as fantastic as ever.
They had been touting one of their newer dishes here, a prime rib roast - essentially a Sunday roast, but available all week long. This is served with Yorkshire pudding and a braised rib on the side and is based on a dish from their American steakhouses. However, they previously indicated that this only has limited availability and, alas, it wasn't on the menu at all when we visited mid-week, instead listed as a Sunday-only option. We'll try to find out if it will be coming back to the mid-week menu.
As far as sides go, we'd strongly recommend the beef dripping fries or chips, the excellent mash and gravy, creamed spinach and the macaroni cheese. All of those are sides that Hawksmoor have been perfecting over the years and it's hard to go wrong with them. And because we were visiting around the festive season, we couldn't miss the following:
Bone marrow stuffing (£8) - Why wait for turkey before you get stuck into stuffing this year?
Cows-in-blankets (£7) - beef sausage versions and with caramelised sticky bacon on the outside. Very, very good.
Room for dessert?
Once again, there is one classic that should not be missed if you haven't tried it before, the sticky toffee pudding. The Grand Rocher is a dessert that they've brought in from America that's well worth a look too, essentially a glammed-up version of a Ferrero Rocher. But, because we'd already gone large, we went for the following, which was a little lighter:
Maple custard tart with candy pecans, maple & creme fraiche ice cream (£9) - a very good tart and made even better by those salted caramel rolos you can just see in the background.
Anything else to mention?
At the moment, their great value set menu isn't available here yet. But we'd keep an eye out for that in the new year, as it's a fantastic deal.
Overall thoughts
At this stage, Hawksmoor really know what they're doing. And going by how quickly they took over this space, they're now at the top of their game. Here you have an amazing looking space and a beautiful destination bar that's supported by a great menu and some of London's best steaks. All in all, this is a very strong recommendation from us.
More about Hawksmoor St Pancras
Where is it? St Pancras, Euston Rd., London NW1 2AR
How to book: Book online or call 020 7362 6699.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @hawksmoorrestaurants.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Hawksmoor. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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