Steak of the Art (Hawksmoor Seven Dials 26.02.13)

Hawksmoor is a small high-end chain of steakhouses in London. Given the UK's internationally recognized reputation for not being able to cook meat, I was looking forward to an evening which would set the record straight. A little early, upon arrival we were offered the choice of waiting at the bar or at our table. We chose the bar, which was a mistake, as it was rather crowded and the high stools were a bit of a challenge for my disabled mother.

I plumped for a non-alcoholic cocktail called 'A Lot Like Lilt'-I took one sip before declaring 'this is nothing like lilt'. The waitress had mixed up my order with my mother's Hawksmoor Collins, a potent grapefruit and gin concoction. The real 'A Lot Like Lilt' was indeed similar to the beverage in question.

The food menu is like this: steak. While meat is very much the main event, there are several seafood options including lobster dishes. However, I do not recommend bringing a vegetarian friend here, unless you want to send them a not-so-subtle message that you are no longer friends-in which case it may be just the place. The website boasts that if the cut of steak you desire does not appear on the menu, then you can request it up to 48 hours in advance. It's touches like this that will win a place fans, which judging by the crowd filling the large dining room on a Wednesday night, are in no short supply. It was only by dint of a cancellation that my brother and I were tacked onto our parents' reservation.

I was tempted by the smoked salmon soda bread starter, but adopting a 'When in Rome' attitude, I decided to dive headfirst into mains and meat. I ordered the D-Rump steak medium rare. On the first bite, I felt that the plate could have been hotter. On the second, I felt that I was in the presence of a serious steak. The meat was chargrilled, salty and crispy on the outside and perfectly pink on the inside. I also admired the dish's unapologetic presentation; a slab of steak in the centre of a white plate is bold, modern and lets the food do the talking. I also ordered the beef dripping fries which I have hardly stopped thinking about since. Da Vinci may have had the Mona Lisa, but I have no doubt that she and any number of muses would have been thrown over for these fries. 

My parents went for the Porterhouse steak, one of the generous sharing options and after some knowledgeable advice from our waiter on which cuts suited rare or medium rare better, my brother had the fillet steak.

I was impressed by the Hawksmoor's dessert menu. A restaurant famous for steak could probably get away with the careless 'three desserts and a coffee' menu that pudding fans dread. So I was pleasantly surprised by the inventiveness on display. I opted for the chocolate and salted caramel tart with popcorn ice cream. The tart was a very rich, very grown-up dessert, which really came alive when eaten with the sensational ice cream. The single scoop was unusual but delicious, and included small pieces of popcorn which added an unexpected texture dimension.

My brother ordered the intriguing cornflake sundae, which was disappointingly unavailable. He went instead for the sticking toffee pudding sundae-I was sceptical about my favourite dessert in sundae form, but upon tasting I found it to be a joyous thing. Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the bold cooking, flavours and presentation at Hawksmoor. 8.5/10.

Diner

If you're in an "only a burger can fix this" mood, but hate finishing your Big Mac and thinking, "I could eat another ten of those," The Diner on Ganton Street is the place for you.

Despite the fact it was 3pm on Wednesday afternoon, the restaurant was buzzing. We had a brief wait at the bar before our rock-chick waitress showed us to our table.

Uncharacteristically, I overestimated my eating prowess by ordering a cheeseburger, cheesy fries and a chocolate and vanilla milkshake. This should give you an idea of the classic American fare on offer. 

We both had a cheese OD as my friend went for macaroni cheese with a side of cheesy fries.The menu offers a selection of cheeses to accompany the dishes. I went for Monterey Jack, but would've liked cheddar as an option, as for me, it is the cheese par excellence for  a gourmet burger (and I belong to a family in which "cheesing" is a verb i.e. "are you cheesing?")

The food is served in pleasingly trashy plastic baskets. We decided that for future visits, one basket of cheesy fries would suffice as a side for two healthy appetites. 

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic milkshakes are available. I went for the virgin option. It is best to think of the milkshake as less of a drink and more of a dessert, as we both needed to order a more hydrating beverage. 

The burger was a tempting combination of flavoursome beef, cheese, tomato, onion and lettuce. Just don't expect to be asked how you'd like it cooked.

The cheesy chips were delicious and just what I needed after traipsing around the British Museum's fantastic Ice Age Exhibition. 

The Diner gets +1 point for service for our friendly and accommodating Anglo-American waitress. 

We met up with my friend's sister after our meal and she expressed envy at our trip. She said: "if you don't feel at least a little bit sick after going to that place you haven't done it right." I think it's fair to say that by that token, we most certainly did it right.

7.5/10

Chiquito, Basildon

My friends and I went for a Christmas meal at Chiquitos, a Mexican Restaurant at Basildon’s Festival Leisure Park. There is a good cocktail list-I recommend the sweet, Disaranno based MexiPop. Some of us had pre-ordered our meals and some hadn’t, but the staff were obliging about our mix-and-match approach.

The table was decked out in Christmas crackers, party poppers and balloons. I appreciated the festive spirit put into our table, although my cracker gift was the weirdest thing I have ever seen-a small pair of plastic orange lips. Still, you never know when you will be invited to a goldfish fancy-dress party.

My starter was a tub of barbecue chicken wings; there were a lot of them, so it’s a good thing they tasted great. My main was a chicken and chorizo skewer. This was served on a sizzling hot plate, meaning that sides like sweetcorn continued to cook after it arrived. I liked the fun presentation of the dish. It also came with sweet-potato chips, but given the size of the main plate, the chips were surplus to requirement. For dessert, I had a honeycomb cheesecake served with a small pot of melted chocolate. The chocolate was unnecessary but tasty, and the cake, topped with chocolate-coated honeycomb, was the highlight of my meal.

                                                                                

Other highlights included: fajitas, with the wraps served separately to an array of fillings, so that the diner can create whatever kind of wrap they want; Churros, the Mexican donut strips; and ice-cream Sundaes. There was also a monster Strawberry Daquiri served in a glass which could have contained an entire Dita von Teese Burlesque act.

While I love a three-course meal, given the size of the portions at Chiquitos, I would advise visitors to stick to two-courses. My friend had a burger which included two giant patties, which would challenge even Hunger, the erstwhile Shreddies mascot. The service, while friendly, was also a little slow, and our booking deposit was not deducted from the first copy of our bill, although our cheerful waitress was quick to correct the error. It was also good value at three courses for £19.95 from the Christmas menu.

A Visual Representation of My Main Course

Overall: 7/10