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.
