Those
that follow me on Twitter, or aware of my medical history will know I was back
in hospital a couple of weeks ago... Don’t worry I’m okay. To get me over my
trauma, Jake promised me dinner and cocktails in London and booked a table at
Hawksmoor Spitalfields. Steak, wine and cocktails – he definitely know the way
to my heart!
We went to the Seven Dials restaurant last year before we went to see Matilda and it was absolutely
incredible – I just can’t believe it’s taken so long to return! It takes half
an hour to get from Shenfield to Liverpool Street, so we set off early, as the
restaurant was a 10 minute walk from Liverpool Street station. We went past the
Heron Tower en route (can’t wait to go there next weekend!) and then Google
Maps took us down some dodgy looking side streets, but we got there in a good
time and on arrival, head downstairs to the bar.
The
bar area was lovely, with booth seating and dimmed lighting, creating an
intimate but relaxing ambience. The staff were all so friendly and helpful, on
hand to answer questions you may have on the menu; I didn’t understand half of
the cocktails and there’s a bar menu consisting of snacks to enjoy, should you
wish. I didn’t want to spoil my appetite so just went for a drink, choosing the
aptly named The Peach Boys (Woodford,
Cocchi Rosa, Peach, Lemon & Surfin' USA) – incredibly strong but refreshing
all the same. Another of those and I’d have struggled on the stairs, for sure,
heels or no heels!
Once
our table was ready, we went on upstairs to the dining area, which is all open
plan and consists of three areas. You can’t go to Hawksmoor and not have steak,
but both Jake and I opted for fillet steak (cooked blue) and we each ordered a
portion of triple cooked chips, as well as a portion of creamed spinach to
share. I accompanied my steak with peppercorn sauce because Hawksmoor’s is the
nicest, ever; Jake chose bone marrow gravy, as he did the last time. I have to
say the gravy is lovely over chips, but much prefer pepper on my steak! The sides
are big enough to share and I definitely regretted ordering two lots of chips.
The steaks were cooked to perfection, especially given their weight (I think
the fillet is 400g) – although the blackboards display weights of steaks made
for sharing: chateaubriand, t-bone, porterhouse, that kinda thing! A note on
that, once they have run out, the weight gets crossed off the board –
unfortunately they only had 800g+ weights when we were eating, ‘cos I’d have
been happy to share.
Jake
also had a starter – potted beef with bacon, served with Yorkshire pudding and
onion gravy. The potted mixture was almost like a pate in consistency and our
waitress recommended spreading that onto the Yorkshire pudding before dipping
or pouring over the gravy. I tried a little bit as we were presented with two
giant Yorkshires, but I wasn’t a fan. As separate elements, I liked all three,
it was just the concept of them combined.
We
couldn’t manage dessert and instead, ordered the salted caramel rolos. These
came in a portion of three, but we were offered four. I’m glad there were only
three as I couldn’t manage anymore than one; they were so luxurious: rich dark
chocolate and sweet, salty caramel centres. They’d have been great with a
coffee or after-dinner drink but I was still ploughing through the bottle of
wine we’d had with our meal.
The
service was excellent, from the moment we arrived at reception, to the bar
staff and our waitress during dinner – everyone was knowledgeable and genuinely
interested in us, which was great. Although it’s fine dining and formal, there
was that element of friendliness, which made it less stuffy and more
colloquial. Hawksmoor is fast becoming my favourite restaurant and I can’t wait
to return or try out one of their other branches. It’s definitely suited to a
special occasion or date night, though.
We
ended the night with cocktails at All Bar One and I had my favourite: a
Pornstar Martini, followed by a Peach & Rhubarb Collins (garnished with
rhubarb & custard sweets... yum!).
Love,
Lucy xx
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Love, Lucy xx