Restaurant review | Hawksmoor, Spitalfields



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.
Hawksmoor, Spitalfields, London, Cocktails, Desert Island Drinks
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. 
Hawksmoor, Spitalfields, London, Steak, Fine Dining
Hawksmoor, Spitalfields, London, Steak, Fine Dining
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.
All Bar One, Cocktails, Bishopsgate, London, Summer
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

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