Sirloin, ribeye, rump, fillet, tomahawk, picanha; whichever cut of beef you prefer, you’ve been exceedingly well catered for since London went steak crazy around a decade-and-a-half ago. First came Hawksmoor, which opened in Spitalfields in 2006, followed by Goodman in Mayfair in 2008 – heralding the start of a who-does-it-better rivalry that continues to this day (honestly, Luxury London couldn’t choose).

The more-affordable Flat Iron opened its (first) doors in Shoreditch in 2012, followed, in 2014, by City-favourite M Restaurant (from the former managing director of Gaucho), surf-and-turf specialist Beast (from the same team as Goodman), and party restaurant STK (of Manhattan fame).

It had been a few years since the capital welcomed a flashy new steak restaurant – the venture capital started drying up as large-scale meat-eating temples began falling out of vogue (some time after Blacklock and Smith & Wollensky opened in 2015). Now, however, it looks like dry-aged meat – and British meat at that – is back on the menu.

At the end of 2021, Hawksmoor launched a sprawling, two-storey meat hangar in Canary Wharf, where, in 2022, M Restaurants opened another site at the base of Newfoundland Place. Indeed, it seems Canary Wharf has become ground zero for London’s steak explosion. Time, then, to point you in the direction of the best grilled cow in town…

Beast, Marylebone

Where: 3 Chapel Place, W1G 0BG

Why: The best steak restaurant in the capital, in Luxury London’s humble opinion. Grass-fed breeds from the Lake District feature alongside international cuts of premium wagyu and Kobe from Japan, USDA beef from Nebraska and MSA-graded steaks from Australia. All are slow-cooked over a mix of oak, birch, chestnut, hazel and alder charcoal, and served in a candlelit, industrial-chic basement restaurant hidden behind Oxford Street. Superb.

What you can expect to spend: Japanese wagyu Sirloin (A5 Grade, minimum 400g), £50/100g; Japanese Kobe (A5 Grade, minimum 400g), £90/100g; USDA Nebraska, bone-in ribeye, £17/100g

Visit beastrestaurant.com

Blacklock, across London

Where: The City, Covent Garden, Shoreditch, Soho and Canary Wharf

Why: Inspired by traditional chophouses of the 17^th century and established to democratise premium steak, Blacklock prides itself on serving prime cuts for considerably less than London’s other beef-centric restaurants. It champions native and rare breed meat, working with Cornwall’s oldest butchers, the Warren Family. Had a heavy Saturday? Blacklock’s Sunday roasts have almost eclipsed the reputation of its steaks. Unpretentious, fair-priced fun.

What you can expect to spend: Rump cap, £18; porterhouse, £10/100g; bone-in sirloin, £9.50/100g

Visit theblacklock.com

Cut at 45 Park Lane, Mayfair

Where: 45 Park Lane, W1K 1PN

Why: Not only was Cut at 45 Park Lane the first European restaurant from renowned Austrian chef Wolfgang Puck, it also became, in 2014, the first restaurant in London to serve the previously unattainable Japanese wagyu beef. Puck has since been replaced as head chef by Elliott Grover, who serves a selection of Japanese pure A5 wagyu, USDA prime beef, and Australian tomahawk alongside red wine bordelaise, green peppercorn and creamy horseradish sauces.

What you can expect to spend: Australian wagyu filet mignon, £110/6oz; 28-day dry-aged native beef ribeye steak, £72/12oz; Japanese wagyu ribeye steak, £170/8oz

Visit dorchestercollection.com

Flat Iron, across London

Where: Borough, Covent Garden, King’s Cross, London Bridge, Marylebone, Shoreditch, Soho, Spitalfields, Tottenham Court Road

Why: Charlie Carroll founded Flat Iron in Shoreditch in 2012 with this simple mission statement: to make remarkable steak accessible to all. He worked his way through a list of 38 different beef suppliers before choosing to work with third-generation, native-herd farmer Charles Ashbridge from Yorkshire. During his research, Carroll discovered that little-known secondary cuts from the very best beef were still exceptionally tasty and, just as importantly, reasonably affordable. Hence the flagship Flat Iron steak for just £14.

What you can expect to spend: Flat Iron steak, £14; wagyu steak of the day, £22

Visit flatironsteak.co.uk

Goodman, across London

Where: Canary Wharf, The City and Mayfair

Why: It may not have been the most auspicious of timings, launching a big-ticket steak restaurant just as Lehman Brothers went down, but since Goodman opened in Mayfair in 2008 it has carved out a reputation as one of London’s top steak restaurants – especially among finance types, having opened sister premises in Canary Wharf and the Square Mile. Cosy and congenial, each outpost apes the steakhouses of Manhattan. Yet while Goodman’s most premium cuts may come from the states, the restaurant also does a lip-smacking line of steaks from cows reared in Scotland, Yorkshire and the Lake District. The ultimate business lunch (and even better if you can stick it on the company card).

What you can expect to spend: Scottish fillet, £36/250g; USDA New York strip, £47/350g; Australian ribeye, £43/350g

Visit goodmanrestaurants.com

Hawksmoor, across London

Where: Bank, Canary Wharf, Covent Garden, Knightsbridge, London Bridge, Spitalfields, Piccadilly Circus

Why: Possibly the most favourably-reviewed steak restaurant in London. “The best steak I have ever eaten in this country,” crowed Jay Rayner. “It was perfectly done,” said Giles Coren. Even the late AA Gill called it “decent”. High praise indeed. Whereas some steak restaurants believe that the best beef comes from Japan or Argentina or Australia or the United States, the team at Hawksmoor says that the best steaks come from cattle carefully reared in Britain. And so they source their meat from small farms around the country and from cattle that led a stress-free life and were fed on a natural diet of grass and hay. We have Hawksmoor to thank for putting British beef back on the map.

What you can expect to spend: Ribeye, £44/400g; Sirloin, £42/400g; Rump, £27/300g

Visit thehawksmoor.com

Lurra, Marylebone

Where: 9 Seymour Place, W1H 5BA

Why: Not, specifically speaking, a steak restaurant, Lurra is a small but beautiful Basque grill in Marylebone. It was, however, one of the first restaurants in the capital to make Galician beef its calling card. The restaurant sources its steaks from a breed of Galician Blonds reared in northern Spain, which are fed on grass and left to enjoy a life of between 12 and 16 years (compared to most UK cattle, which are slaughtered before the age of two). Lurra is also pioneering a new type of beef in the UK by taking ex-dairy cows and letting them retire for a couple of years on grass. This helps struggling dairy farmers and also extends the life of cows destined for mincemeat once they no longer produce enough milk.

What you can expect to spend: More than at Blacklock and Flat Iron; a little less than Hawksmoor and Goodman.

Visit lurra.co.uk

M Restaurant, The City

Where: 60 Threadneedle Street, EC2R 8HP

Why: Martin Williams, formerly managing director of Gaucho, opened the first M Restaurant in the City’s Threadneedle Street in 2014. An expansive, contemporary space that featured a glitzy bar, fancy private dining rooms and retro foosball tables, it quickly garnered a loyal legion of patrons within the Square Mile. M takes its steaks seriously, importing the world’s most premium cuts from the US, Japan and Australia. It takes cooking them just as seriously, with the kitchen boasting chefs that previously worked with Gordon Ramsay, Shannon Bennett and Michel Roux Jr.

What you can expect to spend: Argentinean rump, £22.50/250g; Colorado prime fillet, £79/300g; Japanese kobe wagyu, £150/100g

Visit mrestaurants.co.uk

Nusr-Et, Knightsbridge

Where: 101 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7EZ

Why: Most of the headlines generated by Nusr-Et concentrate on the exorbitant prices charged by the viral, Knightsbridge-based restaurant. Plus, the fact that many of the cuts come covered in gold leaf. To concentrate on the steak, rather than price, for a second, it’s worth noting that Nusr-Et serves only halal beef, mainly USDA prime cuts and, as you’d expect, plenty of Japanese wagyu. OK, so even the slenderest of steaks will set you back three digits, but, as most reviewers begrudgingly admit, the meat at Nusr-Et is some of the best in the capital.

What you can expect to pay: Marbled wagyu tenderloin, £195/400g; giant tomahawk, £630.

Visit nusr-et.com

Omnino, The City

Where: 78-79 Leadenhall Street, EC3A 3DH

Why: Omnino might be the best steak restaurant you’ve never heard of. It was opened by a husband-and-wife team from São Paulo, both previously of Gaucho, near Leadenhall Market in 2014. Omnino uses the same supplier as Hawksmoor and Goodman – which tells you something about the seriousness with which the restaurant takes its steak. Meat comes from grass-fed Argentine Black Angus cows. The décor might be a dark, masculine clash of heavy-chestnut floors, bronze chandeliers, deep-red banquettes, charcoal-grey walls and black metro wall tiles, but the place is lit up by the sunny disposition of the (mainly) South American staff.

What you can expect to spend: Argentine ribeye, £36.50/300g; Argentine sirloin, £32/300g; black truffle fillet, £53/250g

Visit omninorestaurants.com

Smith & Wollensky, Embankment

Where: The Adelphi Building, 1-11 John Adam Street, WC2N 6HT

Why: Fun fact: the name of celebrated New York steakhouse Smith & Wollensky was created by randomly selecting two surnames from a telephone directory. It crossed the pond in 2015 and is the only place in London where you can eat USDA prime steak that has been butchered and dry-aged on-site. Steaks, and other dishes in general, are some of the largest in the capital. As are the prices.

What you can expect to pay: Kansas sirloin, £76/500g; USDA fillet, £76/280g; Snake River Farms wagyu sirloin, £85/300g

Visit smithandwollensky.co.uk

STK London, The Strand and Stratford

Where: The Strand and Stratford

Why: A glitzy American import that brought plenty of prime USDA beef with it. Situated at the base of the design-led ME Hotel (from Foster + Partners) on The Strand, STK was the first non-US outpost of New York’s most social steakhouse group before it expanded to a rooftop in Stratford in 2022. A DJ and dramatic lighting makes STK London a good choice for those looking to party alongside their picanha.

What you can expect to pay: Prices aren't listed, but it's usually mid-range.

Visit stksteakhouse.com

Zelman Meats, Knightsbridge

Where: Harvey Nichols, Fifth Floor, 109-125 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RJ

Why: Bought to you by the group behind Goodman, Burger & Lobster and Beast, Zelman Meats first opened in Soho in 2016 and has subsequently relocated to the fifth floor of Harvey Nics. Originally positioned as the gateway restaurant to the more expensive Goodman and Beast, prices have gradually crept up, so don’t expect steak at Blacklock and Flat Iron rates. The best option is probably the Zelman Plate, which offers a cut of every steak the restaurant serves for £44 for two people (350g per person).

What you can expect to pay: Australian ribeye, £42/350g; Australian picanha, £28/300g; Australian fillet, £47.50/250g

Visit zelmanmeats.com

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