db Eats: Hawksmoor Borough

db’s Lucy Shaw heads to the seventh incarnation of Hawksmoor in Borough for divine lobster, sublime steak and indecently good maple bacon donuts.

The concept: When a restaurant wildly succeeds, there is a temptation to replicate this success, though often sister sites fail to recapture the magic of the original. Not so with Hawksmoor, which has slowly but confidently built its brand in London over the last decade to a total of seven steakhouses, including one in Manchester.

Run by Will Beckett and Huw Gott, the goal is simple: to serve the best British steaks in the county. All of the beef used at Hawksmoor comes from free roaming, grass-fed cattle and is dry-aged for a minimum of 35 days for added flavour.

With sites in Covent Garden, Spitalfields and in the City, the dynamic duo’s latest venture lies a stone’s throw away from Borough Market, giving them access to a daily bounty of fresh British produce.

The décor: While all branches of Hawksmoor share a certain visual identity, each has its own character, from the gorgeous jade green Art Deco windows at Air Street to the blue tiled basement bar in Spitalfields.

The 160-cover Borough site has a cosy, historical feel to it, with obsidian green walls, lashings of weathered timber, black leather banquettes, a parquet floor and table tops pilfered from a school chemistry lab.

The space itself has an interesting history, having once served as a Victorian hop warehouse and later an auction hall for ‘colonial and foreign fruit’.

The food: As you might expect, British beef is the star of the show here – this isn’t a place to take your gluten free vegan friend, as they’ll be left nibbling on a sprig of broccoli among guffawing groups of businessmen with the meat sweats.

The menu is confidently brief, fitting neatly onto a single page. The food is comforting rather than fussy, with starters ranging from crab on toast and potted smoked mackerel to bone marrow with onions.

Crustacean lovers should opt for the half portion of Dartmouth lobster with brown butter. The pairing of the sweet, soft meat and the rich, warm, melted butter is almost too much to bear.

Signature dishes: No trip to Hawksmoor would be complete without a steak – it would be like going to the cinema and leaving after the trailers. My dining buddy and I made short work of the 600g medium-rare, salt-rubbed, bone-in prime rib.

Served perfectly pink, the meat was tender, juicy and as good as anything you’d find in Argentina. Slathering it in anchovy hollandaise felt sacrilegious, but added an interesting layer of flavour to the meat.

The addictive maple bacon donuts

There is something honest, pure and primal about enjoying a steak, and given the damage excessive meat consumption is doing to our planet, the side dish of guilt somehow adds to the enjoyment.

As for the actual sides, while the golden, fluffy, triple-cooked chips were on point, the purple sprouting broccoli with chili promised more than it delivered, giving the impression that the sides are something of an afterthought to the main event.

The drinks: Hawksmoor was one of the first restaurants to excel on the cocktail front and help revolutionise the cocktail offerings in London restaurants. The Borough site continues this tradition.

My appetite-whetting Tom & Jerez tasted like Spain in a glass, blending Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, Sherry, pear, lemon and almond in a divine union of nutty, sweet and sour flavours.

The restaurant also offers a decent selection of wines by the glass, from classic steak pairings like the generous, velvety Pulenta Estate Malbec to less likely but equally compatible reds like a sprightly, juicy Barbera/Merlot/Cabernet blend from Piedmont producer Braida.

Don’t leave without: Ordering the dripping donuts with maple bacon – these oozing balls of sweet-salty deliciousness are off the charts – it’s well worth taking a bag home for the road if you don’t have room for them after your chateaubriand.

Last word: Building on the success of its older siblings, Hawksmoor Borough is sure to be a hit with both SE1 locals and tourists tumbling in from the market. Like its other sites, the atmosphere is jovial and informal and the service informative and friendly.

The Borough branch has enough character to emerge as a destination restaurant, and you’ll be hard pressed to find tastier steak in the capital, but perhaps more attention could be paid to the meat-free offerings on the menu.

Hawksmoor Borough, 16 Winchester Walk, London SE1 9AQ; Tel: +44 (0)20 7234 9940.