Hawksmoor Is the Anti-Peter Luger (2024)

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You’ve probably heard of the “Roast Beef of Old England,” but what about its steaks? Founded in 2006 in London, Hawksmoor is a steakhouse chain, with locations in London, Manchester, Dublin, and Edinburgh, that established its first American branch in the Flatiron District two years ago, at 109 East 22nd Street near Park Avenue South. Another American branch will debut in Chicago this summer. In honor of the news, I decided to check in to see if it’s still good.

Hawksmoor is the anti-Peter Luger: Instead of one steak in several sizes, it offers a great range of steaks, sometimes sold by the ounce. The selection is akin to Porter House Bar & Grill or Vinyl Steakhouse, with a broad list of sides instead of the usual hash browns and creamed spinach. And instead of being limited to Wall Streeters, high rollers, and the steak-obsessed, Hawksmoor attracts families who look like they might be contemplating a UK vacation.

But where do the steaks come from? You may be relieved to learn they are actually sourced in the States, “at family farms from North Carolina to Missouri,” our waiter said, with the website citing, “upstate New York, Pennsylvania, and New England.”

Perhaps more remarkable than the actual steaks is the setting. The restaurant occupies the ground floor of the United Charities Building, a Victorian edifice built in 1893 for a consortium of Protestant charities by Scottish-born banker John Steward Kennedy.

The vibe: Up a few steps from the street is a barroom that shoots directly toward the rear wall of the premises. It looks like any Irish bar (the nearby Old Town, for example), with mottled gray walls, white pillars, dark wood accents, and glinting light fixtures.

A short walk down a perpendicular hallway leads past a glassed-in wine cellar to a vast dining room with a vaulted and mortised ceiling, and concentric rings of tables with heavy green-upholstered chairs and banquettes. Light tumbles down from the ceiling, making for a stunning setting that recalls a museum or a cathedral. The room was already half full when my party of four arrived at 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday, and were seated under a sign that read, “Beef and Liberty.”

The tables around us quickly filled with families — children in tow — seated at the largest tables in the center, and younger dating couples around the room’s periphery. There were very few men in suits, and even fewer guests with English accents.

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The food: The steaks are grilled over charcoal, so that even those cooked rare have a nice char and faint smoky taste. But the list of steaks is so complicated, you’d better study your options before you arrive. Basically, there are cheaper cuts with prices listed, and more glamorous examples sold by the ounce. But you can’t just get just any size; you have to consult a chalkboard that dictates a range. Prices topped out at $264 for a 44-ounce Chateaubriand, for those who don’t worry too much about price.

Being cheapskates, my party went for a 14-ounce bone-in rib-eye ($70), which was our favorite, juicy, fatty, cooked medium rare. The 12-ounce strip steak ($54) we tried was deficient in marbling, and basically a more boring cut of meat. At the suggestion of Ryan Sutton, we paired it with a half lobster ($35) drenched in garlic butter for a do-it-yourself surf and turf, almost enough for two. Sutton had also recommended the rump steak at $40, but the waiter reported they were out of this cheapest cut.

Contrary to the steakhouse ethos, Hawksmoor offers a vast range of starters and sides; in fact you could make a whole meal of them. The fries cooked in beef fat were spectacular, while the stubby carrots bathed in mustard and cider were squishy and repulsive. Bone marrow appears several times on the menu: The one we ordered was heaped with (too many) caramelized onions. Creamed spinach was great. Louisiana Gulf shrimp, while luscious and fresh, were regrettably breaded too thick. Best of all was a Caesar salad with plenty of anchovies. There are a smattering of English items on the menu, including potted beef and bacon, sticky toffee pudding, and the odd option of having any steak served with two fried eggs.

What to drink: We tried several selections on the by-the-glass list, which is on the expensive side ($16 to $60) and not a particularly good value. The three reds we tried, two Spanish and one Italian, were lackluster and served too warm. Settle on a bottle of wine and share it: The long list sees plenty of action in the $80 range — a dense and flinty French Chinon for example, or a lighter California red blend from Ridge Vineyards. Or go on Monday, when the corkage fee is reduced to $10. The beer selection is slender, but includes a Fuller’s London Pride amber ale ($9) not on the list.

Some tips: Use your calculator because figuring out how much the premium steaks are gonna cost is a mathematical feat. Sit in the bar only if you want the slightly mustardy burger ($28) made of short rib and rib-eye trimmings; it’s only available there and worth trying.