Hawksmoor Air Street

When a restaurant's described as the best steak place in town, it'd be rude not to try it out, right? Hawksmoor's been on the scene for a couple of years now with five restaurants across the city and one in Manchester about to open but I still hadn't found the time to go. Until last week.

After a killer start to the evening at Aqua Kyoto and Cats, we hoped that Hawksmoor would live up the hype. Skipping down Regent Street for a 10.30 table at the Air Street outpost, we had high hopes - and boy, were they met. The hosts and hostesses in the marble stairs ushered us in, sweeping us up the stairs and into the deeply seductive restaurant that's all dark wood, green leather and stained glass, towards our own little booth. So far, so good.

Onto the food. We'd spend the last couple of days gleefully emailing possible choices and they didn't disappoint. After a last minute addition of salmon tartare crisps - thins topped with the chunkiest, smoothest salmon perfectly seasoned with dill - we dived into the potted beef and bacon with yorkshires. Two huge and puffy puddings were ideal for scooping up the smooth meat and topping with the bacon and gravy, and we passed forks back and forth across the table hungrily. I opted for the Brixham crab on toast - a generous portion of white meat with the smoother brown hiding beneath, it was light enough to counter S's beef but so flavourful I ate every last scrap.

Next up were steaks. Naturally. S went for the fillet which was expertly served rare-medium whilst I had the steak tartare - it only comes as a starter portion and I didn't think to order two as a main but the portion size was just right in the end. Many wordless minutes were spent as we savoured the brilliantly seasoned dishes (mine, of course, had a perfect egg yolk on top and S's steak lived up to its reputation as the best steak in London, of course, ) - and then greedily spooned the truffled macaroni cheese onto our plates. We ordered the triple cooked chips too but the best side had to be the creamed spinach - a dense pot crammed with creamy, nutmeg laced leaves that we've both been dreaming of ever since. The stilton hollandaise deserves a mention as well - a rich, tangy sauce that saw frequent dunks from chips and steaks alike.

At this point, two bottles of wine down, we were completely defeated but couldn't resist the Salted Caramel Rolos to take away; these homemade chocolates come served in a beautiful box and were achingly naughty, keeping us going all weekend.

Hawksmoor really does pull out all the stops. From the buzzy atmosphere and the fantastically friendly and attentive staff to the impeccable food, this is one place I'm glad I've finally made it to. Definitely a five out of five - all that's left is to try the others, just to make sure, of course.

Forge & Co

Sports luxe. Colourful clothes. Beyonce. You know when practically everyone you know is raving about something but you just don't get it? That's kind of how I feel about Forge & Co. I want to like this place - there's bits about it that I absolutely love - but if my feelings were actions, they'd be something akin to a half-hearted shrug.

When Zomato and Forge & Co invited me down last week, I jumped at the chance. The twinkling windows opposite Shoreditch's Ace Hotel had caught my eye on more than one occasion but I hadn't yet made it inside the juggernaut that combines a canteen, bar and workspaces. I've heard it's great for brunch and judging by the buzzing and welcoming bar when we swept inside, it's popular in the evenings.

After a glass of wine at the bar - well stocked and well lit with a contemporary industrial feel, we were shown to our table. There's a mixtures of long benches for groups, individuals for two and low sofas for those wanting to kick back. I sat looking out over the restaurant which gave me ample opportunity to observe everyone else being served and waited on apart from us.

We waited for half an hour for a food menu - we decided to see how long it would take but then hunger pangs made us intervene - and to have our drinks refreshed. We went for a bottle of Lebanese red which was gloriously smooth and moreish, and brought to the table by one of the warmest, friendliest barmen I've ever been served by in London. Swings and roundabouts, right?

We decided to order the meat sharing platter to start which was loaded with 'British air dried meats' that looked suspiciously like prosciutto and parma ham, chorizo and duck (which tasted more like pork) rillettes. Okay, not the best order to test a kitchen's mettle but it was tasty nevertheless and a generous portion for the two of us.

I'd had my heart set on the whole lobster (£34) so ordered that - to be told that I wouldn't be able to manage it - so plumped for the whole seabass before deciding that, actually, I didn't want to go for my fail-safe fish and I really did want the crustacean after all, no matter how huge. What came out was half the size of the Burger & Lobster offerings (which are between 1lb and 2lb) and definitely not enough to satisfy one person, let alone two. S ordered the rib-eye steak (£21) which came overcooked with a small bit of watercress on the side and some soggy chips. Hmm.

Perhaps we were expecting too much from a place that models itself on canteen dining - but at these sorts of prices, we were expecting slightly better quality. And service. We waited twenty minutes more for our plates to be cleared, putting us completely off ordering any puddings, and realistically any return visits. As we left, the manager was apologetic and explained that he didn't know we'd been there to review - but I don't feel this is an excuse as every diner deserves to be treated well, whether or not they're reviewng the place.

As I said, there are a few good points about Forge & Co: the nice bar, the fab barman and the excellent music. What I left with, however, were the not so good of the poor service and average food. Rating? Three out of five.

You can view the full menu at Zomato and follow me here.

& other places: Grillshack, Dean Street Townhouse, La Maison Touareg

The weeks recently have been a mismatch of crazy hours at work, that aforementioned tube strike and some spontaneous meals in new (and some not so new) places.

Grillshack
A couple of weeks ago, I went to Grillshack. I'd been heading for Flat Iron but knew the risk of a queue to be far too likely and it was too cold to be jigging around outside. We wanted a meat fix (L's trying the Atkins diet out) so my immediate thoughts of Spuntino or a naughty burger went straight out the window. Described as a modern take on the traditional American diner, Grillshack's sprung up in the heart of Soho and seems to be fairly busy. All white subway tiles with a snazzily little decal explaining how it works, this place looks quite good on paper. But in reality, I was left cold. The waiting staff were a little distracted, the 'serving yourself' process wasn't as slick as it should be and the food was disappointing. With a very small menu (and calling itself Grillshack) you'd expect the steak to be bang on - as it's flattened to within an inch of it's life you can only have it served medium. Ouch. And flavour? What flavour? The radish slaw was watery and the fries weren't great. The only redeeming factors were the green olives and the price - unbelievably cheap - but these definitely aren't enough to deserve a return visit.

Dean Street Townhouse
Now Dean Street Townhouse is a funny one. It's a beautiful building inside and out, always busy and the staff are all good at what they do, but I feel that there's always a slight mismatch with the food. The menu is classically British, but don't go expecting any contemporary cuisine, as you're more likely to find 'mince and potatoes' and 'chicken and mushroom pie' over any foams and flambes. We went for a work lunch with a client and dove straight into the warm homemade bread and salted butter, before I went for the roasted cod with monk's beard and chanterelles. It was divine, with the fish perfectly flaking to melt in the mouth. The salty sauce, monk's beard and chanterelles added some different textures and I even resisted my boss's fat chips to go for the sprouting broccoli. It was an understated but great dish, I just can't help but wish there was more life to the menu as this place is right up my street.

La Maison Touareg
This was a rather spontaneous choice from my boss's boyfriend fancying Moroccan/Lebanese food. There's not a huge number of places who serve up these Arabic favourites so we ended up at La Maison Touareg on a quiet Wednesday night. Inside, the decor is an opulent deep red and dark wood, rugs cover the floors and there's mandala patterns all over the place. We started with mezze to share - houmous, tabbouleh, calamari, falafel, baba ghannouj (to die for), illakenek (grilled spicy sausages), kofte nleshwi (grilled minced lamb with herbs) and lashings of warm pitta. Small but moreish, these were the perfect entrees. The boys went for the lamb tagines and cous cous for mains - all aromatic and served in authentic terracotta ware - and the meat slid right off the bone. I'm not the biggest fan so stuck with more mezze and feasted away; it seems that London's love of small plates suits me right down to the ground. The waiting staff were a bit fumbly and confused (bringing us the wrong wine and dishes at the wrong time) and there wasn't much atmosphere to speak of on a blustery Wednesday night. Apparently belly dancers spice things up at weekends but I don't think I'll be going back.

Bouchon Fourchette

Described as an unlikely outpost of fine French food, Bouchon Fourchette sits between Mare Street stalwarts The Dolphin and Tre Viet and is the lovechild of Jeremy Huguet. Opening in March, I've only just got round to checking it out - shameful seeing as it's less than a ten minute walk from my house.

Monday night is perhaps not the most obvious of nights to eat out on, so it came as no surprise that we were the only people in there (until two other tables who made an appearance later). We picked the largest table and were given full attention by the two friendly front-of-house staff. Clipboard menus are divided into 'apero', 'mains', 'boards' (for two to share) and 'sides'. We knew what we both wanted for mains but after a lot of debate settled on the rillettes (£4) and saucisson (£3.50) to start. Hugely generous portions with plenty of fresh, thinly sliced baguette, we made a great choice.

We moved on to steak tartare frites (£11) - raw steak, roughly handchopped and seasoned with capers, worcestershire sauce, pepper (tabasco to taste), topped with a raw egg. Not one for the faint-hearted but this is one of the best I've ever tasted (Bistrotheque down the road do a mean one too) and the chips were perfectly seasoned and served in a brown paper bag.

We shared a bottle of the merlot and passed on the desserts (far too full!). Service was attentive but not intrusive, food was served on lovely wooden boards and the restaurant itself was staunchly bistro. Simple, classic French food done well (I was very tempted by the baked camembert to share), the prices here are ridiculously good (see above) and I'm definitely planning to return with friends. Bouchon Fourchette gets four out of five (because of the Monday vibe meant things were a little quiet!)