Hawksmoor Edinburgh: Best steak in Scotland

Hawksmoor Edinburgh steaks and side dishes.

‘STEAKS AND SIDES’: Mouth-watering steaks and various sides at Hawksmoor Edinburgh. Photo: Hawksmoor Edinburgh.

HAWKSMOOR
23 W. Register St., Edinburgh
EH2 2AA, United Kingdom
Menu: thehawksmoor.com
Phone: +44 131 526 4790
Reservations: thehawksmoor.com, opentable.co.uk, quandoo.co.uk

By Scott Harrah

EDINBURGH, UK—Planning to spend a few days in Edinburgh for the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival (August 4 to August 28, 2023) and not sure where to have a great meal before or after a show? Look no further than Hawksmoor Edinburgh, located on St. Andrew Square, near all the theatres in the Scottish capital. Hawksmoor is a chain of upmarket British steakhouses with many locations in London as well as one in Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin and a restaurant in New York. The Edinburgh Hawksmoor is located in the former headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland and is spacious and roomy, the perfect place to relax after walking around the hills and cobblestones of this medieval city. Americans often think of haggis when Scottish food is mentioned, but one won’t find any here. Instead, diners can choose entrees ranging from the finest Scottish beef to fresh local seafood. We’ve been to two of the Hawksmoor locations in London—both outstanding—and the Edinburgh Hawksmoor is also excellent. Whenever we are in the UK, eating at a Hawksmoor at least once is always a must.

The restaurant offers a limited “Edinburgh Express Menu” for anyone wanting a pre- or post-theatre meal, with two to three courses ranging from £25 to £28.

We decided to enjoy the full Hawksmoor experience after a long day in Edinburgh. Hawksmoor has an extensive menu of various cocktails, but I enjoyed a couple glasses of Braida “Hawksmoor Blend” Barbera/Merlot 2019 which went great with the gluttonous amount of meat I ate that evening. We were served by the excellent Heather and general manager Thiago.

I started with the half native lobster with garlic butter while my dining partner chose the Isle of Mull scallops, roasted with white port and garlic. British lobster tastes similar to Maine or Nova Scotia lobster but has a slightly different consistency and a lighter taste, yet is brilliant nonetheless. My partner said his scallops were light and fresh. Both appetizers were not too heavy, and that’s important when one is about to indulge in Hawksmoor’s world-famous steaks.

Edinburgh Hawksmoor has an impressive menu of sides, from triple-cooked chips to beef-dripping fries, mash and gravy, macaroni and cheese, creamed spinach, Hawksmoor Caesar salad, buttered lettuce and herb salad to maple bacon. We chose the triple-cooked chips, macaroni and cheese and creamed spinach. The chips and creamed spinach were amazing. The macaroni and cheese was good too, but not as creamy as what one finds back in the USA.

The Hawksmoor is famous for its steaks, and you can choose from bone-in prime rib, porterhouse, T-Bone and Chateaubriand (all three of which are big portions, so sharing is recommended). Also available are the fillet (275g), rib-eye (350g), sirloin (350g) and rump (300g), served with a selection of sauces, ranging from béarnaise, peppercorn, bone marrow gravy to anchovy hollandaise or Stilton hollandaise.

The large cuts of Chateaubriand, Bone-in Prime Rib, Porterhouse and T-Bone are huge indeed—strictly for true carnivores. As the menu says, “These steaks are priced per 100g and are dependent on what we have in stock. They are big and don’t generally come any smaller than 500g. Good if you’re hungry or for two to share.”

I had the Chateaubriand—probably way too much Scottish beef for one person—but it was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, cooked medium rare the way I like it, with Hawksmoor’s amazing peppercorn sauce on the side. The steak was so good; however, I really didn’t need much sauce. My dining partner said his T-bone was superb as well, cooked medium, and he had trouble finishing it because the steak was so big.

Although we were already stuffed, we could not resist sharing the Hawksmoor’s famous sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream. Most Americans have only seen this standard dessert in the British Isles on TV cooking shows from the U.K. because it is almost never found in American restaurants. We’re fans of the fattening treat and have tried it in many British restaurants, but nobody does sticky toffee pudding like Hawksmoor. It consists of steamed sponge cake filled with chopped dates and sultanas (golden raisins) and covered with a toffee sauce. We asked our friendly waitress Heather whether the dessert is better with vanilla ice cream on top or clotted cream. She kindly offered to bring us both vanilla ice cream and clotted cream.

Clotted cream, for Americans who have never tried it, is sometimes called Devonshire or Cornish cream and is made by heating full cow’s milk cream and then leaving it to cool, and it eventually forms “clots.” We tried the pudding with both the ice cream and clotted cream. When Heather asked us which we preferred—ice cream or clotted cream?—we had no definitive answer as Hawksmoor’s sticky toffee pudding is a sinful delight either way.

Whether you are in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival in August or just visiting Edinburgh as a tourist, Hawksmoor Edinburgh is a definite “must” on your restaurant list as they have some of the best steaks in Scotland.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 15, 2023
Reviewed on June 13, 2023 in London