Hawksmoor, who clearly have a strong sense of their USP, have somehow found a way to level up the Christmas dinner, while still keeping it essentially un-messed with: your usual roast meats have been replaced with vast, Henry VII-style sharing platters of steak.
If that sounds like an appealing change from dry turkey, it’s because it is. The Hawksmoor festive menu is a masterclass in pushing the boat out, but without venturing into the realm of the seasonal gimmick.
On arrival, there are festive tipples like an elegant champagne cocktail, or a Hawksmoor signature drink, the sour cherry negroni. Then the feasting begins. There are three tiers of menus available, each named after a different prize breed of cattle and available as two or three courses.
Up front, there’s a raft of perfectly balanced salads like smoked mackerel and potato, as well as a delicate beef carpaccio. Roasted scallops and smoked salmon are also present on the ‘Hawkabelle’ – the most extravagant version of the menu.
Christmas is rarely about salads though. The main event is undoubtedly the steaks, which arrive sharing-style on cast iron skillets for large parties, who can choose to dine in the restaurant, or the plush private dining room. (Parties of all sizes can enjoy our regular steak menu with festive sides).
The ‘Moonlighter’ version of the menu (£62 for 2 courses, £67 for three) means you can feast on a selection of sirloin, rump and prime rib. The ‘Silvertail’ (£73/£78) swaps out the rump for T-bone, while the ‘Hawkabelle’ (£93/98) goes all out with a selection of prime rib, porterhouse and chateaubriand.
Pescatarians and vegetarians can opt for a charcoal-grilled monkfish or a celeriac and cheese-heavy Winslade wellington, made with the award-winning, Camembert-esque Winslade cheese from Hampshire.
The trimmings line-up includes all the classics, and while the world ‘elevated’ gets over used, these sides have been sprinkled with just the right amount of festive flair to make them a pretty irresistible offering.
There’s a creamy parsnip puree topped with tiny bacon cubes, a steaming-hot macaroni cheese served in a mini skillet, and maple-glazed ‘cows’ in blankets – a beef alternative to the pork classics. Sprouts are jazzed up with a steak sausage and essential carbs like mash and triple-cooked chips are satisfyingly straightforward. The gravy is a crowd-pleaser; rich, flavoursome and abundant.
If by some miracle your appetite is not satisfied after all that, there’s a couple of desserts to go at too – a rich and homely sticky toffee pudding, and a bright and fruity pavlova. A Neal’s Yard cheese board is available for the sweet-averse, and the digestif menu – with espresso scoretto, Amalfi sgroppino and a ‘full fat’ Old Fashioned – is enough to send you on your merry way.
Helpfully, if you get to this point of your festive meal and realise you’ve dropped the ball on some of your Christmas shopping, you can pick up gift vouchers, books and boxes of chocolate to take home too, which is a thoughtful touch.
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