What's the draw
Hawksmoor's format needs little introduction: top quality, dry-aged beef, sourced from British farms that use traditional methods, and follow the restaurant group's specific guidelines around the quality of the animal's life – the best you'll find anywhere in the world. Seafood comes from Brixham market, masterminded by Mitch Tonks of vaunted restaurant The Seahorse, while veg is also seasonal, local and sustainable. The group's latest site, in Borough Market, goes one step further with this ethos, using produce from its neighbouring suppliers like Cannon & Cannon charcuterie, Wright Brothers' oysters and veg from Natoora.
What to drink
It's no surprise that Hawskmoor's drinks have won awards: they're inventive, they're made with the finest ingredients, and, most importantly, they're delicious. There's a multitude of categories to help you pick your poison, but we went for a pre-prandial Dear Old Pal, a smoky, appetite-whetting concoction of Redbreast 12-year-old whiskey, Noilly Pratt and Lapsang Campari. As for wine, we were guided by the excellent sommelier, and plumped for a light, juicy, spicy red Les Granges Paquenesses 'Le Plou' 2015 poulsard from Jura, France, which was on a dedicated wine list curated to pair with the Market Specials menu.
What to eat
Steak, obviously (we chose the porterhouse). But while the standard menu is as incredible as usual, if you don't order largely from the Market Specials list here, you're doing something very wrong. We had Wright Brothers' oysters, roasted with umami-laden bone marrow; heritage tomatoes topped with melting lardo; monkfish, grilled simply over charcoal; and Jersey Royals, thick spears of asparagus, and a host of other seasonal veg. We also indulged in the mac'n'cheese (it uses five varieties of cheese, dontcha know), and finished with a maple, rye and walnut tart with tangy goat's milk ice cream. Yum, yum and yum.
Market Specials main dishes, about £26; wine from £6.50. 16 Winchester Walk, SE1 9AQ; thehawksmoor.com
