Review of Goodman – Canary Wharf
Goodman is one of those steakhouses that everyone has recommended to me but I never quite got around to going to. I eventually decided to check out one of the restaurants. I noticed that Goodman Canary Wharf was currently ranked the number one steak house so better judge for myself.
Goodman Canary Wharf, overlooks the south dock and is installed in a narrow space, with leather booths which gives it an incredibly intimate and comfortable feeling even if it is completely booked out (as it was at the time). Our waiter, who we eventually determined was alright, approached our table mincing and singing to the background music.
Goodman specialise in corn finished USDA and grass feed Scotch beef. The USDA beef is flown over freeze dried in its large cuts and then aged (see photo below). Unless in the states, I generally do not go for USDA beef as I generally go for grass feed and locally sourced food (or as local as possible) unless of course I’m in something like an Argentine steakhouse. So, the grass feed Scotch was a no brainer. Goodman had their standard options of a 250gm or 400gm Fillet steak as well as blackboard options of various cuts. We opted for a Chateaubriand (the thickest part of the Fillet) at 600gm which came to £72 ordered rare along with a side of fries and starters of Prawns and Tomato and Stilton salad and rum based cocktails (Smoke and Rum). The waiter threw in all the sauces for free, which helped to endear him to us.
It’s not usually something I’d call out, but the free bread here is just amazing. We pretty much inhaled it and were pleased to be resupplied throughout the evening. The cocktails (Rum and Smoke) arrived very promptly and were good but not particularly strong. The starters of prawns and tomato and Stilton salad were on the smaller side, but were quite tasty with the Stilton being particularly smooth and tangy.
The steak arrived, a beautiful fat Chateaubriand with what i’ll call a ‘steakrainbow’ of black-char through to that deep red borderline purple rare beef. The imagery slightly soured by blood pooling at the base of the steaks (see photo). Biting into the steak revealed a crisp exterior with a subtle charcoal taste (from grilling the steak over charcoal) through to a very tender and rare centre that dissolved in the mouth. The steak combined well with the Bearnaise and Stilton sauces while the pepper sauce was underwhelming.
I went to Goodman based on word of mouth and to the canary wharf branch because it’s rated as the best in London. So is it? It’s definitely one of the best in London. As we left we observed a rather large man digging into a well done steak. It’s animal cruelty and it just breaks my heart to see a cow killed twice like that. I smiled and advised that leather was for wearing, not eating.
