Review of Knife Restaurant

Knife Restaurant, with its exciting steak menu, has been on my hit list for some time. I finally ventured out to Clapham in South-West London to check it out.

Serious steak

Knife Restaurant has a steak menu that will draw the attention of any true steak lover. With four cuts of steak and a different breed for each cut: bavette from a Holstein, rump from a Shorthorn, rib-eye from a Belted Galloway and fillet from a Longhorn. All the beef is sourced from one supplier: Lake District Farms.  At a time when many steakhouses can’t tell you about what you’ve ordered, it was refreshing to go somewhere which could tell you all about the breed and supplier of their steak. 

I was conflicted between going for the Longhorn fillet (as I’ve found Longhorn steak consistently delicious) and the Belted Galloway Rib-Eye, but ended up going for the shorthorn rib-eye because it is typically a tastier cut of steak. I ordered it medium-rare.

After ordering, I sat back and took in the atmosphere of the restaurant. With old wooden floorboards, low dim lights and a layout which creates semi-private places, Knife Restaurant had an intimate feel. There was just a little problem with that: I was seated in a narrow part of the restaurant between the wall and the bar. Every time someone walked past, the wooden planks would shift giving my table a shake.  

The steak

The rib-eye was cut thick and served on a warm black plate with onion and a few greens. My steak was quite firm, but still reasonably tender and with some flavour. The crust was soft with little seasoning and no taste or charcoal from way it was cooked.

I’m not going to say this steak was the best I’ve had, because it wasn’t. But it was a solid well selected, prepared, rested and presented steak. But surprisingly the sides outshone the steak. My sides of mushrooms and ‘stinking’ mac’n’cheese were sensational. The marinated mushrooms were beefier than the beef while the mac’n’cheese was tasty and generously served.

It’s worth adding that shortly before the steak arrived, the waitress served (on the house) a set of mini Yorkshire puddings with gravy ‘while the steak is resting’ . They were fluffy and tasty and it was a nice little touch. In fact, the service throughout was friendly, prompt and always with a smile.

Verdict:

Knife restaurant has solid steak, but the real stars of the show are the sides, tasty drinks as well as the attentive and friendly service. I recommend checking it out, if you’re interested you can click here to book.