I love Hawksmoor. To me it represents everything a restaurant should be. It picks one thing – steak – and does it superbly. Everything else is designed to enhance and work with that ingredient. From the funky British starters, the red-heavy wine list to the serious puddings and relaxed atmosphere. I’ve been several times now and it never disappoints.

To start I had crab on toast – a fluffy mound of fresh white crabmeat on good bread. Simple, tasty and well seasoned.

For the main event we shared both a bone-in sirloin and a ribeye. The steaks were cooked beautifully – thick cut, well aged and with an excellent char. The rib-eye was medium rare (as requested) and the extra time helps soften up the meat. The sirloin was nicely rare and really showcased the texture of the meat. I can’t get over how good the fat is on beef that’s been dry aged this long.

The sides were great as ever – they’ve changed the beef dripping chips from mini-roast potatoes to French style fries – but the same beefy flavour works so well with the steak. Triple cooked chips were more traditional and as crunchy as you would expect. We also ordered some creamed spinach which was a great match, smooth and with a lovely mineral hit. Wine was a very reasonably priced Bordeaux: classy, sophisticated and with a lovely nose.

The dessert menu had also moved on since my last visit – my chocolate salted caramel tart was superb – the base was very crisp. The popcorn ice cream was a lovely touch, but could have done with some more crunch. My friends warm peanut butter shortbread was delicious with some excellent salted caramel ice cream.

The finishing touch was a couple of great whiskies from their extensive selection – a near-perfect meal. I can’t wait to try out their new site in Air Street which has started doing fish as well as meat.