Now, aside the brief period I went vegetarian when I was 8 years old for 6 months because my neighbour ripped a butterfly in half, I've always been a fan of meat (insert innuendo), and mostly importantly, steak.
I love everything about a steak supper. Good, red, yummy meat... the sauces (I'm a béarnaise girl but will take a peppercorn too), chunky chips and steamed veg. It's got everything I want in a meal and if I was deserted on a dessert island with one meal for the rest of my life (bla bla bla), it would be a steak supper.
So, imagine my happiness when I popped along to the Manhattan Grill in Canary Wharf last week and found it to be my favourite steak restaurant in the capital.
When I was told it was good, I was a bit bummed to find its IN CANARY WHARF MAAAAN. That's passport material from Crouch End. Being a 'creative' and not setting foot in the suit wearing area of The City, I thought it was a right trek. Turns out, it doesn't take long and canary wharf on a sunny summer eve is actually very pretty.
So steak lovers, I too, have been Hawskmoor, Flat Iron, Gaucho. So, why is Manhattan Grill the best steak in London? There is one major thing that sways it for me. My biggest pet hate is telling the waiter how you like your steak cooked and the chef point blank ignoring it and bringing it out blue. I am a medium-well kind of girl. Blood makes me queasy. I don't care if your snobby chef thinks it "should be eaten a bit pink" or friggin' green with glitter, I like it brown all the way through. I have paid my money and I would like it brown. Not blue, pink, green or gold. Brown.
At Manhattan Grill, the exec chef is Damian Trejo. He's cooked for President Obama and the Dalia Lama. Something about the sentence just informs you that he knows how to follow an instruction. And you would be right.
Our waiter Imran (who is a right legend by the way, go visit and give him a squeeze), started the night by taking us over to their wine tasting area. They have a wine preserving area where they can serve you wonderful vintage wine by the glass. You can pop along, taste all the wines and select a carafe or bottle for your table. We all selected different types and ordered our steaks. Half the table went for an USDa Angus steak, and the other half for Scottish Aberdeen Angus steak. I went for Scottish... no other reason that I figured it travelled less. (I am odd.) They are famous for their Prime American Steaks though. They are USDA Certified prime beef which has been grain fed for 150 days.
You are getting the real deal here, fear not.
The restaurant is nice and the atmosphere is relaxing. The sides are delicious and you can even wave to the chef if the wine takes your fancy as it's an open kitchen. Overall, I literally couldn't fault the place which is why I have declared it my BEST STEAK IN LONDON.
So, go get you steak on and let me know what you thought. I challenge you to introduce me to a better one.