STK London

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years, you’re likely to have come across STK’s famous Instagram wall at some point while you do your daily (or hourly) timeline scroll – and no wonder. When it comes to the glam factor, this spot delivers on all fronts.

With its vowel-free moniker, super-sleek looks, DJs on the decks and a ‘dress to impress’ code (check if your threads will pass muster on the website), STK certainly comes with plenty of attitude.

The menu isn’t shy or retiring either, piling on the indulgence with caviar starters, truffle toppings and lobster mac’n’cheese, ahead of USDA prime-grade beef, Wagyu and British native-breed steaks at wallet-busting prices – although our New York strip and rib-eye both passed muster when it came to proper ageing and cooking. A lighter scallop and shrimp ceviche also scored points, though a dessert of deconstructed ‘rhubarb and custard’ was more style than substance.

Although it is best known as a glitzy venue for dinner and drinks, the simpler lunch menu promises a slightly more laid back affair, minus the stiletto heels and body-con dresses. It features the likes of crispy chicken salad, and New Orleans favourite, the popcorn shrimp po’boy sandwich, as well, of course, as the signature steaks.   

This branch of the restaurant group, which hails from the US and has locations all over the world, has proved popular with a moneyed international crowd who may well be familiar with the outposts in Dubai, Ibiza, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Readers recommend it for glamorous entertaining with “attentive service” on the side.

Located in the ME Hotel, this sleek restaurant fits right in with the property’s Radio Rooftop bar and Zela, the Japanese-cum-international dining room backed by Rafael Nadal and Enrique Iglesias. So after enjoying a steak and snapping enough Instagram pics to last a lifetime, head to Zela’s cocktail bar or on up to the roof to finish your night.

Part of the ME London hotel, STK Strand is the first UK outpost of the well-known North American steakhouse brand, famous for its low-lit nightclub vibe. A plum location on Aldwych makes it great for pre- and post-theatre dining, though it serves a classic steakhouse menu seven days a week, as well as roasts on a Sunday. 

The menu will be familiar to anyone who has spent time in the sort of country-club restaurants and steakhouses that constitute classic American cuisine on the other side of the pond. There are boldly flavoured salads such as iceberg with blue cheese and bacon or a baby gem Caesar to start, as well as luxury entrees like California roll with snow crab or crispy calamari. STK is designed to be an experience and dishes lean into luxury ingredients regularly, whether its wagyu tacos or a yellowfin tuna tartare with avocado and taro chips.

The steak itself – made from grain-fed USDA prime beef as well as dry-aged British beef – comes in three sizes of small, medium and large, from a 200g fillet to a whopping 900g tomahawk, with a choice of butters (truffle, garlic or lobster, for example) or sauces like béarnaise, peppercorn, red wine and chimichurri.

If steak’s not your thing, there’s also roasted king crab linguine, black cod with bok choy, pumpkin ravioli and braised beef short rib, plus indulgent sides of mac and cheese, rosemary French fries, creamed spinach and mashed potato.   

A DJ playing from Tuesday to Saturday underlines the Ibiza nightclub atmosphere of the place, as too the big central bar for cocktails and Champagne.