Lunch at Hawksmoor + a January deal

Cold outside? Get your skates on to Hawksmoor Edinburgh to catch their January meal deal!

They’re offering their steak‑and‑side deal from as little as £16, and Bite is in there quick to sample Hawksmoor’s specials.

The basic deal includes a 35‑day dry‑aged Scottish rump steak with a choice from four sides. Add on a second course and the total of £19.50 still keeps it keen. So much so that my dining companion feels a celebratory Cava is a suitable aperitif, and it’s a delicious Raventós rosé — Hawksmoor are known for their excellent wine menu, and they even allow Monday BYOB for a fiver.

Sides include a contender for — if not winner of — best‑ever chips. The Hawksmoor beef‑dripping chips are golden, crunchy bliss, while the Bitter Leaf Salad (radicchio, endive etc.) with nuggets of Lanark Blue cheese and adorned with candied pecans for perfect contrast, is easy to demolish.

Steaks themselves are small but chunky (you can upgrade to fillet tail for £11, which one of us did for comparison). We initially thought they were possibly overdone, but as they rest on the plate they relax, becoming increasingly tender as we eat. Our only ‘beef’ was that they’re served dry with no sauce — something easily remedied from the list of sauces, from which we choose a bowl of buttery Béarnaise (£3.50). Our choices of red by the glass — Douro from Portugal and Duero from across the border in Spain (£13 & £16 for 175ml) — make deliciously warming matches.

Our lunch is the full three‑course January deal (£23), but it’s the starters that really wow us. Dining companion Mr Fussy reports he’s ‘impressed’ by his Smoked Mackerel Salad with horseradish, saying it’s not oversmoked and that the warm new potatoes make all the difference. On the other side of our booth, there is no way I’m sharing my jar of Hawksmoor Potted Beef with its melting topping — top marks, as I will definitely return for this memorable treat. It arrives with two puffy, light, crispy Yorkies on the side, along with a silver boat of thick, slightly smoky onion gravy.

For dessert, the wild morello cherries and sour cherry sorbet in the Black Forest Pavlova nicely echo my own aperitif of a Sour Cherry Negroni. I try to convince my other half to try an interesting peanut butter shortbread with ice cream, but he’s not persuaded as long as Sticky Toffee Pudding is on the menu — and topped with clotted cream, it’s a winning choice.

Our waitress Isla and team are a shining example of good service, which we really appreciate. This sentiment is repeated by friends we bump into on our way out — Alison is enjoying roast hake from the January set menu, so there are decent steak alternatives, including a tempting charcoal‑roasted Spanish chicken dish.

Related: Lunchtime reviews

Hawksmoor- 23 W Register St, Edinburgh EH2 2AA - 0131 526 4790

Open 7 days.

Steak‑and‑side/January offer 1–31 Jan (excluding Sun), Mon–Fri lunch–early evening & Sat lunch