Great steak and other meat in The City and Shoreditch.

Many of us here at Private Dining Rooms are not-so-secret carnivores. We love nothing better than a really good steak or slab of juicy meat. One of us, who shall remain nameless, has even started an ironic ‘Gout Club’ – in homage to his love of red meat and red wine!

But whether you love your steak blue or cremated, there’s nothing worse than ordering your meat and finding it to be poor quality or badly cooked. It’s crucial to get top quality meat that’s impeccably sourced, well hung and then cooked to perfection. It should be simple, but of course it’s not, so here are our top picks of the best places in The City and Shoreditch to help us all get a mouth-watering steak every time.

Best Steaks In the City

Filled as it is with suits and boots, The City’s great meateries offer a wide range of mouth-watering steaks and meaty plates. Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa, in the shadow of St Paul’s, serves not just impeccably sourced meat from around the world, but also boasts a Texas pit smoker, Argentine grill, Japanese robata grill, tandoor and wood-fired oven in which to cook it all.

Meanwhile American-owned Goodman dry-age their meat on-site and also cut meat on request. Sourcing from Nebraska, Italy amongst others even the sustainable charcoal is specially imported to provide a unique smoky flavour. From sirloin and fillet to ribeye and T-bone, Goodman offers all the classic cuts, many of which are priced by weight adding a totally bespoke nature, so guests can eat as much steak as their wallets allow.

Over towards Smithfield La Tagliata has the feel of an elegant Italian villa with several of the rooms perfect for semi-private events. Food is kept simple with its offer of either pasta, tagliata (sliced sirloin on a bed of rocket, parmesan and cherry tomatoes) or a vegetarian option of baked Scamorza with black truffle, porcini and sun dried tomatoes.  Even desserts are simple with just a couple on offer each night or a cheese plate.

Any meat-in-the-City list wouldn’t be complete without the iconic Smiths of Smithfield. With space for up to 250 in the Dining Room to 90 on the Top Floor, it’s as often used for wedding receptions and breakfast meetings as canapé parties. It’s worth noting that a Beef Breakdown (or even a Cocktail making Class) can be added to any event to make it just that little bit more informative and unique.

Best Steaks In Shoreditch

A great recent entrant on the Shoreditch steakhouse scene is The Jones Family Project on Great Eastern Street, opposite The Hoxton Hotel. This independently owned restaurant & bar serves some of the juiciest steaks in the capital as well as serving mouth wateringly good cocktails. The steaks at The Jones Family Project are amongst the finest in London and the restaurant is the only one in London that is supplied on a regular basis by The Ginger Pig, famed as suppliers of amazing meat from animals that have spent stress-free lives munching a natural diet in North Yorkshire with the dry-aging really showing in the taste!

A stone’s throw away in uber-trendy Shoreditch there are two other great London steak restaurants. At another Hix creation, Tramshed, an unashamedly in your face pickled cow & chicken – courtesy of Damien Hirst – sets the scene for some serious meat. With a menu limited to beef or chicken, it’s unsurprising that what they do, they do amazingly well. The vast former tram shed (see what they did there?) has large tables as well as smaller circular booths for more intimate dinners seating up to 8 or the raised mezzanine at the back seating up to 40. Our top tip is that up to 24 can use this area semi-privately and eat from the a la carte – great for any kind of impromptu party.

Nearby The Blues Kitchen adds an even more hands on approach and informality to proceedings with highlights on the menu including 16 hour slow smoked beef ribs, fresh Canadian Lobster and buffalo wings – all just begging guests to really get stuck in.