Hawksmoor is the perfect match for the old Midland Grand Dining Room
Despite the volatile nature of the London restaurant industry, it’s not often you get three different restaurants in one space in a single year. But, like a struggling Premier League team switching managers with alarming regularity (hello Notts Forest), the St Pancras Hotel has managed just that, starting 2025 as The Midland Grand Dining Room (sans Patrick Powell who left late the previous year) before Victor Garvey joined in July, rebranding it Victor Garvey at The Midland Grand. This only lasted five short months before closing however – and now just before the end of the year we have the place reborn again, as Hawksmoor St Pancras.
Aiming to be the Sean Dyche-style safe pair of hands to Victor Garvey’s calamitous Big Ange tenure, Hawksmoor feels like a perfect fit, immediately at home in this space. And what a space it is, by the way. The Grade I-listed dining room designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1873 is surely one of London’s most beautiful, with soaring ceilings, decorative mouldings, huge windows, and polished wooden floors.
Eat This
Hawksmoor is of course a steak restaurant, widely regarded as one of London’s best – if not the best. However, there are a whole load of other tasty things to eat as well.
Do not miss the charcoal roasted scallops from the starters, which come dressed in a white port and garlic butter, with crispy breadcrumbs. The potted beef with Yorkshire pudding and onion gravy is a frankly ridiculous starter when you are about to order a huge steak for mains – but that didn’t stop us and we don’t regret a thing. For an all-out baller option from the starters, go for the hash browns with Exmoor caviar and creme fraiche.
For the main event, there is steak galore, with every cut chalked up on the board and sold by weight. We went for the Porterhouse, a great sharing steak that has both sirloin and fillet steak separated by the T-bone. Dry-aged and cooked over charcoal to medium rare, it really doesn’t get much better than this.
For sides, you have to get beef dripping chips, as well as mash with gravy – and a salad if you must.
Drink This
Before sitting down for dinner, make some time for a drink at the adjoining Martini Bar, an equally beautiful room, offering lots of different martinis (naturally) as well as Hawksmoor’s menu of bar snacks. In the main restaurant, we moved on to sour cherry Negronis, English fizz from Langham, and a bottle of excellent Beaujolais. Hawksmoor has a great wine list but don’t forget that on Mondays they offer £5 corkage if you want to bring something special.
Why Go
Hawksmoor is an absolute crowd pleaser and we can honestly say we’ve never had a bad meal at any of their restaurants. They do it all so well. They’re a match made in heaven with this beautiful old dining room, and we’re sure they’ll be here for a long time to come.
Key Information
Address | St. Pancras, Euston Rd., London NW1 2AR
For more information | thehawksmoor.com
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