De la Panza, Islington

De la Panza is tricky to find, and you will certainly work up an appetite if you choose to walk from one of the not-so-close tube stations, which we did. This is a good thing, because steaks here are epic and require a degree of hunger.

“De La Panza” means all about the belly, and is based on the bodegons that you can find in Buenos Aires. It has a friendly atmosphere inside with delicious aromas from the kitchen tickling your senses. We ordered a bottle of the house white which was deliciously light and fresh though in retrospect a red wine probably would have suited the predominantly meat meal better.

Knowing too well that hearty steaks were to follow we ordered light starters. My companion tried the Ensalada de la Casa - a conventional salad with balanced ingredients: lovely ripe avocado slices, and spiced marinated chicken. The portion size was huge and more appropriate as a main. I chose the Crema De Calabaza: a thick butternut squash, onion and sesame soup. The flavour was a little heavy on the sesame oil for my taste.

For the main event we both chose steaks, the fillet and the sirloin. The fillet steak was an incredible hunk of flesh, so vast I couldn’t quite believe it when my friend finished it, smiling with satisfaction. I ordered the sirloin and asked for it butterfly cooked, where the steak is sliced down the centre making it thinner. It was absolutely delicious especially accompanied with the unique chimichura herby sauce. We had chips and salad on the side.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, my friend decided he could fit in a dessert and was delighted with his exceptionally sweet Panqueques (pancakes with cream and dulce de leche) though I found it too sugary. I had a small portion of strawberry ice-cream to finish my meal.

If you are after an impressively good steak and lovely glass of wine, De La Panza is the place for you. Tapas is also served daily and, having scanned the menu briefly, definitely looks worth a try.

Visit De La Panza website here.

Steak & Co on Charing Cross Road

I think it’s fair to say that most of Leicester Square is pretty grotty, catering for crowds of tourists with overpriced eateries and tacky souvenir stalls. But with so many wonderful London landmarks nearby (National Gallery, Fourth Plinth, Coliseum to name but a few) this area craves a few decent restaurants.

Let me introduce you to Steak & Co, the new steakhouse on Charing Cross Road. The restaurant is located on a corner and has a smart but generic exterior, it looks like it might be one of a chain. Inside I was reminded of an American style diner. The service was impeccable throughout our visit, from the moment we walked in when we were greeted with a lovely smiley welcome to personal and attentive service while we were ordering and eating. We asked for a mid range (£17.50) bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, it was light and crisp and went well with our food.

As you might expect steak features heavily on the menu (!) with all the different cuts and varieties available. But for those who prefer a lighter meal you can enjoy the appealing looking alternatives... classics like Caesar salad as well as chicken and fish mains. There are many starter and sharing ideas too for those of you who are starving enough to manage more than a filling steak. My companion and I shared a portion of Nachos topped with all the garnishes. It came to our table straight from the grill, still warm with the gooey cheese still melting. After five minutes I had to place the bowl at the opposite end of the table, knowing that otherwise I would keep munching leaving no room for anything else (portions are very generous at Steak & Co).

We treated ourselves to the fillet steak that comes in three size options from a more petite 8 oz to a great hunk of meat at 12 oz. I felt quite animalistic making my way through my steak. It was the highest quality meat and was so delicious I just managed to finish my portion. A huge variety of butters and sauces are available – in the name of market research I tried the garlic butter and pepper sauce, both very rich. I found the sauce a little too creamy but with a nice warm flavour. To accompany we ordered the french fries, which tasted beyond amazing, coming in a cute little wire cooking basket, and tomato and red onion salad which was tangy and fresh, a nice addition to the otherwise heavy meal. Needless to say we were too full for dessert, despite almost being persuaded by the tempting choices.

Steak & Co isn’t cheap, and to some extent I’m sure you are paying for the convenient central location. The cheapest steak is £16.95, which seems a little pricey, though I can guarantee service and quality of food will meet the highest expectations.

Find all Steak & Co info here.

Gaucho Grill

Definitely the best steak I’ve ever had, rivalled only by my granny's supreme cooking. I’d often heard about Gaucho Grill from friends, but being slightly sceptical of chains, was never actually intrigued enough to try it. Until now.

Oh yum. We went at 6.30 pm to the Hampstead branch, before a show, so had the restaurant completely to ourselves and several waiters willing to give us, in depth, steak explanations. After the drinks were delivered, a polite girl came (with her board of raw meat) to ask about our steak choices. Poor thing, I was probably more demanding than she’d expected. I chose Sirloin (a beef steak cut from the rear part of the animal) with unbelievably good peppercorn sauce. My date had the same, cut with mustard sauce (not as good). The chips were perfect and mixed salad, definitely above average as mixed salads go.

One negative – I did not like the music, why civilised restaurant put on aggressive dance music in the background, I will never know; and as we already had a time limit to eat within this made me feel pressured and on the edge of indigestion. However I will definitely be going back, pricey but worth it, and with Gaucho branches all over London, there are many to try out.