Flat Iron
Steak
17/18 Henrietta St, Covent Garden, WC2E 8QH £
With 4 locations, 3 of which are all within a 10 minute walking distance of each other, it's without any doubt I say that Flat Iron is an extremely sought-after place.
With 5 sides, 4 sauces and one main, Flat Iron cuts out the endless menu reading and gets straight to the good bit: delicious food. For a tenner you get a cooked to perfection steak with a house leaf salad. You can add either Market Greens, Creamed Spinach, Chips, Blue Cheese and Pecan salad or Roast Aubergine with tomato, basil and parmesan. I have tried the spinach, chips and aubergine - all of which delicious and all of which I would recommend. The sauces include Bearnaise, Peppercorn, Fresh Horseradish Cream or a rather suspicious Fred's sauce. Whilst I am a Bearnaise girl myself, I have also tried the Peppercorn - again, both very tasty.
It is no exaggeration when I say that the steaks at Flat Iron are among the best I have tasted and without a doubt the most reasonably priced. You needn't even order the sauce the Steaks are so yummy (but do anyway because the sauces are great too). One downside, however, is accessibility: having a steak for a tenner in central London means that it can sometimes be a bit of a nightmare trying to get into Flat Iron. Despite having three central locations and a further in Shoreditch, the ques past 6pm are always mental, so get there early or go for lunch if you want to avoid this.
However, you needn't wait around - you can put your name and number down and receive a text when there's a table ready for you. This allows you to go for a drink, a shop, a walk, whatever - making even the hour and a half wait I had once fly by. The staff at this place are extremely friendly, and despite being rushed off their feet they make time to make sure you have everything you need and are comfortable. Flat Iron is understandably a very chilled out spot, dim lights, wooden stools, benches and tables and minimal decor. If you sit downstairs be prepared for some communal dining on a long pub bench like table, however if positioned upstairs you can get a lone table for two - making this an ideal place for a laid back date night.
Overall, I would strongly recommend you take a visit to Flat Iron, I have been back numerous times since discovering it and I haven't been disappointed yet. P.S. There is no desert menu but they give you free salted caramel ice cream as you leave - a very nice touch, much like the salty popcorn served out of a mug upon arrival!
OVERALL RATING: *****
http://flatironsteak.co.uk/
