Hawksmoor Air Street Review: Hawksmoor Air Street had been on our list for a while, so when we had the chance to use our American Express Platinum Local Dining benefit, it felt like the perfect excuse to book a table. Rather than using the benefit on a quick meal, we wanted somewhere that felt like a proper treat, and Hawksmoor Air Street turned out to be a great choice for a relaxed but memorable lunch in central London.
For this visit, we have a £10 supplement. Hawksmoor Air Street is part of the well-known Hawksmoor group and is located just off Regent Street, making it a very convenient choice if you are shopping, heading into the West End, or simply looking for a good lunch in central London.
Hawksmoor Air Street Review
First Impressions
Hawksmoor Air Street feels smart as soon as you walk in, but not in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable or out of place. It has that classic Hawksmoor feel: dark wood, a warm atmosphere, polished service and the sense that you are somewhere that takes steak seriously.
What I liked most was that it felt special without being overly formal. You could easily come here for a celebration, but it also works well for a relaxed lunch if you want something a bit nicer than usual. The location is also excellent, especially if you are already in Regent Street, Piccadilly, or the theatre district.
The Lunch Set Menu
The Lunch Set Menu is one of the best reasons to visit Hawksmoor Air Street at lunchtime. According to the lunch menu, it is available Monday to Saturday from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm, with prices listed as 1 course for £20, 2 courses for £25, or 3 courses for £30. The menu also notes that you can grab a main and side for £20, or settle in for two or three courses for a fuller meal.
This makes Hawksmoor feel a little more accessible. It is still not a cheap lunch, especially once you add drinks, supplements, and service, but the set menu offers a nice way to enjoy the restaurant without going fully à la carte.
The menu had a good choice of starters, mains and sides. Options included Potted Beef & Bacon, Smoked Mackerel Salad, and Hawksmoor Caesar to start. For mains, there was the 35-day dry-aged rump steak, with the option to upgrade to sirloin for £5 or fillet steak for £10, as well as dishes such as charcoal chicken, roast hake, a burger and a vegetarian beetroot dish.
Starter: Potted Beef & Bacon
For my starter, I chose the Potted Beef & Bacon, which came with Yorkshire puddings and onion gravy. This was a very Hawksmoor-style dish: rich, comforting and full of flavour.
It is not a light starter, but that is part of the appeal. The beef had a deep, savoury flavour, while the bacon added a lovely saltiness. The Yorkshire puddings made it feel even more indulgent, and the onion gravy brought everything together nicely.
This was the kind of starter that immediately made the lunch feel more memorable. It was hearty, warming and very British, but still felt polished enough for a restaurant like Hawksmoor.
Main Course: Fillet Steak with £10 Supplement
For the main course, I chose the fillet steak, which came with a £10 supplement on the set lunch menu. The standard rump steak would probably be the best-value option, but the fillet felt like a worthwhile upgrade, especially as this lunch was partly about making good use of the American Express dining benefit.
The fillet was tender, well-cooked and had that lovely char on the outside that you hope for at Hawksmoor. Fillet is not always the strongest steak for flavour compared with cuts like rib-eye or sirloin, but it is hard to beat for tenderness. If you prefer a softer, leaner steak, this is a very enjoyable choice.
The £10 supplement does push the price up, but it also makes the meal feel much more like a treat. For me, it was worth it.
Sides
One side dish is included with the main course, a nice touch that makes the set menu feel more complete. Side options included beef dripping chips, baked sweet potato, English lettuce salad, and bitter leaf & Devon Blue salad.
With steak, the beef dripping chips are the obvious choice. They are crisp, rich and exactly what you want alongside a fillet steak. You could choose a salad if you wanted to keep things lighter, but for a proper Hawksmoor lunch, steak and chips feel like the way to go.
Service
Service at Hawksmoor Air Street was one of the things that helped the whole lunch feel relaxed. The restaurant has a premium feel, but the service did not feel stiff or intimidating.
That matters, especially when ordering from a set menu. Sometimes set menus can feel a little rushed or secondary to the main menu, but that was not the case here. The lunch still felt like a proper Hawksmoor experience.
The staff were professional, friendly and helpful, which made the meal easy to enjoy. It is the kind of service that lets you relax into the lunch rather than feeling like you need to hurry.
Why We Chose Hawksmoor Air Street
One of the main reasons we chose Hawksmoor Air Street was to use our American Express Platinum Local Dining benefit. It felt like the perfect opportunity to enjoy a proper steakhouse lunch while also getting good value from a benefit we already had.
Rather than using the benefit just for its own sake, Hawksmoor felt like somewhere we genuinely wanted to visit. The central London location, smart setting and appealing lunch menu all made it a very easy choice.
Going for the Potted Beef & Bacon followed by the fillet steak with the £10 supplement felt like a good way to make the most of the experience. The set lunch already offers good value for a restaurant of this standard, but using the American Express benefit made it feel even more worthwhile.
It is always nice when a card benefit can be used somewhere you actually want to eat, rather than just picking a restaurant because it happens to be on the list. In this case, Hawksmoor Air Street felt like a very good use of the benefit and gave us a great excuse to enjoy a proper London steak lunch.
Value for Money
Hawksmoor Air Street is still a premium restaurant, so it is not somewhere I would describe as cheap. However, the Lunch Set Menu makes it feel much more approachable.
At £25 for two courses or £30 for three, the set lunch is a good way to experience Hawksmoor without ordering from the à la carte menu. The fact that a side is included with the main also helps the value.
The fillet steak supplement adds £10, so it is worth thinking about whether that upgrade matters to you. If you want the best value, the rump steak is probably the sensible choice. If you want the meal to feel a bit more special, the fillet is a lovely upgrade.
For us, using the American Express Platinum Local Dining benefit made the overall value much stronger. It turned what could have been an expensive lunch into something that felt more considered, more justifiable and more enjoyable.
Overall Verdict
Hawksmoor Air Street is a very enjoyable choice for lunch in central London. It has the atmosphere, service and steak quality you expect from Hawksmoor, but the Lunch Set Menu makes the experience feel more accessible.
The Potted Beef & Bacon was a rich and comforting starter, while the fillet steak with the £10 supplement made the main course feel like a proper treat. Add in the central location and the chance to use the American Express Platinum Local Dining benefit, and it became a very satisfying lunch.
This is a restaurant that works well if you want something reliable, polished and enjoyable without it feeling overly formal. It is still a treat, but with the set menu and dining benefit, it felt like a treat that made sense.
Be the first to comment