No mistakes: STK London restaurant review

“Did you even go to STK without a photo?” asks one Instagram user after her recent visit to STK. She is right too – the central London restaurant is a place not only to see and be seen, but also to snap a cool pic of yourself and share it with the Instaverse.

The minute you arrive, it is easy to see why STK has become such a popular social media backdrop. All jutting polished steel and pink neon lights, it looks like it has been constructed from the off-cuts of a swanky guest-list-only nightclub. Perhaps because of the décor, the crowd at STK are all dressed to the nines in their finest shirts, skinny jeans and skimpy cocktail dresses.

Some might find it all a bit much, but for this reviewer at least, there is something refreshing about people dressing up to go out to dinner. There was a time when eating out was always an occasion; when people would put on their finery to go to their favourite restaurant and make a proper evening of it. Now, for better or worse, even Michelin stars don’t require one to take off one’s trainers.

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Of course, observing your fellow diners at STK is only ever going to be part of the pleasure, because as good as all the people watching is, the food is even better.

It will come as no surprise that STK has high quality beef on the menu, but the short menu is also packed with plenty of non-meat showstoppers. Guided by our waiter, The Week Portfolio went for octopus and ceviche to start – a sensibly light way to kick things off considering the direction we were planning to go with our mains.

STK’s take on ceviche is relatively classic. The yellowfin tuna comes on a long slim plate, on a smear of sesame seed pesto and topped with paprika corn chips and thinly sliced radish. The roasted octopus was equally good. Large seared tentacles on a bed of chickpea puree, with a Mediterranean mix of sundried tomatoes and olives.

An Instagram post or two later it was time for the main course: two STKs pls.

I opted for the 200g grain-fed fillet steak, while my friend went full fat with the 350g rib eye. Both were USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) beef. In fact, most of the steaks on the menu hail from the US, which, despite any concerns one may harbour about food miles, does guarantee an incredibly tasty chunk of meat.

The two steaks were excellent and done perfectly to our specifications. Coupled with a seemingly bottomless macaroni cheese and parmesan truffle chips, we found ourselves entirely defeated by the end and in no position to have any kind of dessert. Which seemed, in hindsight, an error given the spectacular desserts we saw being photographed at nearby tables.

STK is definitely a scene, which means that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but beneath the glitz and the shameless selfie-snapping glamour, there is some serious cookery going on here. For a proper steak, a trip to STK will be no mistake.

STK at the ME London Hotel, 336-337 Strand, London WC2R 1HA; togrp.com/venue/stk-london