Flat Iron @17 Beak Street

Flat Iron Soho branch

While doing research for London eateries, hubby came across this new craft butchery (opened in 2012) that serves remarkable steak specialising in the flat iron cut but does not take reservations, and there are always long queues.

So on this day when we just returned from Iceland the night before, we decided that we should go try our luck!

Having just gone to the Apple Store nearby, we arrived 10 minutes before opening and there were already 2 people waiting in line. By the time Flat Iron opened its doors at 12 noon, there were 3 groups, and all tourists… In fact, all Chinese from different countries, haha.

There were a few long tables on the ground level for sharing (there is also an upper level with more tables), but since it was relatively empty, each group had a table to themselves. Decorations were minimal, with the food menu stuck to the wall by each table.

The menu was very simple too, serving Flat Iron Steak (£10) with a short list of sides and sauces. There were also specials of 3 different cuts written on the chalkboard going for £15, and the helpful staff explained the differences to us.

Beautiful flat iron with the mini cleaver

We decided to try the Flat Iron Special (supposed to be more flavourful) and the normal Flat Iron Steak just to see the difference. We also ordered Creamed Spinach (£3) and Roasted Aubergines (£3.50) for the sides. While waiting for our food, a cup of popcorn was served as appetiser. This was good, because I had skipped breakfast this morning and was starving… Haha!

The steaks were served already cut, but there was still a mini cleaver as a knife if you wished to further cut it into bit size. It was quite fun!

Our lunch spread

Strangely, our steaks were served looking rather different; the special was almost dripping with blood and the meat was reddish, while the normal version was barely pinkish. So the special was really tender and delicious, while the normal one was tougher. Still quite good, as it was not the un-chewable type, and I preferred my steak not to be oozing with blood. Hubby was the vampire and devoured his bloody special… 😛

The creamed spinach was very delicious and wiped cleaned! But the aubergines were just so-so.

Food portion was alright, we were quite full since we had quite a bit of popcorn. But for £10-£15, gotta say that the steak size was quite decent (about 200 grams).

We were done by 12.30pm and left feeling rather satisfied 🙂

Note that there is a 12.5% service charge included in the bill.