Temper Soho

This buzzing bonfire of a restaurant is dedicated to the art and craft of cooking in-house butchered meat: below the small, ground-floor taco bar lies an expansive room featuring a theatrical open kitchen with a wood-fired grill and clay oven. Bag one of the counter stools and watch in wonder as the chefs prepare your food over fire.

The name refers to the kitchen’s commitment to tempering the meats, whether that’s Essex beef, Yorkshire pork or Welsh lamb – a practice which ensures the fullest flavours. Then there’s the quality; all beef is rare breed, grass-fed and sourced from UK farms with high welfare practices. This sourcing extends to the rest of the menu too, from fish to vegetables and drinks and, what’s more, Temper also operates a zero-waste policy, so anyone concerned about its eco credentials can dive in with abandon.

Diners can take their pick from a high-octane cuisine-hopping menu that runs from must-order blowtorched mackerel tacos freshened with sweet white miso and mashed avocado to little bowls of Thai-style larb combining roasted rice with ‘burnt ends’ for a spicy clash of textures. The prices of the beef cuts are a little off-putting, but this is a steakhouse and it is excellent quality. We recommend ordering the full quota of sauces – beef fat béarnaise, green sauce, chipotle sour cream, Korean BBQ, and pepper sauce – and finishing off with a gooey-centred cookie, baked in a cast-iron pan and topped with fior di latte ice cream.

Well-considered cocktails, such as the Irn-Bru Spritz and pineapple Negroni kick off the drinks list, but it’s mezcal flights served in traditional clay copitas and a vast selection of tequilas that dominate. There’s also a healthy selection of wines from around the world. Enthusiastic and committed staff seal the deal at this thoroughly modern BBQ bunker.

Set just off Broadwick Street, Temper Soho has steadily built a name for its British dry-aged steaks, butchered in-house and cooked over flames. The team works with North Yorkshire farmer Charles Ashbridge to source premium meats which form the backbone of a menu packed with premium steaks, tacos and more. The restaurant also serves Sunday roasts and a bottomless Saturday brunch.

The small foyer at street level gives no indication as to the proportions of the dining room below: a huge basement space focused around a central six metre long fire pit, enclosed by counter seating, with tables and chairs radiating around and private booths hugging the walls.

As for menus at Temper Soho, the a la carte kicks off with snacks like pork belly bites, aged beef nachos, and beef fat cornbread with gochujang butter, before heading on to a selection of tacos that might include fillings such as cochinita pibil, lamb, or soft-shell crab. Larger plates include a range of dishes smoked and grilled, such as beef brisket carnitas topped with mixed herbs and tajin, beef sausage with raclette and pico de gallo, or chargrilled prawns, which come served with two miniature margaritas.

Steaks, naturally, are the star of the show. All are dry-aged for 28 days to enrich their flavour, with on-the-bone cuts including rib-eye and porterhouse, along with fillet, sirloin, and picanha steaks too. Sides lean towards comfort, spanning seasonal greens with chilli oil, gravy mash potato with crispy shallots, and bone marrow with chimichurri.

Sundays offer up a range of roast choices, including classic roast aged beef with horseradish cream, Mount Grace pork loin with smoked apple sauce, and smoked Yorkshire chicken with chimichurri. Bottomless brunch at Temper Soho, meanwhile, offers a choice of tacos, mains, and endless drinks for 90 minutes. Regardless of when you visit, you can expect a well-priced wine list covering Old and New World regions, with plenty of steak and taco friendly styles.