Hawksmoor Guildhall

This place is perfect! You come in, they ask about your reservation and take anything you want to put in the cloak room. You then walk down a beautiful staircase to a bar, where you can have a casual drink or coffee (or even breakfast!) or go to the main restaurant and be seated at an amazing table. The experience has just started. The food is beyond exceptional, the details are amazing (especially when you have allergies and are a vegetarian!) and the dessert menu is exquisite! The staff are all friendly, and nothing seems to go wrong! This is now my go-to place for everything and anything!

Hawksmoor Guildhall is excellent. We often have team dinners here - great service, great food and lovely atmosphere.

I would like to say it was a fantastic and very pleasant lunch. This was a client affair so it is always nice to know you can go somewhere and enjoy the meal and atmosphere with no fuss or disappointment. Thoroughly enjoyed by all and we will return to one of your restaurants in the future.

This is a great place to go for a client breakfast, the service is good and waiting staff attentive. The food is amazing. Would recommend and would go again soon.

I am a frequent visitor of Hawksmoor Guildhall and the food and service was great as always. There were 6 of us on a busy Friday lunch time but the service was prompt and attentive

I've been a few times now and can't really fault it. The service is friendly and efficient. The waiting staff seemed to tag in and out which meant that we were served by multiple staff and individuals did not appear to have been allocated specific tables or sections. This worked well enough for us because it meant that someone was always available. Others might find that a bit impersonal however. We bypassed the starters and went straight to the steaks which were perfectly medium rare for me and rare for my companion. Sides of chips, broccoli and mash were fine. My one quibble, and its a small one, is that the steak was (in my opinion) overly salted. I'm not sure what the steak protocol is (if indeed there is one) but I would prefer to salt or not salt steak myself.

My wife and I ate here last night. The atmosphere is rather loud partly because of the large size of the restaurant and the fact that noise tends to bounce of the walls and wood floors. Nonetheless we were able to converse without shouting at each other. The wait person was new (first night!) and, not unexpectedly, had some difficulty answering questions about the menu but was helped out by other wait staff, so no real complaints there. Overall, the service was excellent, the wait staff were attentive but not always hovering. We both had the steak filet that was perfectly cooked and the sides (mushrooms and asparagus) were excellent. More than enough food. The wine selection is top notch with a wide variety of prices. Given that we had cocktails before dinner, a moderate priced bottle of wind, dessert and coffee the overall bill was about what we would expect to pay at a restaurant of this quality. Overall, we highly recommend this place and will be back upon or return to London.

Short and sweet review. I adore this restaurant. Minutes away from the office, perfect for business lunches and after work dinners with friends. Fantastic service, quality and helpful and friendly staff. I would highly recommend.

My team at work had planned a leisurely lunch for 16/12. We decided to share between us a porterhouse, T-bone and a sirloin steak, with various side dishes. The waiter was helpful and service was generally good. The steaks had been cut into strips to help us select pieces according to appetite. They were generally dry & chewy, as though they had been kept under the warming lamp for a while. The wine was good, as were the side orders (especially the spinach), so I wasn't completely disappointed. The bill was moderate (we had not had starters or dessert). I am unlikely to give them a second chance. I will recommend Gaucho next time.

It is relatively rare for restaurant groups to be able to expand successfully, particularly without risking dilution either to their brand or concept. In the case of Hawksmoor, full credit to the team. I had enjoyed visiting their Seven Dials restaurant earlier in the year, and a recent lunch at the Guildhall location showed every evidence of consistent delivery. The formula is not complex, but few seem to execute it capably: namely, good quality but uncomplicated food in a nice location served by pleasant staff. Starting on the location, a discrete doorway on a somewhat uninspiring street just to the right of the Guildhall disguises what lies inside. Descend the stairs, and the diner is welcomed into a large wood-panelled yet light room, where someone has clearly put good thought into both table spacing and acoustics. The result is a lively, but not over-bearing atmosphere. This is only ameliorated by the attitude of the staff, mostly young, but seemingly genuinely enthused and giving the impression that they enjoyed being there. Onto the food. Personally, I find steak somewhat over-rated, but putting aside this objection, there is no doubt that the chefs know how to prepare it with all of our party satisfied with their juicy cuts. As on my visit to the Seven Dials location, however, the stand-out culinary memory was less the meat and more the sides. These are certainly not an after-thought at Hawksmoor. Their macaroni cheese works remarkably well with steak and our party was also delighted with the spinach, mushrooms and baked sweet potato options. The wine list also merits praise and we sampled a pleasant, reasonably priced 2011 Bordeaux. Keep up the good work, and there is not only much here for diners to enjoy, but also for other restaurants to aspire to.