Angus Steak House

Exceptionally expensive food.

It’s not unusual for people who don’t travel for work to look at my schedule and imagine that my travels are glamorous and exciting. But, the fact of the matter is that most trips are very similar to the day I was having upon my arrival in London during the third week of March. It was pissing rain. I had a truly lousy meal (see my review of Zizzi:
) and by 6:30PM I found myself back in my hotel room for a less-​than-​exciting night of answering emails and watching lousy TV on the limited selection of channels offered by my hotel.
By 8:30PM my stomach was rumbling a bit and it was clear that I was going to need to eat again if I was going to have a decent night of sleep. There were a couple of options I considered, including heading into Paddington Station to grab something at one of the mini-​groceries that operated under my hotel, or head into the rain and find a restaurant within a reasonable distance of the hotel. I opted for the latter and despite the large number of restaurants around the hotel, made a beeline to the Angus Steakhouse which is literally across the street from the Paddington Hilton.
I have to admit that when I started travelling to London regularly a few years ago, I noted the Angus Steakhouse across the street from my hotel and, without giving it any real thought or research, I scoffed at the thought of eating there. I assumed that a steakhouse located above one of London’s busiest train stations must be the equivalent to eating in an airport steakhouse. But, when a co-​worker mentioned that he had eaten there and had a great meal, I was suddenly excited to try it out. It was only later that I learned that Angus Steakhouse is actually a 50-​year old chain of steakhouses located throughout central London. This is no greasy spoon looking to serve sub-​prime steaks to hungry commuters and tourists.
Heading into the Angus Steakhouse that night, I considered the two previous times that I had eaten there. The first time I had the Lamb Cutlets which were perfectly prepared and delicious. The second time I had the Jacob’s Ladder Beef Ribs which I found a bit disappointing, mostly because I wasn’t crazy about the flavoring, but also because I always forget that I don’t love the texture of beef ribs.
That night there was no doubt in my mind that I was going straight for the steak. It is, after all, a steakhouse and after that crappy pizza I deserved something with a bit of, well, beef to it. Entering the restaurant I was surprised at how busy it was. I guess I’m too used to Seattle’s sleepy roll up the sidewalks at 7PM routine. Even on a Monday night at 8:30 the place (well upstairs at least) was packed.
The restaurant is divided into an upstairs and downstairs. The upstairs is dense, noisy and energetic. I’ve eaten in this portion of the restaurant twice and strongly prefer it to the lower area which almost feels like an entirely different restaurant with a slower pace and quieter dining experience. At this restaurant the people watching is central to the dining experience, and the people watching upstairs — and through the windows facing Praed Street — is great.
Fortunately a small table had just been cleared and I was seated in no time. My server was friendly and attentive. It took me just a few seconds to decide what I wanted:
Glass of Prosecco (£5.00)
8oz Fillet Medium (£21.50)
Fries (£2.50)
The prosecco arrived promptly followed by the meal in what I would consider to be an appropriate length of time for someone dining alone. (In other words, a server might be expected to stretch a meal out for parties of 2 or more, particularly if those guests are engrossed in conversation. I, on the other hand, was dining with a book as my companion, so I was happy to have my meal arrive quickly.)
The steak was prepared to a perfect medium. It may not have been the best piece of meat I’ve ever had in my life, but for the setting and the price, it absolutely met, even exceeded expectations. I had added the mushroom sauce to my order but more often than not, found myself skipping the sauce so I could simply enjoy the steak’s flavors. The fries were fine. I don’t think they were fresh cut in the restaurant, but passable nevertheless.
For dessert I ordered the Berry Cheesecake (£5.50) which was so-​so. It was pretty clear that it was made somewhere else, and frozen and stored until time to serve.
The total for the meal was £39.50 or about UDS $ 60. That seems to be the magic number for a decent meal in the UK. Of the three meals I’ve had at the Angus Steakhouse, this was definitely the best. There’s a lesson here:
When eating at a steakhouse, eat the steak!

Surprisingly expensive! More than 65£ for 2 persons: 2 courses and 2 desserts. Fortunately, the meat was ok but for that price I was waiting for the Queen to jump out of my cake.