Knife — Restaurant in London

I first came to Knife when it first opened with a girlfriend. We had a wonderful time! It was honestly one of the best steaks I've ever had and the nice touch of serving the dipping Yorkshire's etc made it a whole fun experience. Great cocktails too. I came home and told my other half about it and we've been meaning to make a reservation for a few months. We finally found a time and although it is a pricey meal out for us I'd raved about it so much to him we decided to spend the money and treat ourselves.

Unfortunately the standard had really dropped and we were left feeling disappointed.

We made a booking a week in advance so were a bit miffed to be sat right next to the door which was a chilly spot. I understand if you walk into a restaurant on the night you might expect to be seated wherever they can accommodate you but when you book you expect a nice table.

The waitress was nervous and new but very pleasant and obviously trying hard.

We were brought the complimentary sourdough which I enjoyed so much last time but it was stone cold so the butter didn't melt at all and since it's dripping it was just very fatty without the heat to melt it a bit.

Cocktails were delicious and arrived quickly so no complaints there.

We ordered our steak with the original waitress but the head waitress came and told us that while they had been putting the order through it had sold out. She offered us the same steak as two individual portions made into a sharing portion which she said would be less money. We agreed to this. Then the original waitress came and apologised for her mistake. This was confusing was it her mistake or bad luck that it had sold out?

When the steak came it was very chewy. The sauce didn't come with it - we had to ask for it. We had to spit quite a bit of the steak out as it was too chewy.

We were also charged for the sides which we would have had inclusive with the sharing steak.

It's a real shame. I could tell they were doing their best but I'm not sure they could handle how busy it was.

The original waitress offered us some lemoncello to make up for her mistake which was appreciated but I would have really liked for the expectations I had given my other half to have been met.

I was going to book for my birthday for a big group but I don't feel confident about it now. I just think, to warrant the price, the food needs to be exceptional & it wasn't on this second visit. You set the standard so high...

First time visitors having waited almost a year, for various personal reasons and then lock down arrived :-( Great to see how the owners have now embraced social distancing by using handmade wooden partitions towards the rear of the restaurant - this is really fab and i hope they stay. Also hand santitiser on each table.

From our initial interaction with the staff to the time we left (well over the 2hr table occupancy time - whoops) they made us feel very welcomed & they all seemed to very much enjoy their work - no attitudes, language barriers or surliness hear, just crackingly good staff.

Hors d'oeuvre of bone marrow butter accompanying 2 types of fresh bread was provided as we agreed on the drinks (Portebello Gin & Malbec) - the bread was seriously nice.

Starters were pork scratchings and also braised ox cheek - this was melt in the mouth tender, you just want more & more of it.

A complimentary appetiser of Yorkshire puddings & rich gravy then came along, which was a mighty surprise - how do they make the puds so light and the gravy so rich?

Main courses were both fillet steak (medium rare & medium) with green peppercorn sauce, accompanied by creamed spinach, truffle mash, beef dripping chips & roasted field mushrooms. Both steaks were cooked to perfection & presented beautifully, everything cooked perfectly, the mushrooms were divine and OMG - the 'chips' aren't exactly chips they more akin to being doorstops, huge and very rich.

Puddings were sticky toffee, the sponge being very light and the sauce smoothly sweet whilst the Igtham panna cotta and strawberries were a perfect example of decadent richness.

Beware - the portions are not small, so don't over order. This was an amazing meal in fabulous, cosy and warm environment - totally faultless...

We have been to Knife for several times now and would really love to keep it as our little secret place for steak, as it’s too good!!

A few thoughts: Make sure you book in advance - you could still probably get a table for 2 if not, but it’s always better to reserve one I like the vibe of the front part of the restaurant a lot more - it’s a nice industrial/vintage deco but if you have knee issues/super long legs - it might not be the most comfortable sofa chairs. The steak here would make up for it though.

Food that we love (in order) : steak, obviously. We would recommend having the T-bone (always on the specials menu) - it’s much more expensive than the regular mains, but it’s totally worth it. Yorkshire puddings + gravy source (you can eat as many as you’d like to, and they are amazing! roasted corn creme brûlée slow cooked saddleback pork belly potatoes dauphinoise

Their other mains are nice as well (we’ve tried the chicken and the sea bream) but none are comparable to the T-bone!

For desserts we have tried the sticky toffee pudding and the chocolate brownie sundae- they are both delicious but a little bit too sweat and heavy to our liking.

Staff are amazing...