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Goodman is a polished steakhouse in Mayfair that could double as a rich old grandfather’s study. It’s a dimly lit dining room with dark wood everywhere, brown leather chairs, tiny lamps on the tables and heavy bookshelves against the walls. Unlike many other London restaurants, everything in here has just got better with age. Leather menus are gorgeously mottled (must be all that red wine), staff know their stuff and, most importantly, the steaks are truly excellent.
Specialty cuts from the in-house ‘ageing room’ are scribbled on to chalkboard menus – beef nerds can order everything from 1.5kg pieces of Yorkshire grain to super-pricey slices of top-grade wagyu. For those not quite as passionate about cows, there are five or six less expensive options listed on the main menu. On a recommendation from our waiter, who made us feel like we were his best friends, we ordered the 250g Angus fillet. It was perfectly cooked and beautifully smoky, with a light charcoal crust on top. All three sauces to match were seriously good, too: the peppercorn had great heat, the bearnaise was thick and rich, and the red wine with stilton was smooth and aromatic.
Other delicious things included two lightly battered crab cakes, stuffed with loads of flavourful meat; a stellar beef burger with a super-juicy patty and some crunchy thick-cut fries; then a couple of tender, garlicky lobster tails. The only negative was a sundae for dessert that came piled high with whipped cream and cookie dough, but was strangely underwhelming. In fairness, though, you don’t come to Goodman for dessert. Order well and you’ll almost certainly be too full to even think about it. When it comes to great steak, service and sauces in a classy space, Goodman’s got the lot.