I’m not a big meat-eater and always order chicken or fish when dining out but on this occasion we were celebrating the end of Sam’s final accountancy exams so it was only right that we go for a steak, his favourite. We had previously planned to visit the popular Hawksmoor in Covent Garden making use of their affordable pre-theatre menu but the menu only contained Rib-Eye which I’ve found too large and fatty in the past. I much prefer a lean fillet so went back to the drawing board and came across Roxie in Earlsfield which happened to be just up the road and until recently was known under the name of Fyre.
At around £13 for a small fillet steak their main menu worked out the same price as the Hawksmoor pre-theatre. When we arrived at 7pm we were asked where we wanted to sit which I thought was nice because I don’t like being near air-con. The place was empty so we had plenty of tables to choose from and the restaurant quickly filled up with groups of friends and other couples enjoying a mid-week dinner.
I ordered a small fillet steak with Sam going for the same but in the slightly larger standard size, both cooked medium rare which was recommended for best taste. I chose to accompany my steak with béarnaise sauce and a side of triple-cooked chips and sautéed wild mushrooms which we shared between us. The steak came served on a wooden board which is usually one of my pet hates but it wasn’t a messy dish to eat (unless you poured the entire pot of sauce over the steak like Sam!). As promised by the reviews I had previously read, the steak was divine and although I can count the number of steaks I’ve tried on one hand, Sam found his equally as delicious and he has as much steak expertise as I have with cake. The béarnaise sauce was rich and tasty, although I found the steak was so flavoursome it didn’t really need any sauce. The triple cooked chips were pleasant but it was the garlic infused sautéed mushrooms which were the true winner.
We skipped some very nice sounding starters to save room for dessert. The dessert menu was as you’d expert from a restaurant specialising in a certain main course, a little unimaginative with the usual suspects such as a fruit crumble, cheese board and ice cream. Sam and I decided to share the baked New York cheesecake and chocolate fondou served with ice cream. Both desserts tasted as they should but that was as far as it went. There was none of the ‘ooing’ and ‘aahing’ about how good they tasted, like there was with the steak, and they tasted as if they had been ordered en mass where they’re pre-cut into equal sized portions.
Although a little disappointed with dessert, this hasn’t put me off having one on my next visit to Roxie (because there will be another!) but I would choose something a little lighter like an ice cream cocktail, with which you really can’t go wrong. Our meal (mains, sides, desserts plus wine) came just short of £80 which wasn’t bad considering we had steak and a very nice bottle of our favourite, Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough New Zealand. If you like steak then I would definitely recommend Roxie in Earlsfield or their Fulham branch for a great meal out. I don’t think my dreams have ever been filled with steak rather than cake but they certainly were that night! Are my cake days over I hear you ask? Of course not! I’m tucking into one of my Cutter and Squidge biskies as I write this. Check out our review here.
Living life, loving cake (and steak),
H x
