Flat Iron, Soho

Flat Iron, 17 Beak Street, W1F 9RW

Steak, wine and sides for roughly £25 per head

Going out for steak in London is far from straightforward. At one extreme is steak so good you need a spare kidney or a second mortgage to pay the bill. Lurking in the middle-ground is the Angus Steakhouse: a dire London landmark and gastronomic sinkhole. There are cheaper steaks that excel, but they are squirreled away on the menus of London's fine gastropubs and brasseries. Enter Flat Iron, an extremely affordable Soho steak house that is both excellent and hip. Happy days.

As with almost every cool, new restaurant in the capital, they don't take bookings. But they spare you the indignity of a 2 hour queue by taking your number and calling you when your table is ready. The tables are small and shared. The menu is even smaller: steak or one special of the day. The steak is tender for a cheap cut, with a plenty of flavour. The sides are excellent, particularly the crispy chips and creamy spinach. The secret sauce, a blend of bearnaise and spicy tomato, is a little bizarre but somehow it works. There is one dessert available: a perfectly light chocolate and salted caramel mousse. Like everything at Flat Iron, it's so well executed you forgive it for being willfully on-trend. Go soon, go early and enjoy a few ales in the last of the nice weather while you wait for your table.