Goodman W1

Offshoot of a Muscovite chain, this steakhouse just off Regent Street offers pretty good food in an ambience rather akin to an upmarket burger bar.

Rightly or wrongly, when you hear that somewhere’s owned by the Russians, you tend to assume that there‘s going to be something sinister about it. Big disappointment. This particular Mayfair steakhouse is quite a jolly sort of place, rather like an upmarket burger bar, with notably friendly service (and no customer carrying violin cases, even of the metaphorical sort).

In fact, we liked the place a whole lot better than we expected. A salmon carpaccio to start, for example, was very tasty, and a Jerusalem Artichoke soup was pretty good too. Chips, beans (green) and a peanut butter parfait were also all highly regarded. Even wines – we had a nice big Montepulciano – came in a decent range, and not all at excessive prices.

What were least persuaded about, curiously, was the steak (currently much-aged Aussie/US, but with native offerings on the way, apparently). One offering – cooked, for a guest, well done – was deemed a great success, but the medium rare fillet mignon we had was quite a letdown, with no real crust.

So, all-in-all, a slighly mixed report. But if you want to check the place out for yourself, this handily-sited spot offers very reasonably-priced set lunch menus, and it is – seasonal tip – just two minutes’ walk from Hamley’s.