Cara

Another week, another steakhouse. This time, we tested out the new Hawksmoor at Wood Wharf (part of the wider Canary Wharf estate). As with the other Hawksmoor branches, the steaks and triple cooked chips were tasty! 

Date Visited: 5th March 2022.

Location: 1 Water St, London E14 5GX.

Getting There: Short 5 minute walk from Canary Wharf Underground (Bank Street exit), slightly longer walk from Canary Wharf DLR. We drove, with parking available under Waitrose.

Cost: With entrees, steaks, loaded sides, desserts and cocktails, it was about £80 per person.

Floating restaurant?

You may think all we eat is steak following the Omnino visit. But, we tend to eat boring dishes like salmon and brown rice, pasta or pizza during the week. So when we decide to have a steak, we like to go all out! Add to the fact we had never been to the Wood Wharf area, it was a good excuse to check out the new Hawksmoor. What looks more like a houseboat, the restaurant stands out in the area. 

Hawksmoor Wood Wharf
Photo credit: Hawksmoor 

Bookings are a must, especially on weekends. When we arrived for ours at 5:15pm (no other times were available), other walk-in diners were being turned away. It’s a different atmosphere once inside, similar to other Hawksmoor establishments. With majority of the walls being glass windows, I’m sure it would be nice and bright during a lunch service. Below deck, where the bathrooms are (not sure if there’s a disabled toilet at ground floor level), there’s the Lowback bar

Juicy steaks and unbelievable triple cooked chips

We started off with cocktails, Cara with a lemonade. For entree, we shared the rye bread, scallops and beef carpaccio. I preferred if the bread was served warm like Cote Brasserie, but otherwise the scallops and carpaccio were delicious and seasoned well. As for the steaks, we opted for medium-rare rib-eyes, loaded sauces and sides. We had the beef dripping fries, mash with gravy, mac and cheese, and green veg. But the top side of the day was the triple-cooked chips which we could have demolished one serving each. The steaks were cooked and seasoned well, and by the end of the evening all the plates were clean. Note, there’s no dedicated kids menu so depending on how much they eat, you can can share with the little ones or opt for a larger cut. 

Hawksmoor Wood Wharf entree Hawksmoor Wood Wharf steak

To finish the night, we shared The Ambassador dessert, a Hawksmoor take on the Ferrero Rocher. It tasted okay, not overly sweet but at £10 a pop, I would have preferred a box of Ferrero Rochers instead. As a tip, there is an Amazon Fresh store located outside the restaurant where you can pick up a cheaper dessert. Cara opted for the sticky date pudding, which was swimming in sauce. Oddly, the clotted cream ice cream, and perhaps the coffee, helped break up the sweetness slightly. Even with these minor niggles, we still finished the desserts.     

Hawksmoor Wood Wharf dessert

The service was attentive, plenty of staff about to assist. It was good to be back out and dining again, felt like Covid was no longer around as tables were filled and the hum of background chit-chat. If you’re in East London and looking for a special night out, then be sure to book and check out Hawksmoor Wood Wharf.     

Ratings:

Burn Time: 4 out of 5 – Spent a good couple of hours eating and chatting away.  
Value: 2.5 out of 5 –
Quite pricey once you add it all up. Omnino provides better value.  
Overall: 3 out of 5 –
Lovely setting with nice food (and triple cooked chips), but once-in-a-while type of restaurant.

Where else should we eat? Any new restaurants opening? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll check it out!