There is a distinctly Norwegian banquet feel to the restaurant. As you go down the elevator to the basement the doors open and you're greeted by the site of huge slabs of meat hung and being dry aged room and giant king crabs in tanks.
The dining area has two huge wooden medieval communal banquet tables so you're sharing tables with other guests. The theme of sharing goes through to the menu too with the Beast experience set menu. Ok I warn you now, don't come here slightly hungry, don't even come here hungry, only come here if you feel like you've been trapped on a desert island for the past 2 months with only coconuts for sustenance and a volleyball for a friend (I'm watching Castaway as I write this) because the food that comes your way is not in short supply. To start you get antipasti of Parmesan, olives, pickled onions and artichokes served with 7 year aged balsamic vinegar. It was decent enough but didn't exactly set hearts racing but the menu is sensibly planned because you certainly do not want to be full come the main course.
In preparation for the main event, the server helps put your Beast bib on, a nice touch and helps build the anticipation. First out came the the 800g of USDA bone-in ribeye. When the server said we were getting a 800g steak to share i thought 'come on, is that it??' The last time I went to Hawksmoor I ate a kilo alone. But you don't realise how much food there is until it's all laid out in front of you. The steak was perfectly cooked, had a beautiful crust and juicy medium rare in the middle. Cooking steak doesn't have to be complicated but can so easily be ruined, the Goodman Group are true masters of their craft. Was it the best steak I've ever had? Probably not, and that's only because I prefer British beef, but this was easily the best USDA I've had.
The absolute showstopper of the meal was the king crab sourced from the Arctic Circle. Now I've never been the biggest crab fan, have always preferred lobster and unless shellfish has been cooked the Chinese way i.e. in ginger and spring onion I'm normally a tad disappointed but this king crab knocked it out of the park! At first it seems quite cumbersome to eat but the kitchen has done the majority of the work for you by cracking the legs open, it's pretty much just pull the shells apart and rip out the meat. If you've never had king crab, these things are huge, the flesh is extremely meaty, not flakey like a Dorset crab and there is a sweetness to it which is normally synonymous with really good quality lobster. Accompanied with the crab are a variety of sauces, the stand out one being the truffle sauce, get a huge chunk of meat (crab or steak), dip it in the steak and forget about any stresses you have in life for a few moments! Also don't feel rushed when tackling this meal, make every effort to get all the meat out of the crab because it really is worth it.
To go with the meat there were sides of smoked tomatoes, a trio of beets, celariac, carrots and a green salad. One thing I have to say, I've been to Goodman a few times and their sides are probably one of the best in London, you've got the brilliant mac and cheese and those truffle chips! I do get the logic at Beast, they don't want to overload you with carbs given all the meat you had to deal with but I can't help thinking that this set menu would be elevated so much by having a portion of those truffle chips on the side! Only a minor gripe (and only one because I'm a greedy bastard).
To finish of the meal we opted for the lemon mousse and chocolate mousse. The lemon was pretty tangy and the chocolate was sweet but not too heavy, the caramel went well with it too. Not the best desserts I've had but a nice way to round of this set.
I get a feeling that your evening at Beast is pretty much geared towards the main course, it feels like the main event and it's pretty much the reason why you go to Beast. I have minor quibbles with the meal and at £75 per head it's not the cheapest but the crab and steak is easily good enough to get me going back for more, looking forward to round 2.
