Underdog Restaurants
Hawksmoor[1]
IndustryHospitality
Founded2006 (2006)[2]
HeadquartersLondon[1]
Number of locations
10 restaurants[3]
OwnerGraphite Capital[4]
Websitethehawksmoor.com
A two storey pavilion floating in a dock, surrounded by tall buildings. On the front is an illuminated sign reading "Hawksmoor" in capital letters
Hawksmoor restaurant and bar in Wood Wharf, London

Hawksmoor is a British steakhouse and cocktail bar chain started in 2006.[5]

Development

The restaurant was founded by Will Beckett and Huw Gott in 2006.[6] They had previously worked in bars and kitchens in London's East End and opened their new bar/restaurant on Commercial Street.[6] Their plan was to offer high-quality, well-butchered beef, so they tasted a range of beef from all over the world, until coming to the conclusion that the best tasting steak was from the UK.[6]

Their second branch in Seven Dials was opened in 2010.[7] This was especially successful and the turnover of their company, Underdog, increased from £4 million to £11 million.[7]

In 2013, the founders sold a majority stake in the chain to the private equity group Graphite Capital — investors in other London businesses such as the Groucho Club and Wagamama.[8]

The valuation was £35 million but the founders planned to continue to work and invest in the business.[8]

The company has been ranked three star Sunday Times Best Companies for eight consecutive years (in 2014 was the best restaurant company to work for), three star Sustainable Restaurant Association award as well as being involved in variety of charity projects (predominantly for Action Against Hunger, for which Hawksmoor has raised/donated over £1m).[9]

Reception

Giles Coren, reviewing the Seven Dials branch in The Times, praised it as "great, great steak. Best you’ll find anywhere. ... cooked medium rare at Hawksmoor's suggestion and had deep black charry cooking flavours and sweet pink fruity juices. The fillet was uncommonly flavourful, the sirloin unusually tender. There was no texture-taste compromise to consider, it was all good. All, all good".[10]

Locations

Hawksmoor Guildhall

Hawksmoor runs seven London restaurants, including: Air Street, Borough, Guildhall, Knightsbridge, Seven Dials, Spitalfields, and Wood Wharf.[11]

They also run restaurants in Edinburgh, Manchester, and New York City.[12][13][14]

Hawksmoor planned to open restaurants in Liverpool in autumn 2022 and in Dublin in spring 2023.[15][16]

Awards

In February 2020, Hawksmoor was recognized at the Best Companies to Work For special awards 2020 in the "Innovation in Engagement" category.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Contact Us". Hawksmoor.
  2. ↑ "Steak & Seafood Restaurant". Hawksmoor.
  3. ↑ "Steak Restaurants London, Manchester & Edinburgh". Hawksmoor.
  4. ↑ "Hawksmoor". Graphite Capital.
  5. ↑ "Hawksmoor". DublinTown. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Andrew Webb (2012), "Steaks from Hawksmoor", Food Britannia, Random House, p. 400 et seq, ISBN 9781409022220
  7. 1 2 Tom Vaughan (23 November 2012), "Hawksmoor: The return of the steakhouse", Caterer and Hotelkeeper, archived from the original on 24 June 2014
  8. 1 2 Reynolds, Anna (1 August 2013), "Macfarlanes, Olswang act on sale of steak in Hawksmoor restaurant chain", Legal Week – via Law.com
  9. ↑ "Ethics". Hawksmoor. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Giles Coren (12 February 2011), "Giles Coren reviews Hawksmoor Seven Dials, London WC2", The Times
  11. ↑ "London". Hawksmoor.
  12. ↑ "Steak & Seafood Restaurant | Edinburgh Restaurant". Hawksmoor.
  13. ↑ "Best Steak House in Manchester". Hawksmoor.
  14. ↑ "Hawksmoor Steakhouse and Cocktail Bar". Hawksmoor.
  15. ↑ "Liverpool". Hawksmoor. 17 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Dublin". Hawksmoor. 6 June 2022.
  17. ↑ Times, The Sunday. "Best Companies to Work For special awards 2020". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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