After all the depressing news about restaurants and food outlets closing down it is great to be able to announce that Flat Iron are opening only their second restaurant outside of London at the end of next month, and have chosen Leeds to be the venue. Their first foray was to Cambridge so a quantum leap into the North, and where better to start than in the county from which they source, and sauce, their beef.

The company started in Shoreditch in 2012 and spread to other rejuvenated areas of the capital, although Kensington didn’t need much in the way of gentrification, until they now have an even dozen plus the Cambridge branch.

The aim of the founder, Charlie Carroll, was ‘to make remarkable steak for everyone’, he did this by choosing secondary cuts, which are more reasonably priced but still as tasty, if not more so, than the expensive ones. The eponymous Flat Iron Steak is joined by Flat Iron Sirloin and Scottish Bavette. Bavette is the French for Flank which is so tasty that it is nicknamed Butchers’ Steak as they used to keep it on one side for themselves, and possibly still do, but they are not going to tell us about it or there will be none left.

The menu lists the provenance of the beef, as well as other ingredients, some of which comes from their own Flat Iron Herd reared by Charles Ashbridge at his beef farm just outside Thirsk in North Yorkshire. They also use this beef for their Bearnaise Cheeseburger.

There are sauces; Bearnaise, Peppercorn, Homemade Smoked Chilli Mayo and Wild Mushroom, should you wish to augment the steak, and sides include Homemade Beef Dripping Chips, Crispy Bone Marrow Garlic Mash and Truffled Macaroni Cheese. There is only one dessert, Homemade Tahitian Vanilla Soft Serve with Original Beans Cru Virunga Chocolate Shavings. There is no price listed for this treat as it is just that, a treat from the management.

As you would expect, there is a good selection of wines, beer, soft drinks and cocktails so, should you find yourself in the vicinity of the old Byron Burger in Lands Lane come the end of November, then why not steak the place out. See what I did there?

For more details of the company please go to http://www.flatironsteak.co.uk

Photographs provided by Chapter81, The first three in the body of the article by Justin DeSouza

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