The Lowback

Hawksmoor is an iconic establishment known for its steaks with several branches across London. We recently visited The Lowback, the bar at its new Canary Wharf branch. The overall structure of the restaurant is quite innovative as it's a floating pavilion that bobs along with the tide. The internal ambience was amazing too with plush furnishings and rich woodwork. There was a good selection of drinks and the cocktails we ordered were creative and tasted great! In addition to their iconic steaks, the Lowback also had a selection of great starters focused on seafood. We ordered an assortment of starters, all of which tasted excellent! The service was good too. Overall, the Lowback is a really chic bar with some great food and cocktails and we'll definitely be coming back!

The Lowback is the Hawksmoor's more laid-back cousin. I normally don't think much of fancy steak places like the Hawksmoor (why do they put on airs when all they're doing is warming up a slab of meat?!) so the Lowback is much more up my alley. The Sunday roast is very good. You can have it pink or well done, or if you are in a group you can have it served family-style. It comes with some nice little touches, like the chunk of roasted garlic, and the big Yorkshire pudding with a potato tucked inside so you have one left over to mop up your leftover gravy and horseradish. (They also do chicken as an alternative to beef.) However, the kitchen seemed a little slow when we visited about 14:30. It took around 30 minutes for the food to arrive from ordering and it didn't seem particularly busy. Maybe the Hawksmoor upstairs was more crowded? At least they have a selection of good cocktails to help pass the time and whet the appetite.

Excellent Sunday lunch at The Lowback, which is part of Hawksmoor, and located underneath (I’m not quite sure what the difference is - it’s the same food and menu, and I booked through the Hawksmoor website, but they didn’t have any record of my booking at the Hawksmoor restaurant bit and sent us downstairs to the Lowback bar). The bar is described by staff as more relaxed than the restaurant - and we weren’t disappointed. It’s very beautifully decorated, in a lounge-bar style (padded leather seats and booths), and the staff were very friendly and attentive. We ordered the sharing rump roast for two (£26 pp) and it came very quickly, displayed in a roasting dish with medium/medium-rare beef, 2 enormous Yorkshire puds, carrots and cabbage, roast potatoes, two half bulbs of garlic, roasted shallots, and a jug each of bone marrow gravy jus. We also ordered a side of creamed spinach which was delicious and herby. The cauliflower cheese looks excellent too! It was incredibly filling and delicious. Cocktails were superb too with really interesting ingredients and flavours. (The Tommy Verde has tequila and green tomato, and the Fat-washed Old Fashioned with Woodford Reserve bourbon and tonka bean). It was a very relaxed lunch and very pleasant looking out onto the water side. Booking recommended! Bathrooms / facilities were in immaculate condition too.