Goodman continues to move east. With the first restaurant having opened in Mayfair, the second in the City, the third Goodman steakhouse has now opened in Canary Wharf. Despite that fact, even for those who work in the Wharf, this might still be news for the opening has been a somewhat low key affair. What's more, with the prime sites around 1 Canada Square now taken, the new Goodman venue has been pushed further south than is perhaps desirable, placing it on the waterfront at South Quay. Finally, to obscure it a little further, a 325ft yacht variously rumoured to belong to either us, Dave Strauss or the Onassis family is now moored directly in front of the restaurant.
The good news however is that this is the first Goodman with an outside dining area which means when the sun shines, as it has this week, it is possibly the best Goodman location in which to enjoy the summer. Second, they open Saturdays which the City branch does not, so if you live east, it will save you a trip to Mayfair and third, especially good news if you work in Canary Wharf, they do weekday takeaway burgers between 11 and 3pm. Food at Canary Wharf it would seem just got a whole lot better. But how does the Canary Wharf branch compare with the other two? No MrsCC tonight but instead, friends P, G and J joined me to try it out.
As a quick recap, in case somehow you have managed to avoid knowing this, Goodman is one of London's premier steakhouses. They sell aged USDA, UK and Irish beef (aged in the restaurants's own ageing room) and cook it on the well regarded Josper Grill delivering what we certainly believe is the best steak to be had in London.
The good news however is that this is the first Goodman with an outside dining area which means when the sun shines, as it has this week, it is possibly the best Goodman location in which to enjoy the summer. Second, they open Saturdays which the City branch does not, so if you live east, it will save you a trip to Mayfair and third, especially good news if you work in Canary Wharf, they do weekday takeaway burgers between 11 and 3pm. Food at Canary Wharf it would seem just got a whole lot better. But how does the Canary Wharf branch compare with the other two? No MrsCC tonight but instead, friends P, G and J joined me to try it out.
As a quick recap, in case somehow you have managed to avoid knowing this, Goodman is one of London's premier steakhouses. They sell aged USDA, UK and Irish beef (aged in the restaurants's own ageing room) and cook it on the well regarded Josper Grill delivering what we certainly believe is the best steak to be had in London.
Big yacht in front of Goodman
Steak at Goodman is certainly an obvious choice to have which in turn might mean that many punters could fail to properly read the menu. If you do read the menu closely however, you'll find unique amongst Goodman outlets that Canary Wharf sells lobster roll and chips for £20. The reason this is special of course is that Goodman has a sister restaurant called... Burger & Lobster, the hyper successful restaurant off Green park that sells burgers, lobsters and lobster rolls for £20. The problem with B&L however is that is also comes with lengthy queues at peak times.
Now, since Goodman also sell burgers (priced at £14 so cheaper than B&L), Goodman Canary Wharf offers two thirds of what Burger & Lobster offers but with the ability to book a table! This seems like a major find and one we are sure to take advantage of in future. Keen to compare the lobster offering, the restaurant kindly let us try a lobster roll as a starter and it's every bit as delicious as B&L, principally because it's the very same thing (though a touch more mayo is applied at Goodman CW). So far then, bingo.
Now, since Goodman also sell burgers (priced at £14 so cheaper than B&L), Goodman Canary Wharf offers two thirds of what Burger & Lobster offers but with the ability to book a table! This seems like a major find and one we are sure to take advantage of in future. Keen to compare the lobster offering, the restaurant kindly let us try a lobster roll as a starter and it's every bit as delicious as B&L, principally because it's the very same thing (though a touch more mayo is applied at Goodman CW). So far then, bingo.
Lobster roll at Goodman
Back to the steaks. First thing you might notice on the main menu is that while Mayfair and City focus on USDA beef, here, it is Nebraska beef. Indeed, today's useless fact is that Nebraska has four times as many cows as people and as a state, beef production is more important for Nebraska than any other in the US.
Nebraska versus USDA beef: what's the difference? Well, in the US, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service offers a voluntary beef grading program: the meet processor pays for an AMS grader to grade the carcasses at the abattoir and certain standards need to be upheld. Ultimately though, it is a government based marketing service. Diners need not fear then that beef is not USDA certified, if you trust in the provenance. At Goodman, we certainly do.
We must alas leave Nebraska beef there for now since we ordered from the board, the specials board that is which carries an even more extensive list of beefy options. In another transatlantic taste test, we had between the four of us a 40 day aged USDA bone in ribeye, and a 30 day aged Belted Galloway bone in ribeye. true to Goodman form, these were both fantastic steaks, both perfectly cooked. By a unanimous vote, the Belted Galloway was considered the better of the two on both taste and texture. However, there was not even a need for a doggie bag on this occasion, piranhas could not have done a better job in returning clean bones to the kitchen.
Nebraska versus USDA beef: what's the difference? Well, in the US, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service offers a voluntary beef grading program: the meet processor pays for an AMS grader to grade the carcasses at the abattoir and certain standards need to be upheld. Ultimately though, it is a government based marketing service. Diners need not fear then that beef is not USDA certified, if you trust in the provenance. At Goodman, we certainly do.
We must alas leave Nebraska beef there for now since we ordered from the board, the specials board that is which carries an even more extensive list of beefy options. In another transatlantic taste test, we had between the four of us a 40 day aged USDA bone in ribeye, and a 30 day aged Belted Galloway bone in ribeye. true to Goodman form, these were both fantastic steaks, both perfectly cooked. By a unanimous vote, the Belted Galloway was considered the better of the two on both taste and texture. However, there was not even a need for a doggie bag on this occasion, piranhas could not have done a better job in returning clean bones to the kitchen.
two bone in ribeyes
We finished up with a mixed plate of desserts leaving the table divided on which was best. J preferred the dark chocolate with its hidden caramel centre while I surprised myself by finding a favourite in their bread and butter pudding. On a different day, the cheesecake could easily have been the winner. We are always full when we leave Goodman, usually full after the steaks so we don't so often get to try desserts; today was naughty but fun.
White chocolate crème brulee, marinated raspberries with basil
Bread & butter pudding with pistachio ice cream
Dark chocolate mousse with caramel and chocolate brownie base
Baked NY cheesecake with pineapple
Since our first visit over a year ago, we have been huge fans of Goodman for three reasons: first, the quality of the beef they use; second, the consistency of the meal they deliver; third, the service and the people, always so friendly, it's the perfect environment to enjoy a night out. We were delighted to find that Goodman Canary Wharf delivers on all of these. Co-GMs Jessica and Giovanni are both excellent, very customer focussed, while Kai, who looked after our table for the night was simply fantastic.
Which of the Goodmans you choose to visit will probably depend on where you live or work. However it little matters for they display a strong level of consistency between restaurants and our meals at each have all been first class. Goodman Canary Wharf does however do a Lobster Roll and that might occasionally influence things.
In summary, four hungry people entered the restaurant, four happy people left. Goodman Canary Wharf is, we are pleased to report, 100% Goodman.
Return to homepage
Related websites
Goodman Canary Wharf homepage
Goodman City Burger review by CC
Goodman Mayfair by CC
Which of the Goodmans you choose to visit will probably depend on where you live or work. However it little matters for they display a strong level of consistency between restaurants and our meals at each have all been first class. Goodman Canary Wharf does however do a Lobster Roll and that might occasionally influence things.
In summary, four hungry people entered the restaurant, four happy people left. Goodman Canary Wharf is, we are pleased to report, 100% Goodman.
Return to homepage
Related websites
Goodman Canary Wharf homepage
Goodman City Burger review by CC
Goodman Mayfair by CC
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