Tomahawk Steakhouse York // The largest steak I ever did see

Whilst I'm generally a healthy eater and aim for a few meat-free days a week, I'm more of a flexitarian and won't be going fully vegetarian or vegan any time soon. I love my meat too much (take that as you will) with a good medium rare steak being a firm favourite. Forever on the hunt for a good steak or steakhouse, one day I saw Tomahawk pop up on my feed with mouth watering images of succulent steak, and joy behold, there was one located in York, a place that was next on my travels.

Location

Tucked a little out of the way, but near to Mansion House and The Ivy, I ventured down a side passage which I found to be fairly quiet, not seeing much in the way of people. Because of this I figured Tomahawk York wouldn't be all that busy. WRONG.

First impressions

I arrived at a small bar area with a few raised tables and bar stools. All very industrial in look and feel with exposed brick walls. This holding area was deserted with no one at the bar which I figured may have been due to the tucked away nature of the restaurant. You could hear chatter and laughter elsewhere though, and that's when a host descended from a industrial metal staircase to welcome us and I first discovered that the restaurant was located on different levels. 

Once we ventured upstairs, we discovered that the restaurant was deceptively large - which you didn't get a sense of from the front - and in fact stretched way back. We passed lots of booth seating filled with friends, couples on date night, and big groups of lads with large wooden sharing boards presented with slices of perfectly pink steak. 

Our table

I had booked a table in advance and we were led right to the back of the joint, to a table located right infront of their bustling but beautiful main bar. I'd say that being sat here was probably the low light of my visit. You constantly had members of staff rushing past you, going to and fro from the bar, so it didn't feel very private, especially when you're on a date. Also we seemed to be on top of a wobbly floorboard so whenever anyone walked past, our table (and food) wobbled about which did get a little annoying. There were so many nice, quiet, intimate corners of the restaurant and I would have preferred to sit somewhere a little more private. For this reason, I'm not sure that I'd book in advance again. I would probably just turn up and chance it, with the hope of being allocated a booth.

The menu

The menu was extensive with plenty of vegetarian, fish and vegan options too if you're that way inclined and are simply accompanying your meat loving friends or partner. We all know the reason why I was there. It would have been rude not to try one of their celebrated steaks. The restaurant boasts the finest Himalayan salt dry-aged steaks and Wagyu and I was excited to try these. The choice was real. Along with your usual ribeye, sirloin and fillet steak options, there were also sharing boards, and larger cuts of meat like the porterhouse (16oz), chateaubriand (18oz), cote de boeuf (35oz) and tomahawk (36-38oz). 

Some of these larger cuts don't come cheap, but the sharing steaks come with 4 free sides and there was an extensive choice including the following:

• Fries / Beef dripping chips / Truffle parmesan fries
• Sweet potato wedges with feta and harrissa yoghurt
• Mushrooms with slow roasted tomatoes
• Mash / Truffle mash
• Peas with bacon
• Mac and cheese
• Broccoli
• Salad
• Spinach with stilton
• Garlic mushrooms
• Spicy siracha slaw
• Garlic prawns
• Brisket and cheddar hash browns
• Beer battered onion rings

So much choice! Which of these sides has your name on it? I'd love to know in the comments below!

The main event

We opted for the tomahawk as I'd always wanted to try one and it would have been rude not to order the restaurant namesake, right? This was a beast of a steak in the form of a bone in ribeye and was cooked to perfection. It had marbling which can be hit and miss and can sometimes mean chewy, and it was in places. Would I have it again? I would, but with such an extensive steak menu, I'd be keen to try another type of steak first.

The sides

Garlic prawns are usually a favourite of mine but these were very pale in colour and quite anaemic looking, so I was a little nervous about whether these were fully cooked or not (as it turns out, we had no problems with food poisoning thankfully!). I also love a good beer battered onion ring. These were ok, but I've had better. I wasn't blown away by the sides other than than fries, so next time around I'd be keen to try a few different ones (perhaps the brisket and cheddar hash browns).

Would I go back?

I would, but I would choose a different cut of meat with - hopefully - a higher meat to fat ratio to it. I will happily eat a whole steak - fat included - if the fat is rendered down enough. However if the fat is tough as old boots and unchewable, it means a lot of the dish can't be eaten and it's a crying shame. It makes an already costly dish feel that little bit worse from a value for money perspective when a huge sharing steak doesn't contain all that much in the way of edible meat. 

I would order the fries again but with a few different sides, and I'd been be keen to try the crispy squid to start which comes with chorizo jam and roasted garlic and lemon mayo and sounds all kinds of dreamy don't you think?

Are you a flexitarian or a meat fan like I am?