Review of TDQ Steaks in London

I was invited to review TDQ Steaks in London and took along my gorgeous friend Natalie and her 12 week old baby boy. The restaurant was very accommodating and gave us a table with enough space for the buggy.

Located on Albert Embankment, TDQ Steaks is a short walk from Vauxhall Station or a slightly longer walk from Waterloo. We arrived from Vauxhall but chose to walk to Waterloo afterwards to help digest!

TDQ Steaks also has a restaurant in Amsterdam, hence the homage with a painting of Amsterdam homes along a canal. The decor is really stylish, with leather seats, wood paneling and accents of colour.

There is a really cool area near the kitchen that has a wall of wine! Well, I think it’s really a wine fridge. A very clever way to show off the wine in a stylish way whilst keeping it chilled at the same time.

Speaking of a wine wall/fridge… Is a meal ever complete without Prosecco? I think not! As a self-titled Prosecco connoisseur I was delighted that not only was the Prosecco very good, it was also perfectly chilled. It’s also very reasonably priced at around £35 per bottle.

For starters, Natalie chose the Otoro tuna tartare. It was a very aesthetically pleasing stack of bluefin tuna with avocado, caviar, leek sprouts, tomato, mango and pickled ginger, served with a wonton on the side. I had a few mouthfuls and it was absolutely delicious. I particularly enjoyed scooping the tuna on to the wonton so there was a lovely crunch.

For my starter I chose the Japanese seared scallops with caviar, cilantro and a red yuzu dressing. The scallops were a little on the small side but they were perfectly cooked and beautifully presented. The caviar added a touch of luxury to both the starters!

For our mains, of course we had to order steak – after all it’s the main attraction at a steakhouse! We asked our lovely server what we should go for and she suggested a selection of different 100 gram cuts for us to share, so we asked her to choose for us. We were asked how we like our meat cooked and thankfully Natalie and I were on the same page with ‘medium rare’.

The selection we got were the Royal Wagyu Fillet, the Canadian Bison (ribeye cut and the Premium Prairie), the Scottish Black Gold, the prime steer from New Zealand and lamb (also from New Zealand).

All of the cuts of meat were cooked exactly to our taste – medium rare as we had requested. Natalie and I both agreed that the Royal Wagyu Fillet, which was a Kobe fillet with a grade of A5 (the highest you can get) was our absolute favourite. No wonder it’s described as ‘The Emperor’s Beef’. It’s imported directly from Japan and even has its own passport! In Fact, TDQ Steaks is just one of the few companies licensed to import Japanese Kobe across Europe and only one of two restaurants in the UK serving this prime grade of meat.

Just look how beautifully cooked it was! Honestly it just melted in the mouth. We also chose two sauces – the chimichurri and the truffle sauce. The sign of a good steak though is to not need the sauce! The sauces were great but the meat was also fantastic on its own.

We also both really enjoyed the New Zealand lamb and I particularly liked the Canadian Bison ribeye, which was very tender. Bison was a new one for me! Apparently it is a nutrient dense and lean red meat which has lower saturated fat than beef. TDQ Steaks is the only steakhouse in the UK that imports its bison directly from the Canadian supplier. The selection of meat was excellent and definitely the star of the show – as should be the case for a steak restaurant!

Unfortunately the side dishes were a bit disappointing. As Natalie is currently lactose intolerant, they kindly served the sauce separately for the cauliflower and broccoli, however the menu described the dish as ‘crunchy’ and these were definitely just steamed. Also, the sweet potato was described as oven roasted with teriyaki yet I couldn’t taste any teriyaki at all and it just appeared to be baked rather than roasted.

Overall we really enjoyed our lunch. TDQ Steaks is a stylish restaurant and I’d definitely have a pre-dinner cocktail at their beautiful bar if I came back in the evening. Our server was so lovely and professional and explained all the different cuts expertly. The meat was of an excellent standard and the Wagyu was incredible. Next time I’ll order the fries over the sweet potato though!

Our meal was complimentary in exchange for an honest review.