Goodman City, London EC2

Dinner for two, without wine, £100

I have lost count of the restaurants that have opened in London billed as New York steakhouses. The quest to find the real thing has been disappointing, but a close match has appeared from an unlikely source: a Russian chain. Goodman has got pretty much everything right, not least the meat, which is the best I have tasted since visiting the famous Peter Luger in Brooklyn.

Goodman isn’t new, its Mayfair restaurant having been open for two years already. This City outpost, launched in September, has already received plenty of accolades, and rightly so. Starters included sweet pickled herring, Russian style, with hot mustard, cornichons and warm, dark rye bread—frozen vodka shot optional—and light tiger prawn tempura with avocado mango and Cajun mayonnaise. Both were delicious, but unless you have an outsized appetite you could go straight to the main attraction. Visit Goodman for the meat.

Diners have a choice of premium USDA corn-fed Angus, Scottish and Irish grass-fed, and Chilean Wagyu beef. Knowledgeable waiters bring different cuts to the table so you know what you are ordering. We chose a porterhouse and the Goodman rib-eye. Cooked in bespoke Josper coal ovens, they were outstanding: tender, juicy, gently charred and packed with flavour. Reasonably priced side dishes, including creamed spinach and hand-cut chips, were excellent, too. If the meat leaves space for dessert the home-made ice cream is divine.

For a City restaurant Goodman is warm and welcoming, from the spacious bar area to the large dining room, with a view of the open kitchen and a dry-ageing room that takes up most of one glass wall. Among a dazzling choice of restaurants Goodman certainly stands out.

Tina Nielsen