Pricey Steaks Become a Must-Have at Top London Restaurants
Even as overall beef consumption declines in the UK, slabs of sirloin, T-bones and ribs, priced at £105-plus per kilogram, are flying off grills in the capital.
At Ibai in the City, the starting price for a kilogram of beef is £105.
Photographer: Steven Joyce/IbaiNothing represents London’s newfound appreciation for prime meat more effectively than the dry-aging glass cabinet at the Black Cow. The restaurant will be the flagship of the new £750 million ($930 million) development the Stage in Shoreditch when it opens in April, across the street from the forthcoming Museum of Shakespeare. Its most eye-catching feature is a 26-by-16-foot custom-built Italian cabinet with the capacity to hold 50 sides of beef that passersby can ogle from the street.
A museum-worthy cabinet full of maturing beef joints—and the top-of-the-line Josper grill that owners Amir Batito and Shiri Kraus installed to ensure it’s precisely cooked—used to stand out in the UK capital. Now it’s practically a staple, as London’s appetite for well-bred, well-aged beef continues to grow, even as overall consumption slowly declines in the UK.