Beast - Marylebone, London

London is a city amongst cities, where people can take big chances, come up with seemingly crazy ideas, and become wildly successful in the process. When the Goodman Group, famous for their American-style steakhouses, decided to branch out with Burger & Lobster, many people thumbed their noses at the idea of only two menu options, but were quick to cease and desist when it received universal adulation from the critics and set up multiple restaurants across the city. It's with the same spirit that they embarked on the undertaking of Beast, where Goodman has upgraded from burgers and lobster to USDA prime beef and Norwegian king crab, in an experience that will dismantle preconceptions of what a set menu can offer. 

Upon arriving at the restaurant on a quiet lane just north of Oxford Street, the reception team will direct you downstairs via stairway or lift to the dining room, where you'll encounter the crabs, housed in blue-lit tanks, resembling the larval offspring of some invidious extraterrestrial creature, as well as the meat dry-hanging. As you walk into the main dining room you'll find an admixture of Hogwart's and a Beowulf-era feasting hall, with long oaken candlelit tables spanning the room illuminated by iron gantries with more candles, a statement wine case, with a bluestone wall framing an aperture into the kitchen where the chefs sweat over a bespoke charcoal grill from interior Texas.

Guests sit beside each other when dining in pairs, or across from each other in groups of four, which encourages intimacy and gregariousness in the large dining room. The service is superlative with waiter swooping in immediately to explain the menu and wine selections, after which diners are presented with the 'Appetizer' section of the meal. This consists of an immense quarter wheel of parmesan which has been chiselled into large glassine shards of cheese and complemented by aged balsamic vinegar, alongside artichoke hearts, pickled onions and Castelvetrano olives. Although these are all of extremely high quality, we recommend saving some space for what is to follow.

The hero course is a combination of the king crab and steak, which varies in cut. When we visited is was a massive hunk of bone-in prime rib from Nebraska. We were also lucky to get a little tour of the kitchen and a discussion with the head chef, who explained that it is cooked three feet over the coals for thirty minutes, and is flipped every thirty seconds, which renders the interstitial fat and deckle to an obscenely flavourful unctuousness. The crab is steamed rather than boiled, which helps to retain the flavours and minerals in the flesh. These two dishes are set on the table at the same time, alongside a variety of sides including a leafy salad, grilled beetroot, haricot verdes, and smoked heirloom tomatoes.

The final arrival included on the £75 menu is probably the most challenging to ingest after the abundance of the earlier courses. There's a deconstructed cheesecake as well as a lemon mousse topped with meringue on offer, both of which are pleasant enough, but are more of a point of departure following the beef and crab. Beast is a very rare type of restaurant, one that is aimed at attracting big spenders, but with its excellent ingredients cooked perfectly, one that looks poised to stand the test of time.

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