Butler's Wharf Chop House - London Bridge, London

Disregarding for a moment the droves of American and Asian tourists constantly filing over Tower Bridge, the structure is undoubtedly one of the most wondrous and visually arresting landmarks in London. One of the best means of avoiding those tourists and enjoying the sight is choosing a spot to dine in its vicinity, and one of the best of those places, particularly if you have a carnivorous streak, is Butler's Wharf Chop House.

Nestled next to the celebrated French restaurant Le Pont de la Tour, the restaurant was one of the original openings to spark the redevelopment of Butler's Wharf as a cultural and culinary hotspot. Evolv Collection has ensured that it has remained a popular destination by ensuring that the food is delicious and letting the views do the rest of the heavy lifting. The most recent step that Evolv Collection has taken to accomplish this was the hiring of Gemma Hyjek, who has cut her teeth at some the finest restaurants in Paris and London, including the three Michelin-starred Restaurant Guy Savoy and the similarly acclaimed Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, before captaining the kitchens of Bumpkin and Sushinho as head chef.

To experience the restaurant at its finest, we heartily recommend an evening booking, so that you can watch the sun descend west of the city while Tower Bridge is gradually illuminated. The dining room itself is in very good taste, with varnished wooden chairs and white tablecloths on the table. It's almost redolent of an understated New England steak and seafood restaurant, with pendant ships lights, timber flooring, an abundance of teal and white wainscoting, whitewashed walls and exposed beams, not to mention the fragrance of meat and fish sizzling on the grill.

On our visit, we opted for some classic flavours, favouring delicate starters and big, beefy mains. Colchester rock oysters were ineffably fresh, brought to the table with lemon, Tabasco and an acerbic mignonette sauce. Another starter of chilled heirloom tomato soup with garlic croutons was a perfect appetite sharpener.

The ribeye was brought out flawlessly medium rare, enough so that the deckle and interstitial fat melded tunefully with the pink Lake District beef. There was also the option to enjoy the ribeye on the bone, but it would require quite a large appetite to conquer all 650 grams of it. The T-bone steak was pure cow candy, both fillet and sirloin cuts being tempered and tender by the bone dividing them.

Desserts were also well conceived. A banana split consisted of scoops of chocolate, coffee and vanilla ice cream settled between the titular fruit, then overlaid with smashed peanuts, caramel and hot fudge sauce. Another classic, a sticky toffee pudding, was equally toothsome. It was immersed in a rich toffee sauce with an orb of vanilla ice cream on the side. By the time the meal had come to a conclusion, the bridge was fully aglow, beckoning us onto it for a postprandial stroll.