Hawksmoor Knightsbridge - Knightsbridge & Belgravia, London

Hawksmoor is many things: untrammelled success story, artisanal purveyor of native beef, and one of the best companies to work for in Britain. Gallons of ink have been spilled as they've furthered their empire. Now, like manifest destiny, they've penetrated into the Western frontier, setting up shop in one of London's most well-heeled districts and doing what they do best: innovating. This newest restaurant is a bit out of the fray, nestled just off Brompton Road in the basement on Yeoman's Row that formerly housed Frankie's.

As with all of their restaurants, it's of a piece with Hawksmoor's Art Deco design calling card, yet tweaked subtly to pay homage to its new location, with a bit more airiness and restraint than the Seven Dials or Air Street locations. The flooring is remarkable, reclaimed oak from a Blackpool dancehall, while brass arched windows are possibly the most striking aspect of the room. On our visit we were struck, as usual, by the competency of the staff, who regaled us of stories of excursions to Brixham in Devon to meet the fishermen or steak masterclasses with group chef Richard Turner. We opted for a couple of cocktails to whet our appetites, an eye wateringly strong Full Fat Old Fashioned and a crisp, refreshing Grapefruit Picador, and were surprised when a couple of complimentary flutes of champagne arrived at the table as part of the soft launch, which paired up well with our starters.

This new menu is much like the old, underpinned with exceptional provenance of beef and precise cooking. However, as they've continued to expand, they've done the same with their menu, co-opting fish under the tutelage of Mitch Tonks, and now, creating dishes with a Southeast Asian slant. For our starters, we opted for the steak tartar, fried oysters, and Vietnamese oysters. As always, the tartar was excellent, but the latter was of unbridled flavour, served on the half shell with chopped chilli, cilantro, crispy onions and a pho-style broth.

For our mains we ordered a ribeye medium rare and the Brixham devilled lobster. The ribeye was as excellent as always but the lobster requires some explanation. Borrowing inspiration from the chilli crab popularised in the food courts of Singapore, this lobster was large enough for a horror film, packed with sweet flesh and complemented by a sauce that was a touch spicier and with less egg than its source material. It was messy, perhaps a bit out of place in Knightsbridge, but worth risking a stained shirt over.

Luckily for us, we opted to share a dessert, which was of monolithic proportions. Named the Ferrero Rocher, it comprised of a gigantic carapace of chocolate impregnated with gold leaf, hazelnuts, hazelnut gelato and nutella that was so rich that it flirted with obscenity. As with visits to other Hawksmoor sites, we were so full that a chairlift would have been a useful means of departure from the restaurant, and an Uber was an absolute necessity.