A tonne of beef a week. Each of our restaurants receives around 1,000kgs of dry-aged beef – every week. That’s equivalent to 3,300 rump steaks and our head chefs check each cut individually. We’re looking for specific signs of quality, which also show that the cow lived well. A certain sort of marbling, for example, shows they’ve actually used their muscles to freely roam and eat grass. It all contributes to a lovely depth of flavour.

Gravy. How do you do it on your Sunday Roast? • So everything’s absolutely swimming. • Just enough to fill up that Yorkshire pud. • An arty smattering all over, Jackson Pollock-style. Everyone’s got their own way of spilling the good stuff, but whatever your gravy game is we’ve got you covered with as much as you need. Beautiful bone marrow and onion gravy, ready to give a moreish lift to that handsome rump or sharing steak – and all the trimmings.

“It’s like snapping spaghetti in half before you put it in the pot!” That was one table’s jovial response to their waiter asking whether they’d like their sharing steak – a chateaubriand, in this case – sliced for them. Their rationale was that THEY would like to decide how the steak was cut, rather than someone choosing doing it for them. “It’s all part of the ritual.” For some, ready-sliced steak is sacrilegious; others, convenient. Simply stick your fork into your favourite-looking piece and away you go. Tell us, do you like your steak sliced for you?

“Arise, Sir Loin of Beef!” Story has it that Henry VIII (or possibly James I) loved this cut so much that he knighted it. Sadly, that’s almost certainly cock-and-bull. The name predates both monarchs, though the pun itself was bandied around the court as early as the 1630s (when Charles II was king). More likely is that ‘sir’ comes from the French ‘sur’ meaning ‘on’. Sur-loin – above the loin. Funny that the French don’t call it that at all, favouring faux-filet (‘fake filet’) instead. In the US, meanwhile, it’s a strip steak. Call it what you will, but be assured that our 35-day dry-aged sirloin steaks are a thing of noble beauty – knight-worthy, in fact – with an even balance of flavour and tenderness.

Some beefy history for you. In his letters on the ‘Character and Customs of the English’, the 18th-century Swiss writer Louis de Muralt wrote: "Roast beef is the favourite dish at the King's table as well as a tradesman's. It may be the emblem of the prosperity and plenty of the English.” Nowadays, we think it's the emblem of togetherness, too, which is why we take it so seriously. A Sunday roast at Hawksmoor puts a kingly cut – dry-aged beef rump – centre stage and then surrounds it with a court of splendid sides. See you later?

The Hawksmoor Eight. We use other parts of the animal in burgers hot dogs, pies and braises, but these are our favourite cuts of steak. FILLET: The laziest muscle on the cow = the most tender steak. SIRLOIN: Sits just above the fillet. A good balance of flavour and tenderness. T-BONE: Two steaks in one: fillet and sirloin separated by T-Bone. PORTERHOUSE: The same T-Bone shaped steak however the Porterhouse has more of the fillet muscle. RIB-EYE: The inner 'eye' of the flavoursome rib muscles. Containing a seam of fat that bastes the meat as it cooks. PRIME RIB: A rib-eye with the rib bone attached. Big, bold flavour, with rich and tender areas from the fat. RUMP: A more hardworking muscle with lots of beefy flavour. CHATEAUBRIAND: The thick end of the wedge-shaped fillet. Fibres are open and the steak is super soft. What's your favourite cut?

D’you remember when walk-ins were the norm? What the hell happened? Nowadays it feels like you need to pre-book just about anywhere. Or even worse – queue. But maybe you’re more of a spontaneous diner. Step out and see where the night takes you. Well, we’re with you. And that’s why we do walk-ins. In fact, about ⅓ of our customers come in off the street, all curious and hopeful. Be it an express-menu lunch or a four-hour marathon, we’ll more than likely have a spot for you. So don’t worry about booking ahead. And to hell with queuing.

Triple. Cooked. Chips. We follow the method pioneered by Heston Blumenthal. The three cooks in the name are boil, first fry and second fry. It doesn't sound very complicated, but as ever, the devil is in the details. Now, don't get us started on sauces. Anyone for bone marrow gravy with theirs?

The best cut of beef for a Sunday Feast? It’s a hotly contested subject among the team here at Hawksmoor. Ask Drew Gladwell, our GM at Wood Wharf, and he’ll tell you it’s all about the prime rib. "My family and I almost always choose it. I love thick steak: it allows you to get great Maillard – the char of the crust – while retaining a nice medium rare inside. Sliced and ready for the table, it really looks the part at a Sunday feast.” Make your case for the Sunday steak.

“Probably got glue in it to make it look like that.” If we didn’t know better, we might’ve believed this comment about our singularly stringy mac ‘n’ cheese. But we do and so we’ll tell you the truth: Squeaky mozzarella. The Italian stuff won’t work. You need stack-it-high-sell-it-cheap mozzarella from somewhere like Denmark. No flavour, but stringier than a harpsichord (did you know it has 120 strings?). With the texture taken care of, we then call in four other cheeses to dose this dish with an array of bold cheesy flavours. Can you guess what they are?

Why do we call Carla the 'Queen of Puds'? Watch this video on her three new seasonal desserts and find out. Pear and honey cheesecake: The secret? We make our own combs using London Honey Company's liquid gold and crunch them over white-wine poached pears. Lemon and blackberry pavlova: Hiding inside that meringue orb is whipped lemon curd and blackberry compote. The sorbet doubles down on that blackberry blast. Maple custard tart: Our NYC classic is finally coming to the UK. The shaved candied pecan, that perfect quenelle of creme fraiche – you have to try it.

Strike Steak – an update. Strike Steak becomes Strike Burger. You may remember in July, we offered you a stellar deal on steak frites. Of course, you remember, it was national news, and we served over 10,000 portions in 12 days during the summer strike days. Well, now here’s the thing … you effectively ate all the steak (literally, we had to switch cut three times during the offer to keep up!). Our supply chain can’t catch up quickly enough, leaving us in a bit of a conundrum – with more strikes coming, how do we honour the promise and still have enough steak for everyone else? We can’t do the rump & chips. So, how about… The Hawksmoor burger plus beef dripping fries for £15. Tricky for us, good for you, good for farmers, good for staff. Available on 30th September, 4th October, 6th October for lunch (12-3pm). Do check our website for more details, as opening times vary by location.