The buzzing centre of Piccadilly Circus might not be your first thought for a slap-up steak meal. Throw in the fact that it’s inside a casino, and you’re probably thinking we’ve lost the plot at Janes HQ. But we have been pleasantly surprised by the delicious grub and fantastic wine at Heliot Steak House, inside the Hippodrome Casino in London. Intrigued? Find out what we thought below.
Heliot Steak House, London – top steak, decadent atmosphere
Delicious food and a location you wouldn’t automatically go for. See what we thought of Heliot Steak House.
Mouth-watering food
After being seated at your cosy table, you’ll quickly discover that Heliot Steak House has an impressive menu. Plenty of steak options (in both cut and weight) to please most tastes, and lighter options of fish and vegetarian if you don’t fancy a hunka’ meat.
To kick off, there’s a small but perfectly formed selection of starters. We recommend sharing a couple – you want to leave plenty of room for your steak. Our favourite was the meatballs, which came with a a creamy tomato and feta sauce.
On to the main event…the steaks. Oh my goodness. These were truly melt-in-the-mouth – it’s not a cliche to say these steaks cut like butter, they were cooked you perfection according to our different preferences. We opted for a sirloin and a fillet, adding in a lobster tail (highly recommended) and a decadent truffle-oil mac-and-cheese (some would say unnecessary carbs, we say totally scrumptious!).
After all that deliciousness we forced ourselves (ahem…) to look at the dessert menu. The triumph here was an outstanding chocolate ganache tart with a clementine jelly. Great combo of flavours – and we could easily have shared one dessert between two.
Tongue-tingling drinks
There are several impressive-looking bars in The Hippodrome – gleaming with mirrors polished to perfection. We started with a cocktail, but to be honest you could go straight for the wine. There’s a good range recommended to accompany the steaks, coming in arond £30 a bottle (sounds expensive, but not that bad for London, sadly!). Our wonderful server Emmaneulle recommended blind-tasting a couple of reds to help us decide – a genius move as it encouraged us to try something new.
Atmosphere
A casino probably isn’t your first pick for a girls’ catch up dinner, but Heliot Steak House are obviously making a effort to attract female groups. It’s clearly working, as we were surrounded by women enjoying a steak dinner in the decadent interior. It’s more casual than the imposing casino floor initially seems – the tables are tucked away, so give a nice amount of privacy for catch-up gossip.
Despite being above the casino floor, we barely noticed the gaming. The only weird moment was about two minutes when some showgirls appeared to do some dancing. It was definitely odd – we get that they’re going for a Las Vegas vibe, but it jarred with the dinner atmosphere. The gamblers below carried on playing with barely a glance, so it seemed at unnecessary interruption.
The verdict
The food at Heliot Steak House is delicious. Yes, inside a casino may be a bit dark for a summer evening, but if you fancy an casual post-work dinner or a pre-theatre treat then it’s worth checking out for the fun, glamorous atmosphere. And the steaks really are some of the best we’ve had in a while. We say, give it a go!
Give it a try
Fancy popping along to Heliot Steak House for some food and drinks? Book your table via their website.
Giving it a go? We’d love to know what you think – share your thoughts and photos with us – @tweetjanes.