Richard Dash and Jamie Carter ask: how affordable is the most affordable steak restaurant, as they review Flat Iron, in Manchester
Back in 2012, Flat Iron served its first steak to its first-ever guest. Owner Charlie Carrol had spent months working through a list of over 30 different suppliers, trying to find the right beef to bring his concept and mission to life: “Make remarkable steak available to everyone.”
Twelve years on, he’s managed to do it and blow everyone's meat-loving socks off. Charlie has gone on to open 16 restaurants across the UK, each one still as popular as when it opened. Through his own journey into becoming a self-taught butcher, Charlie realised that there are so many more cuts of beef that are little known, just as tasty as their more popular counterparts, but more reasonable in their cost and availability.
The Flat Iron team consider themselves a community working together towards a common goal. Their passion for great beef doesn’t stop at the plate; the team have dedicated themselves to learning everything they can about breeding and raising the best possible cattle too. In fact, Flat Iron have their own herd of cattle in Thirsk, Yorkshire, with the help of Charles Ashbridge, a third-generation beef farmer. They are also using rare and traditional breeds and helping their cattle lead a longer, stress-free life, producing some of the best beef on the market — a bold claim, but backed up with the fact that the restaurant was packed on a Tuesday evening.
We’ve heard lots of great things about Flat Iron, but last month, we finally tried them for ourselves, aiming to answer the question: how affordable is the most affordable steak restaurant?
The menu is simple; no bull. No starters or upselly “pre-dinner snacks”. No desserts (well, we’ll come to that shortly). They have their signature Flat Iron steak, which costs a remarkable £14, a selection of side dishes that cost from £3.50 - £5.50, sauces are £1-£1.50, and they have a small selection of specials, where they get to flex the special and rare breeds we mentioned earlier.
We were also very impressed by the cost of their drinks; soft drinks are £3.50, cocktails are £8 and a glass of red starts at £5.50. Considering these are all city centre locations, we’re really happy to see them sticking true to their word and making their restaurants accessible to everyone.
So, what did we have and how much did it cost? I decided I’d try the Signature Flat Iron (medium rare, thank you very much), Jamie took the Wagyu cut of the day (£22), and we shared “one of every side, but no salad, thank you” – Homemade Beef Dripping Chips (£4), Crispy Bone Marrow Garlic Mash (£4), Creamed Spinach (£3.50), Truffled Macaroni Cheese (£5.50), Roast Aubergine with Tomato, basil, mozzarella (£4.50) and Vesuvian tomatoes from the specials board (£4), one of each of the sauces (Peppercorn, Bernaise and Wild Mushroom - £3). We had a soft drink each, enjoyed some free popcorn to get the taste buds going before the meal and then a FREE dessert on the way out.
If you counted it with me, you’ll already know that the entire banquet cost £64.50 (without a service charge or tips). For two people to dine out in Manchester city centre for that price, without a midweek deal, is unheard of.
If the price isn’t enough to sway you on its own, then let us tell you just how GREAT the food is too. The Flat Iron steak was seasoned perfectly, it was juicy and tender and a great size for the price. The side dishes were big enough to share between the two without having to fight each other for a chip. There was plenty to go around. The truffle mac and cheese and the bone marrow crispy mash were the standouts; particularly the silky soft mash. We’ve been to many restaurants, some of which charge twice the price for their Wagyu, but we can tell you Flat Iron’s Wagyu is just as tasty.
Let’s not forget that free dessert, shall we? Rather than bombarding you with an expensive dessert menu, you are handed a mini cleaver at the end of your dinner, a token you take over to the soft serve station to select an ice-cream to enjoy on your way out, or at the table. Not only is this a masterful marketing piece, but it’s the perfect end to a tasty meal.
Flat Iron is not trying to be something they know they’re not; they’re not hiring fancy pastry chefs or mixologists to make more money from guests. They’re sticking to what they know and it’s MOOsic to our ears.
