Hawksmoor Guildhall

Hawksmoor's City outpost occupies a former ballroom off Basinghall Street, a short walk from Bank and Moorgate, and it remains the group's largest London site. The room is built for the way the Square Mile entertains: dark parquet, mahogany panelling salvaged and reclaimed to evoke an 18th-century chophouse, portholed banquettes in oxblood leather and a bar backed by softly lit shelves of spirits. The kitchen is a temple to British beef and native seafood, dry-aged steaks from sustainable farms alongside a daily-changing list of fish, and the bar has a serious cocktail following of its own.

For private events the restaurant works on three scales. The Sublime Society Room, named for the 18th-century Sublime Society of Beefsteaks, is a panelled private dining room seating up to 24 with its own audio-visual kit. A semi-private area beside the bar takes larger groups of up to 44, and the whole restaurant can be taken exclusively for around 130 seated or 140 standing, with the bar and dining floor combined for a reception. The events team handles corporate dinners, celebrations and milestone birthdays, and the enclosed lower-ground setting suits a private DJ once the tables are cleared.

Available for private hire and exclusive buyout; enquire through the events team.