The man behind The Ivy, J Sheekey and all those other celeb-heavy culinary haunts has opened another new restaurant in the posh part of town, bringing some marvellous meat to Mayfair.

The Venue
First things first: that address is a little white lie. Or at the very least, Richard Caring has been somewhat economical with the truth – it’s actually on South Audley Street. But then Grosvenor Square sounds so much more salubrious, doesn’t it? For all intents and purposes it really doesn’t matter, for this is one very good looking restaurant, with Martin Brudnizki’s impressive art deco design punctuated by a pleasing amount of modernity, not least from the kind of expensive contemporary artwork that helps to make Caprice Holdings’ venues looks so snazzy.

With room for 100 covers it’s certainly not a small restaurant, but it feels surprisingly intimate with enough nooks and crannies to ensure a bit of privacy and enough influence from those steakhouses across the pond to make things feel a little bit more informal. A semi open-kitchen acts as a centrepiece of sorts, with a huge charcoal grill (a parrilla - imported from Argentina, apparently) wafting some very tasty aromas around the room from within.

The Atmosphere
No doubt a few famous faces will soon be chowing down but most mealtimes see 34 play host to what will no doubt be its bread and butter: tables of powerful looking portly men in pricey suits checking out the wine list. It’s proximity to the American Embassy ensures you’re likely to see a fair few yanks there too, all with money to spend in a restaurant that feels every bit as grand as somewhere like The Ivy, but just a little less haughty – which is no bad thing for a steakhouse, however posh.

The Food
34’s been a long time coming, so where it once may have been in the vanguard of the recent boom in new steakhouses, it does now feel like it’s jumped on the bandwagon somewhat, however erroneous that may be. And it’s true that there certainly is a lot of competition - with Hawksmoor offering the more casual experience and places like Cut at 45 Park Lane offering opulence and expense. However, there’s still plenty of room for 34, not least because the quality of what it’s doing is so good.

The menu seems pretty well thought-out, with surprising scope for being able to do it on the (relatively) cheap or to really go to town. Starters range from £6.50 for a simple watercress soup with poached egg, up to a pretty hefty £17 for some dressed crab - perhaps it's wearing Chanel. An impressive selection of salads and lighter mains (including an excellent sea bass with cauliflower puree and razor clams - £24.50) ensure that this place won’t fall into the trap of being merely the preserve of the manly carnivore. You do, though, get the impression that the dishes from that grill are definitely the way to go.

And you’d be quite right too. Well-sourced steaks from Australia (Wagyu), Scotland (Bridge of Allan), USA (Creekstone Farm) and Argentina (Estancia Organic Angus) are mostly around the £30-£40 mark (rising to £85), so 34's certainly setting itself up against the big boys. But it’s something it can certainly rise to – the charcoal grill and the quality of the meat combining to just about match anything else in the capital.

If you do want to keep things a little cheaper then an excellent lamb mixed grill (£23) offers a hefty plateful of perfectly handled chop, steak, neck and liver, served with an apple and mint jelly that’s bordering on being too sweet, but is good nonetheless. The 34 burger (£16.50) trumps most others in the capital, even if it doesn’t quite elevate itself to the level of those at Bar Boulud, Goodman or the recently opened Meat Liquor. Sides (all £4.50) include creamed spinach (ludicrously creamy – perhaps too so, for some) brilliantly thin fries, and sweetcorn with chilli that could do with a bit more of a kick.

The Drinks
A similarly democratic approach to the wine sees a list enabling you to once again be sensible or simply throw caution to the wind. The list begins with a very reasonable 2010 Nero d’Avola ‘Tonnara’ that comes by the glass (£6), the carafe (£17.25) or the bottle (£22), rising slowly up to more extravagant options on 34’s ‘Inner Cellar’ list, where the big spenders can pick their way through a selection that starts at a 2006 Grand Chu Chablis at £240 and ends with that ever-reliable show-stopper, a ’95 Petrus at three and a half thousand of your finest English pounds.

The Last Word
Caprice Holdings know their market. This is a steakhouse for the well-to-do, and it’ll no doubt thrive for that very reason. It might not be as trendy as some, or carry the name of a culinary heavyweight, but the quality food ensures that 34 is well worth trying to find.

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