Reviews Sagardi Basque Country Chefs

First things first there are certainly cheaper alternatives for a good steak in London, that being said the main attraction here the Txuleton steak on bone is among the best I’ve ever had and I’m my humble opinion among the very best you’ll get in London.

Sagardi is a restaurant which prides itself on offering authentic Basque region cuisine. A little competition for Eneko over in Aldwych maybe? Well let's see. Whilst I have been to Eneko, I still consider myself to be a novice when it comes to this cuisine, so my take on it will not be technical, it will be just basic enjoyment of the food, service and atmosphere.

It has a big space to fill on Curtain Road, which is seeing a bit of a regeneration with buildings being refurbished at the south end which is also not very busy. Their only neighbours are Flat Iron and Far Rockaway. People tend to congregate at the Old Street end (north) because of 333, Hache, Blues Kitchen, The Diner, Huonng and Brindisa to name a few, but I like the tempo of the south part. Sagardi has a butchers shop and offers tapas at the bar, but you can take a seat in the restaurant to really delve deep into Basque food wonders.

The menu sits well with me, with its rich flavours and also a good selection of seafood. Whilst the food is perfection on a plate and not cheap, the style of service is not stuffy at all. We started with oysters as it would have been rude not to. There was also some red tuna tartare. There was also a pate of sorts. Yep, we over did it a bit on the starters, but wait, we also continued to pile up on the food. There were some little baby chorizo sausages. For what was essentially our main, we went for the most gorgeous baby stuffed squid in a black sauce, which is apparently typical of 'grandma's' cooking. For dessert we went for a cheese platter. All of the food was tasty and would say perhaps a little more approachable than Eneko. It is more rural and raw, so definitely my cup of tea for a more general dining experience. I guess Eneko, with its michelin star connection, is that one-off special place for an anniversary or birthday. Sagardi however, is the Basque stop for all occasions.

We only stopped in for a snack of glorious pintxos at the bar.  Pintxos are £2.50 a piece and self serve from a well appointed spread on the counter.  We had ones based on sardine, blood sausage, serrano ham, and cheese spread.  This is the first time I have had a slice of Spanish tortilla I consider better than the one I make at home.  I need to figure out how they get that luxuriously smooth texture.  We also had an unusual sweet pintxo of cream cheese and cranberry jam.  Every tidbit was utterly refined and beautifully decorated.  We only sampled maybe a third of what was on offer.  They bring out warm pintxos from the kitchen intermittently.

We definitely intend to come back for a proper meal.  There was an impressively huge charcoal pit.  Starting Monday 8 August 2016 they will be soft launching weekdays at lunchtime for four weeks with 50% off food.  A bottle of house red is 20 quid.

Really liked the rustic decor in here. The steak was beautifully cooked, the croquettes can't be missed, and as much as you'll want everything off of the menu, save yourself for dessert too. We went for the cheesecake and the chocolate, and both were absolutely perfect. The extensive wine list compliments the food so well so make sure you grab a bottle!

Very nice experience every time we come to Shorditch. Fantastic matured meat, ribs, duck and sides. Great service, we enjoyed 🤩👍

Had an amazing meal here. Great service, and cozy ambiance. The food was delicious! Highly recommend the duck breast.

High quality ingredients make for delicious food. Simple fare but executed perfectly. Only gripe is cost, you pay for the weight of the bone in the steaks.....bit unfair I reckon but that's maybe to be expected.

Wonderful lovely Sunday lunch coming to this unique Spanish restaurant with lots of good selection of beef and seafood. Ordered stuffed squid ink meal where the taste of the squid ink is amazing. Loving the grilled octopus dish which is so amazingly tender and fresh. As I couldn’t eat too big of the beef, I went with the Sunday roast beef sirloin instead. Cooked into perfection medium rare and really delicious! The only downside of the roast was some of the sides did not meet much of my expectation. The Yorkshire pudding wasn’t that brown or crispy and potatoes were not grilled or what I expected soft and tender. The courgettes were bit dry. Other than that I think overall, the service was excellent and would definitely recommend people to come here.

One of the best steaks I've ever had, very helpful and friendly staff. Tuna tartar was great, as was the tomato salad and the e5 bakery sourdough. But the 17 year old steak was one of a kind, managed to get a 2.1kg and felt very lucky for it!

We really enjoy everything! The staff was very kind and helpful, the food and drinks were great as well. The meat was prepared well and the desserts exceeded our expectations! We definitely want to dine here again.