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Bankers desperate to let their hair down after crunching numbers all day seem like the right sort of crowd for The Kitty Hawk, a glitzy, two-floor goliath of a venue that encompasses a restaurant, café, bar, private dining room and dining counter. As you might guess, it’s a busy spot – on my Thursday night visit, I got a call beforehand to warn me that a party of 70 would be descending on the place. Dinner at the beginning of the week might have meant less amateurish service, but the consolation was a fancy, well-presented selection of dishes.
There’s the full gamut of steak on the menu: rump, sirloin, rib eye, marinated rib eye and fillet, plus hefty cuts of côte de boeuf, chateaubriand and tomahawks for sharing. A juicy, medium-cooked 8oz fillet was faultless and came with a smoky tomato, a glazed red onion and a liberal portion of chunky chips cooked in beef dripping. My medley of steamed greens was a better choice of side dish than the dauphinoise potatoes – they were a tad dull and needed more cream.
Both cocktails and desserts, such as a wonderful seasonal berry meringue, were ace. And by the end of the meal, the restaurant bods were kind enough to lop off the service charge to compensate for the lack of polish. Prices aren’t exactly bargainous, so this was appreciated. It also goes to show that while The Kitty Hawk may have a few kinks to work out to live up to its flashy façade, at least it’s on the right track.