I was a vegetarian once. It was a dark time, filled with lentils, tofu, and things that grew out of the ground as if of their own volition. Then steak found me. Granted, I may as well have been standing on a ten foot podium waving a blood-red flag for all it took to track me down, but at least I can say I tried.

Which is just as well, as having served the Fulham Crowd for the last six years, Sophie's Steakhouse is finally branching out to Covent Garden. With its trademark no reservation system, you'll get given a number and a place at the bar whilst you sip cocktails and wait for your digit to flash up on discreet number boards. Like a supermarket meat counter, but so much better.

With massive windows on three sides of the huge 1930s space, it's been lovingly restored with a Sophie's twist: Dangling lightbulbs and old train carriage luggage racks overhead give it a cool New York warehouse vibe, whilst the food is unpretentious, simple stuff with the main focus on steak from Scotland and Northern Ireland, aged for a minimum of 28 days.