Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
Book it if txuleton is the plan.
Sagardi on Curtain Road is one of London's most direct expressions of Basque asador cooking, built around the txuleton: a thick bone-in dry-aged steak cooked over a wood fire. Book it if grilled beef and Basque tradition are what you are after. Booking is easy, the atmosphere is communal, and autumn or winter visits give you the most complete seasonal menu alongside the grill.
Yes, if grilled beef and Basque simplicity are what you are after. Sagardi on Curtain Road is one of London's most committed expressions of asador cooking, and after years of operation in Shoreditch it has earned that position through consistency rather than novelty. The txuleton — a thick bone-in cut from older cattle, dry-aged and cooked over a wood fire — is the reason to come here. If that sounds like your kind of meal, book it. If you want tasting menus or high-concept cooking, look elsewhere.
The room feels like Shoreditch filtered through the Basque Country: wooden tables, open flames, and the deep, settled smell of grilled meat that reaches you before the menu does. The energy is communal rather than hushed. Expect a convivial noise level that makes conversation easy without raising your voice , this is not the place for a business dinner requiring silence, but it works well for a table of two or four who want to eat well and talk through the meal. Under Iñaki López de Viñaspre and the kitchen team, the atmosphere has the confidence of a restaurant that knows exactly what it is doing and sees no need to overcomplicate it.
The open grill is visible from the room, which keeps the cooking transparent. What you see is what the restaurant is: fire, quality beef, and restraint. There is no kitchen theatrics here for their own sake. The act of cooking is part of the setting, not a performance constructed around it.
Basque asador cooking is rooted in ingredients that shift through the year, and Sagardi reflects that. The txuleton holds the menu together year-round, but the surrounding dishes respond to what is available. Autumn and winter are the natural home of this style of cooking , fire, aged beef, and hearty accompaniments fit the season in a way that feels less obvious when London is in the middle of a warm July. If you are visiting specifically for the full asador experience with complementary seasonal plates, the colder months give you the most coherent meal. Spring visits are still worthwhile for the beef alone, but the broader menu is less at its peak. Check what is running alongside the grill when you book, since the supporting dishes matter more than they might appear to at first glance.
This is also worth bearing in mind for group bookings. A winter dinner here, built around shared plates from the seasonal menu alongside the txuleton, is a genuinely strong option for a group that wants something more characterful than a standard London steakhouse without committing to a full tasting menu format.
Sagardi is not competing directly with London's fine dining tier. It sits in a different register from CORE by Clare Smyth, The Ledbury, or Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. Its competition is the broader category of serious steakhouses and Spanish restaurants in the city. In that context it is worth picking because it does something specific , Basque fire cooking grounded in product and tradition , that the majority of London restaurants in the Spanish or grill category do not. For the full London picture, see our full London restaurants guide. If you are building a broader trip, our London hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide are worth reviewing alongside it.
If you are travelling further in the UK and want to compare cooking with a similar grounding in product and place, L'Enclume in Cartmel and Moor Hall in Aughton represent the other end of the British fine dining spectrum. For something more in Sagardi's spirit , confident, tradition-led, without pretension , Hand and Flowers in Marlow is a useful reference point, though the cooking styles are very different. Internationally, if you have eaten at Lazy Bear in San Francisco and enjoyed fire-forward communal cooking, Sagardi will feel like familiar territory even though it is operating in a completely different tradition.
Address: Cordy House, 95 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3BS. Reservations: Booking is rated easy , walk-ins are more feasible here than at most comparable London venues, though weekend evenings fill up. Book a few days ahead for a Saturday dinner to be safe; mid-week is generally accessible. Group size: The communal format suits groups of four to six particularly well. Larger parties should contact the restaurant directly to discuss options. Dress: No formal dress code , smart casual is the natural register for the room. Budget: Price range data is not confirmed in our records; expect mid-to-upper range for a beef-forward dinner in East London, with the txuleton as the primary cost driver. Getting there: Curtain Road is a short walk from Old Street or Shoreditch High Street stations.
Browse all Pearl-reviewed London restaurants, or explore further afield with our guides to Waterside Inn in Bray, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, and hide and fox in Saltwood. For international comparison, Le Bernardin in New York City represents the kind of category-defining precision that Sagardi pursues in its own way , product-first, tradition-grounded, and resistant to trend.
It works for solo diners, particularly at the bar or counter if available, though the menu skews toward sharing formats. The txuleton is sized for two or more, so solo visitors should check the current menu for individual options. The atmosphere is warm enough that eating alone does not feel uncomfortable.
The txuleton is the main event , a thick-cut, bone-in dry-aged steak cooked over a wood fire. The menu is built around Basque asador tradition, which means fire, product quality, and simplicity. Do not come expecting elaborate sauces or a long tasting menu. Order the beef, share plates around it, and let the meal take its time.
Booking difficulty is rated easy. A few days ahead is usually sufficient for mid-week; book a week out for weekend dinners to avoid disappointment. Sagardi is not in the same demand bracket as Michelin-starred London restaurants, so last-minute bookings are more realistic here than at comparable venues.
Sagardi has the informal energy of a Basque-style space, and bar seating is common in restaurants of this type. Confirm with the venue directly when booking whether counter or bar seating is available on your preferred date, as configuration details are not confirmed in our records.
The communal format is well suited to groups of four to six. Larger parties should contact the restaurant directly, as specific private dining or group booking details are not confirmed in our records. The sharing menu format makes Sagardi a stronger group option than most formal restaurants in this part of London.
The txuleton is the reason most people book here , order it. Beyond the beef, focus on whatever the kitchen is running seasonally alongside the grill. Autumn and winter visits give you the most coherent supporting menu. Specific dish names are not confirmed in our records, so ask the team what is current when you arrive.
Smart casual is the right call. The room is warm, informal, and Shoreditch in character , no need for a jacket or formal attire. Overdressing would feel out of place given the open-fire, communal-table atmosphere.
The menu is heavily meat-focused by design, which limits options for vegetarians or those avoiding beef. If you or someone in your party has specific dietary needs, contact the restaurant directly before booking , specific allergen or dietary accommodation policies are not confirmed in our records.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sagardi | Easy | — | |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| The Ledbury | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | ££££ | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Sagardi measures up.
Yes, especially if you're comfortable eating at the bar. The open kitchen and visible grill give solo diners something to watch, and the convivial, unhurried pace of service means you won't feel rushed. The txuleton is a large-format cut better suited to sharing, so solo diners should look to pintxos or smaller plates to anchor the meal.
The txuleton is the centre of gravity here — a thick-cut, bone-in steak from older Basque cattle, dry-aged and cooked over a wood-fired grill. Don't come expecting a broad Spanish menu; this is a focused Basque asador with fire and product as the main event. The room is warm and communal, service is informal, and the experience is built around sharing.
Booking is rated Easy, so you won't need to plan weeks out as you would for tasting-menu restaurants. That said, a reservation is worth making for table dining, particularly on weekend evenings when Shoreditch fills up. A few days' notice is generally enough for mid-week visits.
Yes, and for solo diners or spontaneous visits, the bar is a practical option. Walk-ins are more viable here than at the tables, making it a reasonable choice if you haven't booked ahead. Pintxos-style eating works well in that format.
The communal, sharing-focused format makes Sagardi a natural fit for groups. The txuleton is a sharing cut, and the convivial room handles group energy well. For larger parties, a reservation is advisable to secure the right table configuration — walk-in options at the bar are less practical for groups of four or more.
The txuleton is the reason to come: a bone-in, dry-aged Basque steak cooked over a wood-fired grill with salt and flame as the only intervention. If you're eating with two or more, build the meal around it. The restaurant's philosophy is product-first and straightforward, so order in that spirit rather than trying to cover every section of the menu.
The room is rustic and relaxed — wooden tables, open flames, and a casual Basque asador atmosphere. There is no ceremony in the dress code; smart casual is fine, but people arrive in everything from jeans to work clothes. This is not a jacket-required room.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
