One of My Favourite Restaurants in London Right Now: Ibai
There’s a new restaurant in the City that’s been quietly redefining what a great steakhouse can be, and if you’ve been following my various posts and stories on Instagram, you’ll know I haven’t stopped talking about it.
It’s called Ibai and the focus here is fire-led Basque cooking with deep seasonal flavours and some of the best beef in the country. Genuinely. My good friend Nemanja is one of the three key people running the show here. He is very much the expert in all things beef, with William Shear in charge of their wine programme and Richard Foster who is the head chef. A stellar line-up of talented individuals who are making a bit of a name for themselves in London.
The restaurant stands out as it’s owner, Nemanja, is both a restauranteur and a meat importer / distributer. He has been selling the finest cuts of beef to most of London’s top restaurants for years and is renowned for pioneering the supply of French and Spanish-style retired dairy Txuleta beef. It’s incredibly rich in flavour and when cooked correctly over hot coals, the result is just amazing. If you know someone involved in restaurants in the UK, chances are they’ll have heard of him.
The space itself is dark and brooding in the best way. Airy but with dim lighting, moody interiors, and the hypnotic glow of an open grill at the back of the dining room. You can smell the beefy essence from the moment you walk in. I love how spacious it is too – you could sit for a good few hours without feeling too hot or cramped. In terms of the food, everything revolves around fire and smoke – ingredients, technique, energy – and that singular focus makes it feel a bit more special than your typical steakhouse. Raw but refined.
What to expect and what to order
The menu leans heavily on Basque tradition, with the team working closely with small producers and farms across Spain and the UK. Every ingredient feels intentional, the kind of place where the olive oil is as considered as the wine list.
You should start with a selection of small plates that are honestly worth the visit alone. The carabinero tartare is delicious – delicate and slightly sweet, raw red prawns, finely chopped and dressed just enough to let everything work in balance. This is topped with oscietra caviar that brings a pop of saltiness with a buttery finish. The beef tartare is made with intense Espelette peppers and has this bold, almost smoky kick to it. It’s not as tender as some other beef tartare’s that use filet mignon, but the flavours are dialled as they use much older beef. A rich and moreish bite. Then there’s my favourite: the French jamón with salted crisps and piparra peppers. This one is dangerously addictive and pretty – the jamon is nutty and rich, delicately draped across the crisps, glistening and melting away. The peppers add just enough punch to cut through the richness and provide balance. So simple, but ridiculously good. I could clean the entire bowl myself.
The final must order is the Croque Ibai, a sort of croque monsieur sando cut into four bite-sized pieces. It’s packed with molten Tomme de Brebis cheese, juicy carabinero prawns, Boudin Noir black pudding and a drizzle of honey – and has become a bit of a cult item for good reason. Don’t forget this one, it’s a mad creation that you’ll see on virtually every table here but are unlikely to find anywhere else.
If you’re in for lunch, make sure to try and nab a slice of their new Tortilla. It’s a really delicious potato and egg Spanish omelette which sells out very fast. Once it’s gone it’s gone, so get there early.
The mains: where it gets serious
I went all in with the big guns: two incredible steaks, a turbot chop and the sharing king crab rice. There’s lots of great options here, but the beef is so special here I can’t resist ordering a couple different cuts. I would recommend you do the same.
Let’s start with the turbot. It’s quite a unique style of dish in terms of its presentation and prepared slightly differently to most Basque restaurants. Most restaurants grill it whole over the embers, but here fileted as a chop, and grilled on the bone like a steak. More traditionally however, it’s served in its own collagen-rich sauce, emulsified with olive oil and lemon juice until it’s buttery and silky smooth. The natural collagen in this fish is crazy and makes for the most amazing gelatinous texture. It’s meaty and deeply savoury. Easily one of the best pieces of turbot I’ve had in this city. I like that it’s smaller too, as it means you don’t need to order the entire fish.
The king crab rice is next and comes served in a large paella pan. Beautifully al dente grains in a rich, umami-packed stock, topped with fire-grilled king crab legs. The flavour is so layered; you could eat it on its own and be happy. It’s got a deep smoky, tomato-forward flavour profile and is really satisfying to have on the side. I would love a slightly more charred top to be honest but damn it’s good.
Now on to the steak. They have a serious dry-ageing program here along with a custom 3-tier grill system and resting cage. It’s a real operation and the steaks are all very well tempered for hours before grilling. The result is a perfect medium-rare, blushing pink from edge to edge and an incredibly flavoursome crust.
I had two cuts on my last visit: a 12 year old, 120-day dry-aged Galician Blond T-bone and a 90-day dry-aged ribeye. Both were cooked flawlessly – well-tempered, seared hard over flame, rested properly, and sliced thick. You get that perfect crust and a juicy, tender middle with that deep, blue cheese-ish funk you only get from proper ageing. Just sea salt is enough to go with this beef, but they also had a special cowboy butter sauce on the side – rich, herby, and surprisingly restrained. The beef here really is special. Nemanja supplies his beef to most of the UK’s top restaurants, and you can count on the most prized cuts being held back exclusively for his own restaurant.
It’s easily my favourite steakhouse in London right now and not just because of the meat. It’s the execution. The pacing. The confidence. It’s a restaurant that doesn’t try too hard, because it doesn’t have to. The produce speaks for itself and it delivers every time.
Dessert
Make sure to save space for their epic desserts too. Their gateau basque is my favourite even over the burnt basque cheesecake. The biscuity-tart casing is to die for and adds that satisfying crumbly, buttery texture.
Pro tips:
Go with a group: You’ll want to order a bunch of plates and share. It’s the only way to do it properly.
Experiement with the beef: Always ask if there are any specials and to see the selections of beef on that day. It’s great to see what you’re eating before it’s thrown on the grill. Go for which ever cut speaks to you. Something marbled preferably!
Don’t skip dessert. The Gateau Basque is my go-to. Delicate almond crust, pastry cream filling. I actually prefer it to the (also excellent) Basque cheesecake.
There’s something happening here. Ibai isn’t just another Basque grill, it’s a place that really understands flavour. Just incredible produce, cooked over fire, served with purpose. If you’re into that kind of thing, this place is a must.
If you’ve been, would love to hear about what you ate!
I accidently signed up with my business email. Is it possible to change to heavenlytwwist13@gmail.com?
This looks incredible, you’ve mentioned this restaurant a few times. How much in advance do you need to book? Is there a dress code? Not that I don’t dress smartly at all 😂