Where to Eat After the British Museum: Flat Iron, Great Steak 10 Minutes' Walk Away

Done with the British Museum and craving a proper meal — only to find the café fare basic and nearby restaurants overpriced? Flat Iron is where I head after every guided tour: great-value steak that Londoners genuinely return to, not a one-time tourist trap.

• Restaurant: Flat Iron (Tottenham Court Road)
• Address: 9 Denmark Street, London WC2H 8LS
• Hours: Mon / Tue / Sun 12:00–22:00; Wed / Thu until 22:30; Fri / Sat until 23:30

Why I recommend it

• A local favourite: to many Londoners, Flat Iron means "great steak at a fair price" — not a production-line hotspot.
• Easy on the wallet: a comparable steak dinner in London often runs £40–50 a head; here the signature steak is just £15, and with one or two sides you'll eat well for around £25.
• Perfect location: roughly 0.5 km from the British Museum — a 10-minute walk, no taxi detour needed.

A local's quick ordering guide

• The signature steak: a must. Order it medium rare — a beautiful seared crust, juicy and tender inside, with mushroom or peppercorn sauce on the side.
• Beef-dripping chips: the British classic, fried in beef dripping for a crisp shell and fluffy inside.
• Creamed spinach: gentle, creamy, with the sweetness of the greens — a great foil to the beef.
• Bone-marrow rice: marrow fat soaks into every grain for a rich, meaty depth.

The little touches that stick with you

• A cup of free popcorn lands on the table as you sit down — something to nibble while you read the menu.
• At checkout you each get a mini cleaver token 🔪 — a fun ritual, and it gets you a free ice cream.
• Warm lighting, red-brick walls, dark wood tables: the building keeps its historic character. It's actually a heritage name (founder Carlo Gatti, 1817–1878, printed on the menu), and the greenery-framed doorway is effortlessly photogenic.

A few tips

• Arrive before 5 pm or right at lunchtime opening, or book ahead on their site to skip the queue.
• A 12.5% service charge applies (standard for London dining); service is warm and prompt, well matched to the charge.

Affordable and reliably good — worth adding to your London food list. And if you'd like to truly read the British Museum before treating yourself, Zaizai's British Museum guided tour walks you through the highlights — then it's a ten-minute stroll to that signature steak.