Growing Steak Chain Bucks Industry Downturn

Flat Iron will open a sixth restaurant in King’s Cross this autumn. The steak restaurant chain has secured a site on Caledonian Road, joining its five others: two in Soho; one in Shoreditch; one in Covent Garden, and one in Notting Hill.

Flat Iron’s concise menu, keen pricing and no reservations policy have won it plaudits since starting life in 2012: its success is more remarkable still given the climate in which it continues to grow. Accounts filed for 2016 through 2017 reveal near-doubling in pre-tax profit from £233,448 to £456,110, some of which is presumably being spent on the wagyu fat that will coat their latest fries. Directors say that opening plans were slowed down in the context of market downturn after August 2017, meaning that this new site is a step back towards the original plans.

The new site will also offer “Bloody Mary boxes,” and flash-frozen I tim pad ice-cream. There will too be more of that beef: underblade fillet, tri tip and rump cap, diversifying the cuts.

Founder Charlie Carroll said:

King’s Cross is a really exciting move for us, and we’ve been tirelessly working on the new menu additions too. We test everything so intensely that it takes a lot of work even to add some new chips to our line-up, but that’s because we’re absolutely obsessed with quality and flavours. Our mindset hasn’t wavered much since we started as a pop-up; great steak for everyone, unparalleled taste and do a small number of things really well, and we’re really happy to be bringing this to King’s Cross.

As Eater reported last year, there are a few small chains — of which Flat Iron is one — working at scalable efficiency with a considered offer, that have found and exploited room for differentiation from the behemoths that are now on their last legs.