https://www.goodmanrestaurants.com/location/city

The Caesar Salad starter at steakhouse restaurants seems to be a fairly common occurrence, which is good news for those of us who enjoy the salad as either main course or appetiser. Goodman is a City hangout where the finance folks love to partake of their red meat, but luckily the staff there also seem to know their way around greenery.

For those who want anchovies on their Caesar, there they are. For those of us who don’t, they’re placed neatly on top and easily removed. The salad’s presentation was excellent, with large, wafer-thin and pleasantly crumbly croutons sitting alongside sheets of parmesan and crisp lettuce. The dressing seemed a bit thin at first, but that was because it was mostly on the lettuce beneath. It turned out that there was plenty of it, but the taste remained subtle and slight rather than overwhelming. Another point in its favour.

As my co-reviewer and I munched our way through, it became evident that we were both very impressed by what Goodman had done. The portion size was exactly right for a starter, getting your taste buds amped up for the main course, and the four basics of a good Caesar – fresh Romaine, cheese, croutons and dressing – were all there and in exactly the right proportions.

As I keep remarking, this is not, or at least shouldn’t be, a hard dish to prepare. And yet, amidst a wave of eateries that want to try and reinvent it, Goodman sticks with the absolute basics and does them remarkably well. And for that, I thank them. Unquestionably a 9 out of 10, and other restaurants should take notes!