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Butch Annie’s is well known around Cambridge for its incredible burgers. In fact, they have even made it into the top tier of my Cambridge burger ranking table…

…but did you know they now do steak?

I sure as hell didn’t but I was excited to find out!

I was invited to give their new steak menu a whirl and pop back for a well overdue visit. I have really missed Butch Annie’s, as it looks and feels like a real authentic burger joint. Located behind a single doorway, hiding in a basement, you are led into a small, dimly lit restaurant. It really makes you feel like a local secret or a hidden treasure that only you have discovered.

Once you walk in, you are immediately greeted by warm smiles and staff with a real positive energy. This is something I have noticed during all my visits to Butch Annie’s and it only makes me want to visit again and again. The staff can’t do enough for you and they feel genuine. It comes across as a really happy place to work which makes you feel better in the process.

For our previous review, click here.

The beer

Before we get to the meat (pun intended), I would just like to say how much I love their beer selection. If you are a big fan of local craft beer (like me) then you will be in heaven. They have 8 taps featuring BrewBoard and Ivo Brewery – including my favourite beer, Beasticus!

The steaks

We were treated to three options from their steak menu (listed below). All steaks are served pre-sliced on a wooden board and are dry-aged for up to 30 days, pan-basted in garlic and thyme butter and “served pink”.

Hanger (Onglet)

“The butcher’s best kept secret and a french favourite due to its superior flavour”.

Picanha

“Loved by Argentinians for its incredible succulence, full flavour and tenderness. A real delicacy”.

Sirloin

“Prized top sirloin, thick cut, succulent, full-flavoured”.

The beef was sliced into mouth-sized pieces, making it easy to share between friends. The beef quality clearly stands out in the flavour and I enjoyed the fact that they kept some of the fat on. The meat was soft and tender with a lovely pink colouring in the middle. The béarnaise had a lovely soft buttery texture which made it easier to spread and made the steaks extra creamy.

Burgers

All burgers from Butch Annie’s are aged for 28 days, organically reared and grass fed, with all their beef sourced from a single small farm. This is a huge flex for beef quality and reassuring to know that all cows have had a happy life.

Le Butch (special edition)

We were given a burger from their signatures menu, called “Le Butch”, a homage to France. It is made with griddled garlic & herb mushrooms, flambéed onions, crispy smoked bacon, and béarnaise sauce.

As you open the burger you immediately notice that there is a lot going on at once – in other words, it is loaded!

The mushroom was plentiful but surprisingly absent of flavour. There was an earthiness to the taste that prevented the quality of the beef to shine. It almost felt like that beef of this quality was wasted in a burger and should be appreciated in a purer way – like their steaks or a simpler recipe.

There was no argument on the size of the burger, with a lovely big meaty bap in the middle and a dense seeded bun. It was nice to have a seeded bun for a change, as everywhere seems to have gone brioche crazy with burgers these days.

The Classic Steak Burger

Naturally, we opted for their classic burger. This is made from their dry-aged beef and loaded with two slices of American cheese, onions, lettuce, gherkins, Butch Annie’s house-made tomato relish.

We ordered it as a double and this is something I recommend. This allowed their excellent beef quality to sing proudly through the mild American cheese, which also added a wonderfully gooey texture. The balance here is perfect and a great example of a straight forward burger that knocks it out of the park by being simple but with quality ingredients and inspiring sourcing.

Dessert

We ended with a beautifully presented raspberry tart that was lightly covered in powdered sugar. It was the perfect end to a great meal.

Conclusion

The steaks were a real hit with the Cambridge Foodies team. We were acutely aware that Butch Annie’s is next door to Flat Iron, a restaurant that also offers great value steaks that are sustainably sourced from small farms. That is some really stiff competition from both restaurants and which one you decide to visit will likely be down to your preference in dining experience more than anything else.

Butch Annie’s absolutely knocks it out of the park when it comes to beer and their burgers are superb, giving them an edge when it comes to a more diverse dining experience but when it comes to steaks… oh boy, that is a tough one!

Let us know in the Cambridge Foodies