The owners of much pilloried “tourist trap” Angus Steakhouse have hit back against the critics insisting it is a great British brand which they plan to take overseas with a new look appealing to younger diners.
Paul Sarlas, chief executive of Angus’s owner Noble Hospitality Group, said in an interview: “We should be proud that we’re British. Our vision of going internationally is saying we are a British steakhouse, and by doing that, I think we can differentiate ourselves.”
The former Burger King and Hilton boss was speaking to the Propel hospitality news website after Londoners launched a fake “love bombing” Internet campaign starting on Reddit giving Angus Steakhouse restaurants ironic five-star reviews aimed at luring tourists away from more upmarket venues.
One reviewer described Angus as serving up “the finest steaks in all of London. Japan and France you might as well go home.”
But Sarlas was unapologetic and said a new look appealing to the under-30s will be launched next year. He hopes to open a new central London restaurant in 2025 - to add to existing five sites - and has had approaches oversea.
He said: “Since my appointment, ensuring product quality has been a priority, which includes aligning Angus Steakhouse’s suppliers with those trusted by (sister brand) Chotto Matte.
“The next phase is redevelopment of the brand, which we have done, and then we hope to open our first new site mid to late 2025, with the new brand of Angus, and hopefully growing that back to where it used to be. We are already talking to our partners with Chotto Matte, to franchise externally as well.”
The riposte comes after the Standard gave an Angus Steakhouse a one star review with our reviewer David Ellis describing his steak as a “hellish, tough, teeth-testing beast.”
But Sarlas insisted “Over the past two years, it has been about really finding what we are known for? What are we good at? Why do people come in? We’re not trying to be Hawksmoor. We’re not trying to be Gaucho, or those concepts more led by tourist trade alone, like the Hard Rocks and so on.
“We’re a British steakhouse, and we really focus on that element. I think there’s a lot of international restaurants, a lot of South American steakhouses, but for us, we should be proud that we’re British. Our vision of going internationally is saying we are a British steakhouse, and by doing that, I think we can differentiate ourselves.
The riposte comes after the Standard gave an Angus Steakhouse a one star review with our reviewer David Ellis describing his steak as a “hellish, tough, teeth-testing beast.”
He said: “A lot of people in the 40 to 60 age bracket just remember Angus as where it was. What I’m trying to do is get the young generation to come in.
“The whole scope for our marketing response to the campaign is to target the audience from 30 and under and encourage them to form their own opinions. They have no preconception on what the business was like in the past.”
