A COUNTY Durham pub is serving up £100 Tomahawk steaks covered in 24-carat gold - but not for the reasons you might expect.

Stirks Italian Steakhouse at The Belmont has added the rather unusual dish to its menu after a London steakhouse went viral for charging £1,450 for gold steak.

Named the "Stirk Bae," the venue in Belmont near Durham has said the 38 ounce dish is most suitable for two but will feed a "hungry one."

Read more: Opening date set for chain 'better than KFC' which has seen HUGE queues around the UK

It comes as the Nusr-Et steakhouse in London, which is owned by Salt Bae, hit the headlines after customers posted receipts revealing spectacularly large prices.

The Northern Echo:

Customers said they had been left reeling as pictures revealed how items on the menu included a £100 burger and £1,450 golden Tomahawk steak.

But for the owners of Stirks Italian, the decision to launch their very own version at a fraction of the cost was about more than just making money.

Read more: Stirks Italian Steakhouse opens inside Belmont pub near Durham City

John Stirk, who owns The Broadway Pub Co - which also runs Stirks Italian Steakhouse at The Broadway in Sunderland and The Butcher's Deli in Durham, said the dish was hoping to prove a point.

He told The Northern Echo: "We are wanting to show this can be done better and it can be done at at a reasonable price and accessible to everyone.

The Northern Echo:

Venue takes aim at Salt Bae

"If people want a gold steak, they can have a gold steak which we believe will be better - Salt Bae is getting more attention for the cost than the quality of the food.

"This is us saying to Salt Bae 'stuff you, and your overpriced food' - my aim is to show what we can do in the North East and how good we are and put our best foot forward."

Paul Rowntree, executive chef at the Broadway Pub Co, described the prices charged by Salt Bae's venue as "outrageous" as he echoed Mr Stirk's comments.

He said: "For me looking at it from the food side of things, it’s really important for us that we make sure were serving the right meat, make sure that its aged correctly.

The Northern Echo:

"Salt Bae are charging outrageous prices so we are trying to bring a really premium product in London to the North East."

The launch of the gold steak comes as the venue has today (October 28) revealed its updated menu across its Durham and Sunderland restaurants which includes burgers topped with poached lobster.

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