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Gillray’s Steakhouse and Bar Review

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Scallops with pea mash and bacon

See our first part on the bar here

When it comes time to dine we are led into the restaurant section of Gillrays. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling and Gillray’s caricatures hang on the wood panelled walls. Everything from the furnishings to the staff are very smart. The same quality and attention to detail we found in the bar continues here.

Our table has wonderful panoramic views of the river Thames and London Eye. We are greeted by Paolo our friendly waiter who immediately puts us at ease despite the grand setting.

Surrey Duck Egg Salad

We are first served with the biggest Yorkshire pudding I have ever seen, which has cheddar cheese in it what a brilliant idea, why has it never been done before?) with horseradish sauce. Full marks for originality and taste.

For a starter I have scallops, with pea mash and bacon. A combination that really works. Everything is done perfectly and the bacon is crispy and is done to the perfect degree. My colleague has the Surrey duck egg salad with bacon and spinach. The poached eggs are perfectly cooked. The bacon is very crispy and excellent just as my bacon was. His only criticism was that there could have been a bit more bacon but the dish was a delight.

For my main I have sirloin steak, which comes with a portobello mushroom, topped with three cooked cherry tomatoes and a wide choice of sauces. I had the peppercorn sauce.

Sirloin steak (this picture doesn’t do it justice)

According to the menu the beef used is 35 day aged Yorkshire Hereford Cattle reared on the Duke of Devonshire’s Bolton Abbey Estate. The quality of the meat really shows and my steak is fantastic.

I greedily tucked into my delicious lamb rump before taking picture as you can see!

My partner deviates from the steaks and instead goes for the lamb rump which is equally good. He is given a generous portion of superb lamb, perfectly cooked.

Our meal was accompanied by an excellent bottle of Sauvignon Blanc

On the side, we had the parmesan and truffle chips, crispy and thick yet also light with the parmesan and hint of truffle they were superb. We both agreed they were some of the best chips we had ever had.

Warm Chocolate Pudding

Gillray’s Trifle

For dessert I had the warm chocolate pudding, which came with a marmalade ice-cream.

My colleague has the traditional sherry trifle, which Gillray’s is obviously proud of, since it takes up half the space on the dessert menu. It comes in a large jar. Paolo, our waiter, unscrews the jar and pours sherry into the trifle. A brilliant and fun experience. It tastes great too.

The service throughout was excellent. Our waiter, Paolo was friendly, professional and knowledgeable. Our food came at the perfect time and Paolo was always there when we wanted him.

This was a wonderful night and an incredible experience. It was hard to find fault  with any part of our evening. A lot of effort has clearly gone into the new look Gillrays and it shows. The staff throughout were brilliant and everything we were served from our cocktails through to our food was first class. There  aren’t many restaurants, with as good a food, in as good a location as this one. Make sure to insist on a window seat, when booking, as it will make all the difference and not all tables have a river view. You will be hard pressed to find better steaks in London. It will be an experience you will remember.

Food 10/10  Service 10/10  Atmosphere 10/10

London Marriott Hotel County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 (020 7928 5200). Open daily 6.30am-10.30pm (7am Sat & Sun)

Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar | Restaurant Review – Part 1: The Bar

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The bar at Gillrays

Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar is situated in a five star hotel, the London Marriott. Which is in turn located in the former seat of London’s government, County Hall, just across Westminster bridge from the Houses of Parliament. Walking up to the hotel to get to the restaurant, one’s breath is taken away by just how beautiful it is. It is so full of class and elegance that you almost feel it is from a different era.

The hotel itself is beautiful. The stuff dreams are made of and as we walk into the restaurant our first view is of a gorgeous English Gin bar, with riverside views of the Southbank. The bar is based on 18th-century social and political caricaturist James Gillray.

The Perfect Martini

 

We talk to Carlos, the bar room manager. Carlos is friendly, passionate and knowledgeable. It’s clear that no expense has been spared and a huge amount of effort has been put into every last detail. Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar has 35 English gins, and it will soon be ‘over forty’. Only the very best make it onto the menu. The bar looks wonderful, almost like some fantastic chemistry cocktail laboratory.  Everything has been done to an exact science to ensure perfect quality and it comes across in the taste of the cocktails

The menu is fascinating and separated into eras, Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, contemporary and modern Britain. Each era has its own brilliant Gillray caricature. Although the specialty is Gin there is a huge range of many different cocktails. A full menu can be found here

I ask Carlos for a recommendation and have the St James Martini, something I already had my eye on. It comes in the most perfect glass, looks great and tastes divine. If you love martini’s, make sure you try one.

My colleague has a ‘First Kiss’, made up of Hendrick’s gin with peppermint, lemongrass tea tincture, shaken with lime juice, sugar and fresh pineapple. The result is a delicious, refined and refreshing. One of the best cocktails he has ever had.

The ‘First Kiss’ cocktail

The cocktails were fairly expensive. Most of them are around £10.

However this a real experience. It is something unique that you will remember and it fully justifies the cost. Anyone who loves cocktails must try it, and everyone else should go at least once for the experience.

Having finished off our cocktails we head off to the restaurant area behind the bar. You will be able to  read a full review of the restaurant part of Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar very shortly.

Part 2 here