Gillray's Steakhouse

amazing dinner last thursday

Visited Gillray's last thursday with some friends and I must say it was one of the best experiences we had for a long time. We arrived around 8 and the bar was packed with some great live jazz going on. We were welcomed and asked if we'd like to start with some drinks in the bar or move to the table straight away. Of course we chose to enjoy that nice Singer for a bit and had some great Gin cocktails. We then moved into the Restaurant and where escorted by a lovely lady to our table at the window. Wow … What a View! The big ben looking at us the whole night and the lights of the other side of the thames adding to this impressive scenery. We started off with some Yorkie's, lovely idea and then had some black pudding with scallops (apparently recepy of chefs grand-ma!) Finally, the steaks came and one was better than the other. I had a porterhouse – perfectly grilled with some lovely sides. All in all I must say it was a great evening. Prices are not cheap but adequed for what you get. Service was just perfect, friendly, personal but not overdoing it. We had a nother drink in the bar before heading back into the streets of london! We will be back soon for sure!

On entering the restaurant it looks lovely with excellent views. However, it took 3 hours 30 mins for a 3 course meal. A snail could provide faster service. The food itself was delicious but the choice on the set menu was a bit slim. I was there for a business meeting and one of courses for a diner was delayed. Sadly not one I would revisit.

All a bit underwhelming to be honest. We went here on a Telegraph offer – 3 courses plus a cocktail, £69 for two. Despite making all the usual pre-notifications during the booking, there was a distinct reluctance to accept the voucher on arrival, something that I've never experienced at the likes of Petrus, l'Escargot and even the Savoy. They then carved out all the bone-in steaks on the menu (the voucher only mentioned 3 of the 5) and didn't even suggest they could be ordered for a supplement. They then did not bother to bring over the cocktail menu so we missed out on that too…

As mentioned by a previous reviewer, there is so much competition in the steakhouse genre in Central London, that this would have to be amazing to even get on the same page. Unfortunately, it does not. The substitution of individual Yorkshire puddings in place of a bread basket was interesting but not sure they needed to be stuffed with cheese at the beginning of the meal. The starters were granted very good but portion control was somewhat haphazard. The crabcakes were bursting with flavour and there was enough to (begrudgingly) share a forkfull; the scallops were tiny in size and limited to just three – himself thought they may have been cut from the same mollusc but even then it would have been a very small one at that. The steaks (ribeye and fillet) were ok but nothing out of the ordinary. Sides of triple cooked chips, bubble and squeak and spinach were again ok, but suffered from portion control. Too much bubble not enough…chips! Whilst waiting staff seemed to be in sufficient numbers, they certainly lacked on the attentive-ometer. I lost count of the times we had to ask for wine and water top ups – this is fast becoming my biggest gripe in restaurants. If you cannot be bothered to refill empty glasses, at least leave the wine and water within easy reach of the diner! On the upside, it did save us the expenditure of another bottle…

The bar is lovely and if I had cause to be in this neck of the woods on a more frequent basis, I'd certainly be making it a regular haunt. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the restaurant and the likes of Gaucho, Goodman and Hawksmoor have little to be concerned about.

Dinner here was bitterly disappointing. Out 6 diners 5 had steak, 3 left more than half of the meat on their plates and the staff did not even notice or ask if there was anything wrong. All diners thought the quality of the food and the service was extremely poor and the waiter offered the fact that they were busy as a reason when it was raised. For the prices they are charging Gillrays are bracketing themselves with Hawksmoor,Goodman and Cut. They fall embarrassingly short and seem unaware. If you want to go out for steak there are so many places better than this in London.

Absolutely gorgeous!!!

This is a new steakhouse and bar that shows the best of England.

Cocktails were absolutely amazing! Loved the cocktail menu and great service. Staff was well trained and very friendly.

I definitely recommend this place