Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar Review

Book a table at Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar

Best for: casual, meat-heavy, British comfort cuisine, especially for those who are not from London.

Great: views of the London Eye, the river Thames, and the best trifle ever!

I say, the summer of 2012 should be (or was) a frightfully British affair: a flotilla of a billion boats passing along the Thames in celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee on the longest Bank Holiday weekend the UK will ever enjoy; soon after, the rest of planet Earth arrives on London’s doorstep, luggage suitably gigantic in preparation for the summer Olympic Games and a visit to the Westfield Shopping Mall.

With these stupendous events comes the opportunity for London to stand tall, with open arms, beckoning for the world to come hither, to embrace our city, and, above all, lift it out of the dark void known as the British economy. Welcome, overseas vacationer! Here, have a Union Jack, and may we take your credit cards details whilst we’re at it.

There is no better time to launch a brand new steakhouse restaurant, on the South Bank of the Thames, adjacent to the London Eye, and in full view of the Houses of Parliament, than in the summer of 2012. This prime piece of real estate could spell the end of austerity for London. As the carnival rolls into town, our foreign visitors should form an orderly British queue outside Gillray’s restaurant and ignore the prices on the menu as you enter.

See, our guests probably wont be aware that a sirloin steak (with sauces) is a few pence dearer and 20g lighter at Gillray’s than it is at Gaucho, home to the best Argentinean steak in London. And they will hardly notice that a porterhouse steak at Gillray’s is £6 more expensive than it is at Goodman’s, whose motto includes words such as “London” and “the best American steak in”. This is because our cousins from abroad haven’t come all this way to eat beef flown in from countries beginning with A. They want their beef British, 35-day dry-aged, and Yorkshire Hereford.

Those Yorkshire Hereford cattle probably spent those 35 days dry-aging in the penthouse of The Savoy Hotel before they were lead across the Thames to Gillray’s. Either that, or Gillray’s is the most expensive steakhouse in London. A budget meal, this is not; yet the steaks are thankfully succulent and worthy of at least one week of dry-aging at The Savoy Hotel. Plus, Gillray’s restaurant has a well fit location, so don’t delay Johnny Foreigner, this experience has your name (and pin number) all over it.

You expect quintessential Britishness, and Gillray’s delivers, in a setting that is casual, yet grand, and where Art Deco chandeliers, cool leather seats, marble top bars, and artwork by James Gillray - the 18th century cartoonist after whom the restaurant is named - provide a modicum of British stiff-upper-lip-ness that juxtapose nicely with your informal dress sense (we saw trainers and a child when we visited at 8pm, on a Friday; heavens!).

Put a pound (actually, several) into the slot and you too can slurp up fresh Devonshire crab cake and weighty mustard-dill sauce after making light work of Yorkshire puddings made with Montgomery cheese served as an alternative to starter bread. It’s what the Queen would do, after all, especially with a glass of Denbies English white wine at hand.

As this is the quintessential experience, you too should feel at liberty to grumble, like a true Brit, about the almost perfect temperature of the food, the lack of ‘British’ background music, and the staff who continually dim the lights, no doubt so you cant read the prices (even though the front of house are on a par with hospitality staff ‘back home’; a wibbly table or unexpected fire alarm calmly dealt with).

This is an evening spent mainly exhaling rotund sighs as you struggle against the mighty Bull’s Head 1kg steak (!!) accompanied by six types of potato and a bone marrow-red wine jus that is heavy and sweet and deserving of a killer heartburn. The only way to beat it is to subsequently order the hessian-topped, flax-tied, jam jar filled with the best trifle you’ll ever taste.

With its British steak, cocktails, and BIG eating (this is definitely not salad country) Gillray’s does a great impression of Hawksmoor, where, truth be told, the best British steak in London can be observed, and even eaten, for the same price as it is at Gillray’s (bone-in, prime rib). As most meat-lovers who aren’t London native are unlikely to venture to the nearest Hawksmoor, though, they should be alerted to the fact that, pound-for-pound, Gillray’s is top of the steakhouse meat pile; depending on exactly what unit of ‘pound’ we’re talking about.

Britain’s eternal recession: sort’id....read more

Christian Rose-Day 10 May 2012

Customer Reviews for Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar

Average (based on 2 votes): 2 Atmosphere: Value: Quality:

The following customer reviews are not endorsed by Fluid London and are simply those of users who wish to publish their independent experiences of Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar.

“This venue's transformation from fine dining restaurant to casual British restaurant will no doubt suit the tourist-heavy foot traffic (especially during the Olympics this year) who will be looking for hearty British fayre. The steaks are decent, and there is a decent variety of cuts too, in a variety of sizes to cater for all appetites. The service was very good: knowledgeable; eager to please; chatty; smiling. The portions are large enough to keep our American cousins happy too. The decor is subdued but as modern as it can be in such surroundings. Good to see English wines on the drinks list too. Overall: a very enjoyable, if somewhat expensive evening.”
Atmosphere: Value: Quality:
The Restaurant Hunter, London (1 years 26 days ago)

“Had lunch with my wife and i have to say from the second we walked through the doors until the very end was one of the best experiences we have ever had in our lives, the Host was smiliey and friendly, the waiter who was serving us went above and beyond (Great Knowledge) to make our experience memorable, the food especially the steaks were the best we have possibly ever tried. The atmosphere was so vibrant it felt like the happiest day of our lives, when we left the Restaurant all the waiters thanked us for dining in their Restaurant. (Will deffinetly come back again).”
Atmosphere: Value: Quality:
Bruno Castro, London (1 years 1 months 8 days ago)

Additional Information

• Cuisine Type: Steak House
• Group: Marriott