On Friday it was one of my close friend's 30th & I took it upon myself to sort out a surprise dinner for him. As he's a bit of a meat lover, I decided on Grill on the Corner - a no brainer, they do the best steaks in town! I did not expect to have such a hassle to not only book the meal but also be seated at our table on the night. Booking a table for 11 was such a travesty - it took me 5 days, 5 phonecalls (despite being promised to be called back) & deposit of £10 each before it was finally confirmed.
We arrived at 8pm sharp to be greeted by the fire alarm which was going off. We had to stand at the bar area & watch whilst 3 fire engines turned up to figure out how to turn off a faulty fire alarm. 30 mins later (I kid you not!), the whining finally stopped & I was straight over asking to be seated at our table only to be told it would take another couple of minutes as they were pushing the tables together. It wasn't until 8:45 that we were finally seated at our table!! Not only did it take ages but I had dropped off a balloon before we arrived & they had failed to put it on the table before seating us. Not exactly rocket science to put a balloon on a table!! I've been to the Grill a couple of times before so knew that a steak is the only way to go. We finally had our order taken after 9pm - 1 whole hour after we had originally booked the table for!
For starters, I ordered the sharing platter (salt & pepper chicken skewers, thai fishcakes, duck springrolls & calarmari) with my fiance to share. It arrived & it looked pretty appetising. One thing I loved was that the calarmari came with tentacles! Never ever had that before. Overall the platter was very tasty - good calarmari, the chicken skewers had a nice kick to them & the fishcakes had a nice thai flavour to them. The duck springrolls weren't exactly to my taste & the garlic mayo wasn't lacking in garlic flavour - my only complaints about the starter.
Now it was time for the main event! I had been looking forward to this steak since I had booked the meal. I ordered a medium sirloin with champ potatoes & a side of green beans & shallots. I've had the sirloin once before & it was melt in the mouth deliciousness! The steak arrived & first bite was a big disappointment - it hadn't been seasoned!! Of all the things I would never expect from a restaurant that specialises in steak is for them to forget to put some salt & pepper on it. The cut itself was not as good as I had before but not as bad as other cuts that have been passed off as steak in other places. The champ potatoes had also been drowned in butter which took away from any taste the spring onion would have given them. One other member of the party was extremely disappointed with his rump steak which was so fatty despite being described as the leanest cut on the menu!
For the prices you pay in a restaurant like the Grill on the Corner, you expect first class service, no need to ask to make an order, an amazing steak & a card machine that works!!! However, we didn't get this at all & my feeling is they can't handle large parties on a Friday/Saturday night. My friend enjoyed his steak which was the main thing as it was his birthday & the reason we had gone there but I couldn't help but mention my views to the manager. All I was told was that they were sorry & next time I come to ask for the manager & he'll make sure that we get the best table & best service - not sure if we will be back to take them up on that offer!!
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