New Street Grill

23rd February 2013

During my last girl’s dinner club, one of the team requested that we choose a restaurant near to the station that she travels from. The only problem with that is that there are relatively slim-pickings around that area that aren’t either wallet-busting or fast food or that we haven’t been to before. New Street Grill is part of the D&D London group of restaurants (formerly Conran) and is situated on a little side street bordering Spitalfields Market, in a converted warehouse considered to be the City’s oldest surviving warehouse built by the East India Company; The Old Bengal Warehouse. In the same development there is also a bar, a wine shop and a fish restaurant.

While we waited for everyone to arrive, we took a seat in the Old Bengal Bar attached to the restaurant, but also with its own separate entrance. I loved it. The bar was low-lit and the bare brick walls and exposed lights reminded you that you were in a former warehouse. It is very trendy and the clientele were all young Shoreditch types. I expected a few more City boys, but I don’t think I saw a single suit in the bar. Although drinks were priced at City boy prices and we paid £11 for a single vodka and tonic. That aside, I thought it was a really vibey bar and I’ll definitely be back to try out the amazing outside terrace when summer finally decides to join us!

We were taken through to the restaurant and I immediately fell in love with the room. Big half-moon windows let the light flood in, beautiful parquet flooring and a huge flower arrangement in the middle of the room to soften the look up. I liked that we were seated at a round table, it makes for a much more sociable evening where everyone can talk to everyone in the group.

The wine list is extensive and quite pricey, but we opted for a carafe of Malbec at a more reasonable £21.50, as not everyone in the group was drinking. A huge trolley was rolled in with a few different loaves of bread on it that they cut at your table, depending on your choice. It looked great, but to be honest the bread wasn’t the freshest I have ever had and I wonder if it was because it was out in the open like that.

To start I had the Cream of Cauliflower soup with pinenuts and sultanas (£7.50). The soup was creamy and rich, but I had to add a lot of salt to really make the flavour pop. I liked the texture that the pinenuts added and I thought that the sweetness that the sultanas brought to the dish was a really great idea.

As this is a grill restaurant, I opted for a 350g Sirloin steak (£29.00) for my main meal. You get a choice of 3 sauces to go with your steak – peppercorn, béarnaise and Stichelton blue cheese. In my opinion, a good steak doesn’t need a sauce, but I chose the peppercorn sauce to dip my chips in! As a table, we also chose the Heritage tomato salad with red onion and balsamic (£5.00), Spinach (£4.00) and Chips (£4.00).

The steak came as I had asked for it. Medium. The fat was nicely charred, but I found the meat a little chewy. The Heritage tomato salad was refreshing and I really enjoyed the flavours of the different tomatoes. We opted for creamed spinach over steamed and this was delicious, but a pretty small portion. I wish we’d ordered two. The chips were fat and crunchy and fluffy on the inside. As far as chips go, these were amongst the nicest I have had for a while.

I was pretty satisfied after my meal so I didn’t order dessert.

Service was a little slow at times, but everyone was friendly and happy to help. I thought that having the waiting staff in white shirts and black trousers was a little old fashioned and they didn’t fit in with the cool vibe going on next door at the bar. Maybe that was the intention though. All in all, it was a pretty pleasant experience. I still think that Hawksmoor do the best steaks in London, but I will definitely be back to try the fish restaurant and have a few drinks in the bar.

The bill came to £225.28 which included 2 vodka & tonics, 1 carafe of wine, 1 dessert wine, 1 coffee and Tia Maria, 3 starters, 3 mains and 1 dessert. Service was also included.

My next meal is another new steak restaurant to hit the capital, but this one aimed at the ladies market!

Until we eat again!