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UPSTAIRS AT THE GRILL, CHESTER
Based in Chester City Centre, on Watergate Street, ‘Upstairs at the Grill’, is a
split-level Manhattan-style steakhouse and speakeasy bar, serving exquisite
steaks along with fine wines and cocktails. Situated directly opposite the
popular BarLounge and shortlisted for numerous food and drink awards, it
is one of the highest rated trip advisor dining destinations in Chester and one
of the Cities ‘go to’ fine eateries.
With a very warm welcome from ‘Sam’ and her team, we were seated in the
intimate top level dining room. Sumptuous leather seating around an elevated
dining table, mood lighting and a carefully stocked bar, we knew instantly that
we were in for a treat. Leather bound menus presenting a wonderful array of
locally and internationally sourced beef, and other meats, fresh fish and lobster
and tantalising vegetarian/vegan options for those non-meat lovers. Luckily for
our dining party, steak was most definitely top the agenda!
Our Sommelier for the evening was the fabulous ‘Cino Noir’. With an extensive
wine knowledge and matching wine list ‘Cino’ made our wine selections for us
His first was a seriously good Pinot Grigio, the fabulous - Mezzacorona Castel
Firmian Pinot Grigio. A beautiful wine from Trentino, Northern Italy which was
aromatic, with a natural purity and cleanliness which sets this wine apart from
some of the usual Pinot Gr igio wines.
So to begin… a interesting selection of pre starters – parmesan shortbreads,
bone marrow butter. Complimentary breads baked in house - spiced caramelised
onion and tarragon with bone marrow butter, served in the marrow. Excellent.
Deep fried anchovy stuffed olives coated in crispy panko breadcrumb and served
with aioli and paprika seasoning. Gorgeous, so much so we ordered even more!
Up next were our starters – a delicious chicken parfait served with toasted brioche,
crispy chicken skin and truffle butter. Smooth, creamy and delicious. Torched
seabass served cold with an orange infusion, sweet apple radish and horseradish
aioli which was amazingly clean and refreshing and with great strong flavours.
Sumptuous and meaty pan seared scallops, sticky pig cheek, charred onion and
a pea puree. The perfect combination! A fabulous vegan friendly allotment salad
with an array of the finest seasonal ingredients. Pretty as a picture and tasted as
good as it looked. Each and every dish was beautifully presented.
For the main event, steak was the word! Firstly, steaks are presented to you
‘raw’ on a wooden board, you then make your own personal selection of cut.
Every cut looked incredible. We opted for the fabulous 24oz Aberdeen Angus
T- bone steak, matured for a minimum of 31 days and sourced from the finest
bred cattle. The T - bone was an awesome sight, melt in the mouth texture with
amazing flavour and cooked to absolute perfection. The USDA Special Board - a
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selection of four cuts of meat sourced from Greely in Colorado, renowned for
its ageing process to give a sweeter more buttery aftertaste. Served on a wooden
serving board and accompanied with delicious triple cooked beef dripping chips,
béarnaise, peppercorn sauces and traditional steak garnish. Steak heaven, just
superb!
Additionally, we opted for the Chicken Supreme, moist roasted chicken served
with a truffle fritter, confit hen’s yolk, red pepper puree and fresh asparagus.
Beautiful. Vegan roast onion and balsamic tart which was crisp, light and
delicious, packed full of flavour.
To accompany the amazing array of mains, we sampled the haggis fritters which
were incredibly moreish, triple cooked truffle chips served with truffle and Gran
Moravia cheese - crispy on the outside and wonderfully fluffy on the inside.
Tender stem broccoli with a blue cheese hollandaise along with garlic and thyme
carrots. All our sides were delicious and the perfect accompaniments.
Our wine pairing for the mains and notably the steak was the wonderful ‘Finca
Decero Cabernet Sauvignon. Mendeoza, Argentina’. This is a 2014 vintage which
gives the wine its mellow taste with spicy woody notes from French oak barrels
which added to making this wine a superb choice. Cino also took us through the
extensive wine list and made suggestions that would ‘marry’ perfectly with all of
our chosen dishes. Wines are served by the glass and by the bottle.
With absolutely no room whatsoever for dessert (menu available) we moved
over to the bar area and let the brilliant bartender ‘Sean’ look after us with one
of his excellent cocktails. We each opted for a cocktail of choice - Pisco Sour,
Vesper Martini, Manhattan and a classic Champagne with strawberry. There is an
extensive cocktail and bar menu and Sean is more than happy to make you that
personal favourite tipple on request.
Well, what can we say… ‘Upstairs at The Grill’ is fantastic. Impeccable service,
sumptuous and comfortable surroundings, great ambience and of course the star
of the show - the outstanding food. All of this made for a truly memorable dining
experience. Open for lunchtime dining with a dedicated menu, Sunday’s with the
family, special occasions or just any occasion in our opinion.
Well done guys - full marks! Highly recommended.
Telephone: 01244 344883
Booking is advisable.