Gillray’s Steakhouse, South Bank

Gillray's Steakhouse

I’m not sure it I’ve mentioned it (hohoho) but I’m a pretty big fan of eating food. Drinking nice wine, too, or in fact any activity that involves me putting calorie-laden matter into my mouth and ingesting it.

Sexy.

There’s pretty much nothing I like more when it comes to eating than an impromptu food and wine-fest. As the saying goes, no good story started with a salad, which is how I found myself sitting on a beautiful table opposite my friend Neva (also a lunch-slash-booze fan) at Gillray’s Steakhouse on the South Bank one blustery lunchtime.
Gillray's Steakhouse

IMG_0913
I reckon restaurants inside hotels often get a bad rep. Tarred with the brush of awful room service – rubbery club sandwich, anyone? – and Holiday Inn bar-issue pizzas they sometimes get forgotten. But I’ve had some truly wonderful meals inside the bowels of a hotel and I think there’s something truly decadent about being able to retreat to a lounge or comfortable bar with a coffee post-dessert, something you often can’t do in a city centre restaurant that’s slightly more limited in terms of square footage.

Gillray’s Steakhouse

Gillray’s is one such establishment, tucked inside the slightly hidden Marriott County Hall. It’s a grand affair at first appearance, all chandeliers, high ceilings, deep wood and velvet sofas, and I like this very much. It’s circular bar has 360 river views but as I show up starving and slightly damp from the rain (standard) we are ushered straight through to our Thames-view table.

IMG_0917

Our server for the afternoon- a wonderfully friendly yet not intrusive American lady – points us in her biased direction of a red Californian Zinfandel (via a high tech iPad wine list) that was so unexpectedly good I’ve been trying to track it down ever since.  Her cheery disposition was crucial to the brilliant time we had that afternoon, so important when you’re spending your time off in a restaurant.

We ordered, steaks all round obviously (make mine a rib eye every time), and were swiftly presented with our pre-starter, which was so magnificent that it inspired a recipe of my very own. It was the most voluminous Yorkshire Pudding stuffed with cheese and served with Horseradish cream. SO very good I could have eaten ten of them. Yum.

My starter, Crispy BBQ Old Spot Pigs Cheeks, really hit the spot with its pickled veg and homemade ketchup. My companion’s crabcakes were generously sized and totally delicious. It was a good start.

On to the main event… the steak!

Gillray's Steakhouse Gillray's SteakhouseThe thing I like about ribeye is that it’s so flavoursome. The cut has more fat marbling its way through the meat than more classic cuts like sirloin or fillet and therefore it’s better to have it cooked a little longer (I like mine medium but my fillet I have rare) to allow the fat to render throughout the meat. As a result it generates a total steak-party in your mouth – trust me – and this particular ribeye at Gillray’s Steakhouse was no disappointment. I ate every last mouthful.

And those chips you can see up there aren’t any old chips, they’re triple cooked chips flavoured with parmesan and truffle. Enough said.

IMG_0920

Pudding was quite literally epic: circles of tender apple battered, deep-fried, dusted with cinnamon and served with salted caramel ice cream. Just divine.

I sometimes think that Steak restaurants have it tough in London. You’ve got your Hawksmoor, your Gaucho, your Flat Iron. You can only make steak so good before it starts becoming incomparable – great steak is great steak is great steak – so when it comes to steak restaurants I think it’s the ambiance and extras that make all the difference. And Gillray’s is absolutely just as good as my old favourite, the classic Hawksmoor.

What did it for me? The amazing waiting staff, the Yorkshire pudding, the beautiful riverside setting and the dessert.

Gillray's Kids Menu
I’ll definitely be back and this time with the children – I snuck a look at their kid’s menu and it’s definitely head and shoulders above the usual children’s fare. Finally, a restaurant that appreciates that children aren’t all into sausages. Thank-you, Gillray’s Steakhouse!

Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar, London Marriott Hotel County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 7PB. Book online, call 020 7902 8000, or email enquiry@gillrays.com. Neva and I were guests of Gillray’s – we do love our steak. 

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

12 Comments

  1. Susan J-T wrote:

    If they have a granny menu can I come too?

    Posted 3.4.15 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      You can always come! Your turn… hahah x

      Posted 3.8.15 Reply
  2. THOSE CHIPS THOUGH!!!!

    Posted 3.4.15 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      JUST as good as they look! Could’ve eaten them twice.

      Posted 3.8.15 Reply
  3. Emz wrote:

    Christ I can literally feel the pounds creeping on just reading this, it all looks bloody delicious!!!

    Posted 3.5.15 Reply
    • alice wrote:

      Well worth the resulting bum wobble ;)

      Posted 3.8.15 Reply
  4. Looks and sounds amazing *drools*

    Posted 3.6.15 Reply
  5. I just couldn’t go away your website before suggesting that I really enjoyed the standard
    iinfo a person provide too your guests? Is gonna be again frequently to check up on new posts

    Posted 3.28.15 Reply
  6. Kendrick wrote:

    A great nuber of real estate investors are looking for condominiums in close proximity the MRT Station as transport alternate options are alpenty in addition to hence it
    has caused a large number of of the reawl estate property askjng prices
    close to public transport options such as the MRT to inceasse in prices.
    There should be urban oasis at geylang obtainable soon in the market.

    They are often HDB upgraders, or single men and women along with new
    newlgweds looking for their particular 1st family homes.

    The Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) framework has just sealed
    the lid more tightly on liquidity together with managed
    to make it that much more difficult for HDB upgraders to buy a private real
    estate, mudh less new couples ambitious to join the fraay by
    avoiding the HDB route.

    Due to their tenure oof land, freehold condos are often more pleasing to purchasers inside the open-market as compared to
    leasehold homes. On the other hand, the relatively higher asking asking prices
    of such ffeehold properties wouuld likely have led to an increase within the quantity
    being put up for auction in recent quarters,”
    Lee explained.With regards tto total sales, tthe
    quantity of omes successfully sold off rose to 10 during the 3rd
    quarte from nine in the previous time period. Specifically, 5 belonged
    under owner’s sale, translating to a success rate of 6.8 percent since there were 73 real estate provided
    in this portion. Remarkably, a couple of houses out of 70 had besn sold in tis
    section in Q2 2014.

    Apart from the quick blip during the world-wide financial meltdown, which in turn does not
    require much time to recover, home owners/investors have generally enjoyed above and beyond attractive proceeds iinside the previous
    cycle,” she said. As property owners anticipate there is always still
    a while before loow rates of interest raise, plus due
    to their present financial equity gains, they are unlikely to lower ttheir home prices.
    Concurrently, these sellers could possibly time their very own exit in an effort
    to decrease or to avoid paying for Seller’s Stamp Duties (SSD) impose by tthe local
    respective authorities.

    The rental prices for HDB apartments are anticipated to stay less than ideal for the rest of the year,
    explained real estqte consultants and revealed in media.
    Remarkably, housing info show thatt HDB rental index decreased 2.3 percent iin 2014, striking a
    three-year low in May with the median rent payments at
    $2,400. Property experts surveyed observe that this could just
    tthe start oof an extended slowdown in the real
    estate market.

    Eugene Lim, Key Executive Officer at ERA expects rental
    prices to drop an additional five too sixx percent drop by the end of year, while R’ST Research diredctor Ong Kah Seng sees a full-year deline of five to seven percent.
    Nicholas Mak, Research Head at SLP International is
    expecting a four tto six%. For the long run, Christine Li, Research Head at OrangeTee,
    is expecting a small drop near 10% by 2015. Property agencies attribute the situation to less than normal need due to a lzck of renters.
    The fact is, landlords have actually lessened rent to bbe able to compee for renters, whose amounts have been restricted
    stemming from lower number of foreign workers.

    With luxurious house prices within the city state continuing to fall, this moment could bbe the right instant for potential
    buyers to invest right now. As stated by Alice Tan,
    Research Headd at Knight Frank’s . Luxury part of the
    property market has been significantly affected by the local authorities’slew of
    measures.The particular perspectives that righbt nnow could
    possibly be a great time to enter the roperty market
    is actually due to the fact in which the high-class section of thhe market has previously
    observed 5 continious periods of price decrease and that price will certainly continue
    on to maintain. It isn’t really great news for property
    or home sellers, however for buyers who are generally planning to get a luxcury property,
    there is a window of opportunity to obtain a dream residence.

    Along at the introduction of the North Point City onn 1 August, Group CEO
    of Frasesrs Centrepoint Homes Lim Ee Seng said,
    “Home owners at North Parkk Residences doesn’t just get to take pleawsure in the lifestyle choices and also great advantages that Northpoint
    City presents, they’ll on top of that take advantage of what the Northern part of Singapore presents.

    These comprise oof good colleges, recently upgraded recreatipnal areas, advanced
    medical facilities along with an plentiful off entrtaining
    clubs and amenities. According to HDB’s Remaking Our Heattland initiatives begun previously, Nee Soon hqve been earmarked among the list of
    neighborhoods undergoing a combination of conversions to enhance the living surroundings
    of occupants.

    Young couples who are on the lookout for their dwelling homes
    to make investments could quite possibly not have
    Geyllang in their opinions as the neighborhood carries a undesirable appeal for the sleazy bars togther with severral dubious night-life stores.
    Having said that, a report performed by numerous
    property consultants revealed that Geylang presents very good long-term
    prospects for real estate property investment in Singapore that may be very worthwhile.
    Property or home analyst has take note that current property hunters in Gylang are
    having enormous because newly released selling prices prices suggest that
    both landed and condominium selling prices in the neighborhood possesses double diggit expansion during the last few
    years.

    Posted 4.2.15 Reply
  7. Sol Acres wrote:

    I can’t wait to try it!

    Posted 5.16.15 Reply
  8. Gillray’s Steakhouse, South Bank Good, This is something excellent, I was searching for this kind of information, Thanks for sharing, Love it your site,

    Posted 11.23.22 Reply