The Food & Drink Innovation Network

November 28th, 2011

Brand new restaurant, The Grill at Montcalm, invited The Food and Drink Innovation Network to sample its menu this week.

Located just off the bustling, tourist ridden Oxford Street, close to Marble Arch tube station, The Grill at the Montcalm opened last week within the five-star Montcalm hotel.

The restaurant, which has a separate entrance to the left of the main hotel entrance, boasts a bright, contemporary dining space.

Offering a mixture of tables for two, much larger group tables and a few, circular booths (request these if booking in advance as they provide a slightly more cosy dining experience), the furniture compromises cream leather chairs, burnt orange booths, white table tops and impressive gold lights, creating a warming effect against the all-white walls.

The very welcoming and attentive staff immediately greeted us, taking our winter coats and showing us into the relaxed atmosphere of the restaurant.

Offered a complementary bottle of still or sparkling water, and presented with the extensive food and wine lists, the delectable menu boasts an array of dishes.

All dishes on the menu support a very traditionally British cuisine but each with a contemporary twist.

Andrew Ives, Head chef  at The Grill is previously of Kenbworth House, and has created a the varied menu that indiscreetly places emphasis on meat.

Ordering the Crab salad with peas, soy bean & pea shoots, carrot & vanilla puree, brown crab velouté (£18.00) to start, the waiter was keen to educate me on the three different varieties of crab meat I was about to enjoy.

Light and interestingly displayed on the plate, the vanilla in the puree added an extra dimension to the otherwise traditional dish.

The main course, Baby ribs, twice cooked belly, fillet, slow braised spots of Middle White pork, caraway buttered cabbage (£23.00) – like the sirloin steak ordered by my guest –  was displayed on a long wooden block.

A sophisticated version of a mixed grill, the variety of cuts was both interesting to look at and to eat.

While the wooden block made the dish look aesthetically pleasing, some of the meat lost its temperature quickly – although this didn’t do anything to alter the depth of flavour – it would have perhaps benefitted from being served on a warm plate.

For dessert we opted for the irresistible Chocolate plate.

Guilty of being self-confessed chocoholics, the pudding, which consisted of a dark chocolate parfait, honey sable, white chocolate panna cotta, raspberry confit, and chocolate fondue with pistachio cream (£10.00), satisfied our cravings accordingly.

Light and varied, the mixture of warm and cold, white and dark, and creamy and crunchy worked perfectly.

In conclusion, The Grill is a very welcome addition to the luxury hotel it sits underneath.

The restaurant does well to recognise the importance of sourcing fine cuts of British meat and accompanying them with interesting, seasonal flavours.

Opening Times

Mon to Sat 12 – 3pm

Sunday 12 – 6pm only

Mon to Sat 5 – 11pm

For more information click here to visit the website.