The Grill on the Market - London

The first thing you notice on entering the restaurant is the music; it 's live. It creates an awesome atmosphere throughout; it 's classy yet relaxed, welcoming yet it feels exclusive. A friend and I went mid-week and the place was still packed, a good sign for the quality of what we were about to experience. The Grill is separated on two levels, the entrance level encompassing a bar and the second, the dine-in restaurant. It 's pull of busy city workers, toasting to a successful/long day and friends, like us, sitting down for a pre-dinner cocktail. There 's also a separate private dining area that can cater for up to 20 guests. The Grill on the Market is part of the Blackhouse chain where 'solid, honest and simple proper food ' is the daily mantra. We focus on no nonsense food; specialising in wholesome ingredients, mixing distinctive textures and flavours that just work together, offering a mix of innovative dishes with comfortable favourites. Steak is their bread and butter; it 's what they are known for and know how to do it well. The restaurants prime location opposite Smithfields meat market also doesn 't go a miss. We ate three amazing courses and drank bottle of red wine with our main, bookended by more cocktails and coffee. For starters we had chicken satay and mussels with a side of garlic rub bread, followed by an imposing Chateaubriand. I feel I need to give the main it 's own shout out here. JUST WOW. I only ever really have steak when I 'm dining out, due to my own inability to cook it well at home. This simply cemented why I do it. I have never eaten anything like this before. You buy the Chateaubriand as a meal for two £57.50), and it comes with two portions of home-cut chips served in charming mini frying baskets), French beans and a Béarnaise sauce. We also had a side of garlic king prawns. The meat was superb, the chips were seasoned to perfection, the beans added a great crunch and the Béarnaise was rich and creamy. Desert consisted of a warm chocolate fudge cake and a sticky toffee pudding, both delightful, though perhaps too rich a choice after the first two courses. We were stuffed, uncomfortably so, but it was so worth it. Price wise, The Grill on the Market sits the higher end of the London average, but it isn 't expensive. Cocktails average around £7, a solid bottle of win for £30 while starters are £5-10 and mains range from £12 burgers to £75 Porterhouse T-bone. The steak is obviously the most expensive, but it 's granted because it 's just so damn good. Yes, the food is simple, comfortable as they say, but that doesn 't mean it isn 't special. The quality of the produce, the amazing atmosphere and the friendly staff make an evening at The Grill well worth the price tag. This is definitely my go-to choice for the Barbican area, just a short walk for any of the local tubes. UPDATE: Some awesome news! You can now get membership to the Grill on the Market for free) simply by signing up contact the restaurant for more info) which entitles you to mega discounts on food, up to 50% some nights!. Head to my profile for more reviews of London restaurants and find out more, including pictures, on my blog, The Science of Appearance.

The Grill on the Market was just around the corner from our hotel in London and we made use of the 50% offer with my Blackhouse group card. It looked very quiet when we first walked in, but this is was just the bar. The restaurant is at the back and up a few steps, I loved the look of the place, it was intimate and had a great buzz to the place. Sadly we had just missed the 241 happy hour on the cocktails. I had the Mussels which were cooked in a curry sauce which tasted amazing and had the Steak Fajitas for the main which was great too! Overall a fantastic meal served by a great waiter. I look forward to returning to this great restaurant again!

Very good French fries!! And the sweet potatoes are the best!!!! Burgers are ok! But not my favorite Nice location and great people

Kobe beef burger INMYBELLY. Medium rare with all the fixins, thanks. Smoked salmon starter and smoothies were legit as well, HOWEVER I really don't know whether the shocked faces responding to actual deliciousness of food was due to the taste, or the fact that I had a fatty 30% off voucher in my pocket thanks to the phenom that is Toptable (total plug there, can I get some benefits now? Alright let's not lie, this place is full of empty suits on any given weeknight, one of whom was recognized by my companion as a head of bank X who was fired earlier in the day...BUT that could be great for people watching and snarky commentating. The food is slightly above average and the ambience is EH, but I'd go again if I could get my bill sawed off by close to 1/3.

Now I love a bit of red meat, especially steak. But normally I don 't order it because I find it overpriced. So imagine my delight when fab Yelper Yinnie Chung gave me a birthday treat to 50% off this superb steakhouse right by work. Yes please!! Everything about this evening was perfect; the cocktails served by the chatty waiter were such value for money at £7 and with a happy hour (I recommend the Mint Violet Crush, especially if you 're a fan of Parma Violets they 're not for everyone but I love 'em! . The food was beautifully done, my sirloin was beautifully rare with a really rich bearnaise sauce and to top it off part way through we heard some really chilled music. It took me about 15 minutes to realise that it wasn 't recorded but a guy at a piano in the cocktail bar singing in perfect pitch! SO GOOD we even left our waiter a little piece of cake that Yinnie made me she was so obviously flirting! Without the discount, be prepared to pay for the quality here, I wouldn 't be able to afford this normally. A very special treat indeed!