LDNReview
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Gridiron
This spot is Permanently Closed.
Included In
Let’s be honest, without Robin, Batman would be screwed. And without Watson, Sherlock would probably just be a guy in a deer hat mumbling that his coffee is responsible for the financial crisis. And Shrek, well, that guy would still be rolling around in his own filth if Donkey hadn’t forced him to leave the swamp behind. What we’re saying is, more often than not, heroes are nothing without their sidekicks. And nowhere is that more true than at Park Lane steak restaurant Gridiron.
This slick spot is part of Mayfair’s Como Metropolitan hotel, and the main act is the meat. Not just any meat, but the kind of great slabs of Angus T-bone and Barnsley hogget that you’ll recognise from cartoons as the type of thing you throw at wolves in order to escape them. And for the most part, the meat is good. At times, very good. But that’s not what you’re here for. Go ahead and order a near 40 quid Hereford rib-eye, but just know that the meat here is basically your gateway to get to the sides. Their rich, excellent sides.
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Day or night, with your parents or with your colleagues, at the marble counter or on the dark green leather banquette seating - it doesn’t matter, the beef dripping gallette potatoes are your ride or die here. They’re basically heavyweight bricks of carbohydrates and oil that make your common chip look like a runt who got lost on the way to the deep fat fryer. You want them, no, need them, on your table. But, then there’s also the Tunworth mashed potato with braised trotter and crackling - which sounds like Lord Bath’s shopping list but tastes how a scalp massage feels. Even the heritage carrots are done so well that you’ll be glad that whoever you’re with insisted ordering a vegetable was a good idea.
Gridiron is a restaurant that should be used to impress, and not just because of how dipping the grilled tenderstem broccoli in the bone marrow sauce will make you feel, but because of the space. There’s a lot of dark leather seating, moody lighting, butcher’s diagrams in gold frames, and suited servers who are more than willing to tell you the backstory of the very expensive steak knife you’re holding. It’s a sophisticated spot that’ll inevitably bear witness to plenty of people saying ‘dinner’s on me’ when the £300 bill arrives as a not-so-subtle nod that they’re super successful, thank you very much. So come here for a business dinner, come here on a grown-up date night, or, better yet, treat your sidekick to a £39 piece of meat, and double that in sides. Afterall, you’d be screwed without them.
Food Rundown
Crispy Scampi With Jalapeño Tartare
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Lamb Belly Fritters With Mint Aioli
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Barnsley Hogget
Hereford Rump
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Beef Dripping Gallette Potatoes
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Tunworth Mashed Potato, Braised Trotter, Crackling
Glazed Heritage Carrots
Grilled Tenderstem Broccoli
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli