Our visit to Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar in London

We were recently lucky enough to be offered the chance to review Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar. Located on the Southbank in the Marriot Hotel, the restaurant has exceptional views over the River Thames & the London Eye. It was a perfect and romantic setting to enjoy a quality meal out. As a lover of steak, I was very much looking forward to our reservation and I am pleased to say we had a delightful experience at Gillray’s.

Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed and invited to take a seat in the bar area. As our reservation was at 5pm on a Sunday, the bar area was relatively quiet and meant we had our pick of where to sit. The bartender who took our drinks orders had an extensive knowledge of the various Gins that were available. I decided to go for a classic G&T whilst my partner chose from the award-winning cocktail list. The décor inside the bar area was divine, with plush mustard coloured couches and marble tables – definitely photo worthy.

The restaurant itself was also very quiet, again I would say this was due to the time of our booking. However, we were not complaining as the service we received was unfaultable. We both opted for a steak; myself I chose a sirloin and my partner a fillet steak. The steak was cooked perfectly to order and delivered to our table in a timely fashion. For those who are not partial to a steak, there were plenty of other enticing options including; venison, veal and even a classic fish and chips. To accompany our main dishes we selected a few sides, with the creamed spinach and triple cooked chips being a favourite.

To finish off the meal we shared the Vanilla & Lemon Curd Meringue Pie, the real ‘wow-factor’ of our 3-course meal. Beautifully constructed and decorated, the pie was a tower of soft meringue with a subtle but pleasant lemony flavour; it was a perfect palette cleanser as it wasn’t too rich. As a sharing dish, it was certainly big enough for 3 people and proved to be a slight struggle with only the 2 of us.

For me, the factor which stands out is the level of service we received throughout our time at Gillray’s. The waitress who looked after us during our meal was delightful, charming and charismatic. All of our questions about the meal were answered with exquisite detail and she was a pleasure to talk to. Overall it was hard to fault our experience at Gillray’s, given the quality of our service and food, although the atmosphere of the restaurant felt a little quiet due to our time of visiting. I would recommend stopping by the gin bar first, as there was a fantastic drinks selection a more social atmosphere.

We would suggest visiting Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar to any anybody looking for a great steak and a fantastic gin & tonic. It’s a romantic spot to take a loved one or as a date location, with stunning views over The Thames. You can find out more about Gillray’s on their website, or book a table here.