NOT STAYING IN: MANHATTAN GRILL

By Hannah Powling

Manhattan Grill Restaurant in Canary Wharf is known to serve up some of the finest steaks around. We got the chance to sample their menu and  dining experience at their the modern steakhouse overlooking the river..via the Gin Bar, naturally. And it was divine.

Tommy and I arrived at the restaurant at 7pm, warmly greeted and taken for our Gin tasting at their G&Tea Bar, which they have recently refurbished. It is a charming little bar presenting an array of beverages including both bottled and in-house barreled gin. The presentation was endearing as was our mixologist Ishan; who was a pleasure to enjoy a number of samples from the finest gins, and provided a very informative experience may I add. After lots of tasting and our knowledge of gin vastly expanding, Ishan finished up the session with a personalised gin cocktail made just to our liking. Mine was a concoction with my picked-out favourite from the tasting; a sweet Edinburgh Gin infused with Rhubarb and Ginger. Tommy went for the Schwarzwald Monkey 47 Dry Gin, infused with cardamom pods and a squeeze or orange zest.

Their G&Tea bar is also featuring as an official bar at the London Cocktail Week this October.
We took our lovely cocktails back over into the restaurant’s serene atmosphere to sit down and start our meal, and at this time we were very much looking forward to tucking into some steak…! Our waiter was extremely polite and talked us through everything perfectly.

We had a gorgeous view where we sat; the restaurant is incredibly naturally well-lit with it’s huge windows and incredibly high ceilings. Manhattan Grill serve two kinds of meat featuring 3 different cut options; Creekstone Kansas USDA Black Angus, which is wet-aged for 28 days, and the Scottish Aberdeen Angus, which is dry-aged for 28 days. We opted to try both, (as you do) with mine being the Aberdeen Fillet, and Tommy’s the Creekstone New York Strip steak; both ordered rare.

We selected two starters to try out; which were the King Prawns served with chili garlic butter, and Devonshire Pork Belly alongside apple purée with mustard red cabbage. The prawns were superbly juicy and gorgeously flavoured. The pork was perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. We actually tucked into the pork as soon as our eyes laid eyes on it that I didn’t manage to get a photo! We got too carried away, so each plate that arrived after that moment; I had to stop myself and Tommy from munching before I could get a shot!

Not having to wait too long, we were then presented with our steaks. And my, it was a big steak! They didn’t hold back on quantity, or quality for that matter; and they were both succulent and delicious. I had a creamy mash and horseradish sauce to garnish, and Tommy enjoyed their fries and a mushroom and hollandaise sauce-topped steak.

Our meal completely filled us up; but we just had to squeeze in a dessert, of course. We shared the Key Lime Pie, and it was delicious. It was served with clotted cream, and had a biscuity base to die for.

So after a great evening filled with great food and drink; we were thoroughly stuffed, but in a good way, and as we walked out of the restaurant we just took a moment to appreciate the amazing view and soothing sound of the river.. What better way to end the evening.

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