A Chester Lunch with Class #Review
Stephen Wundke
12th July 2018
We have been going to Upstairs at the Grill since it opened, during which time it has won Best Small Restaurant in our awards multiple times and when it doesn’t win it is always Silver or Bronze. So anytime we go, of course our expectations are high. We decided to see what the lunch time scene around Chester was like, if you wanted to do the “old fashioned” business lunch and this was our starting point. You see these days the sandwich has taken over, and the demands of the job rarely allow time for a proper lunch, so not as many people “lunch” as once did. Apart from tasting some good food and seeing the value available we wanted to do a bit of social observation around the lunch scene as well and that is what this series is about. Back to Upstairs at the Grill.
We arrived early – midday, Gaile and I are early risers, at 6.00am and so by midday we have been on the go for 6 hours. Not early for us but it is for others. No problem getting a table at this time, but you always need to book here because they only seat 28 and it doesn’t take long to fill up. By the time we left there were about 6 places left. Service is king with this group and of course this experience was no exception. The complimentary water on the table was ice cold, the glassware for our chosen drinks in keeping with a class establishment and all arriving with a smile and some friendly banter, without being intrusive. We chose from the 2 courses for £16 menu, as exactly what we wanted was available. Gaile selected the Chicken Liver Parfait and I ordered the Classic Caesar salad. They duly arrived within 10 minutes and the presentation was exquisite. Gaile’s parfait was soft, creamy and light and served like it was a homage to Wimbledon on artifical grass in a lovely box. This and the presentation of the home cooked bread and the soft creamy bone marrow butter that was presented in the hollowed out section of a bone was a delight. The look of my Caesar was no different, superb. The lettuce; crisp and crunchy, the poached quails eggs a runny delight. If I were being hyper critical the bacon was a little over done and I would encourage the chef to be bolder with the Caesar dressing in his flavour – it was sublte and lovely but could have been brought out more. The portions were generous without being over facing and we loved them.
After another 10-12 minutes our mains arrived, Gaile ordered the Chicken and this was just fabulous. Rarely have we tasted chicken so delicately cooked, moist and soft; it was cared for in a way that few places do. The confit hens yolk was again delicate and crusted skilfully with breadcrumbs with the truffle fritter and red pepper puree just working so well together. This was a triumph of cooking. I decided upon the Sea Bass and was far from dissapointed. Again crispy skin (why cant everyone achieve this) soft, just cooked flesh with grilled pickled banana shalots, chargrilled new potatoes a sauce vierge and al dente asparagus. Everything as it was described on the plate (it’s amazing how few places achieve this) and everything cooked perfectly. Again I thought the sauce viege could have been a little more powerful, but maybe that’s just my palate. For me chefs get judged at the very top end on their ability to punch flavour and I think this chef is so close to being at the very top, that enhancing those flavours is all their is between him and some big awards.
Suffice to say after two courses, with bread at lunch, we were full and the offer of a dessert to make it 3 courses for just £19, whilst tempting was just too much. Within in 50 minutes we had been seated, eaten two outstanding courses, had two drinks each and it had cost us just £40. The setting and service was wonderful and the food exquisite. It made me think that meetings need to be done this way more often. You have to eat at lunchtime so next time, make the meeting over lunch and take on this great value, great quality, meal. I bet you land the deal and I certainly know you will eat extremely well. Those old boys who lunched knew a thing or two about business – and food, back in the day and Upstairs at the Grill can make it all possible. This was something we were delighted we had done.
Ratings : Service 9/10 Ambience and Setting 7/10 Food 9/10 Value for Money 9/10 Total Score : 34/40
Upstairs at the Grill
70 Watergate Street, Chester, CH1 2LA
Upstairs at the Grill is a split-level Manhattan-style steakhouse and intimate cocktail bar located in Chester City Centre.
More information