the grill

delicious food, great environment, and most of the time great service. the suckling pig is tender and delicious, steakcookedto perfection and tender, miso hollandaise is sooo yummy and the usual sides we get are always amazing. grandmas carrots, potato gratin and the onion rings (actual circles of onion in a puffy crispy batter)
always look forward to dinner here and my mouth waters just thinking about it.
definitely a place to try at least once in your life!

i will remember it being very dark and noisy. the prior the result of black paint and decor with dimly lit cravasses for tables along the wall. a great place to wine and dine if you were say sleeping with your boss ladies! so dim that it was difficult to make out the faces of waiting staff. we were a party of 4 at table 35.
as for the noise its clearly popular so maybe not such a good idea for discreet redezvous. why i didnt run into anyone i knew the venue is similar to another federal st outlet the depot in being a cosy table layout and crowded. staffing levels are good with many serving staff. service was good only one minor fault when the entrées were served tge waiter served twi plates crossing over two of tge guests placing instead of going to tge opposing side. he then called out the dishes were "those are to share" as he walked away from the table while i glared at him. odd given they were not to share and we were not in the depot! ! otherwise all the mains were served by 3 waiters to the 4 settings very professionally and timed to perfection. this may have been important to maintain the steak after resting as those steaks were impressive. best delivery of mains al la carte but disappointing entree serving. 3/5.
my entree was the ox tongue. i didnt regret ordering it but is an acquired taste. large piece cut length wise. scampi sashimi was very good also with a light chilli. 4/5
for mains, three of our party had eye fillet from the savannah pastured fed angus.cookedto perfection. hope chef at annebelles st heliers reads my review. clearly slow pan fried nothing burnt. the fourth member of the party had a sirloin. this came attached on bone and looked superb. 5/5 note steak from the butchers block are priced solely for the steak and nothing else. so served on a plate there is no veges or garnish. further cost of about $14 for sides each. so its quite expensive all up when the steak was $45-$50 to start.
the sides were brocollini with walnuts and roasted pumpkin with a cream paste. both were very good but pricey. 4/5
dessert sadly no brulee that night. settled on a honey roasted figs with ice cream. a good dessert if you didnt want something too sweet. 4/5.
in summary flashy place to be seen in (lighting permitting) but for refined steaks excelkent choices better than say with tonys outlets where it's less noisy and to me i'd find more relaxing. price is high end $100 pp plus wine $100-$200 a bottle.

i must say this is the first time i've given somewhere a 5.0
from the moment we were taken to the table, to where we got introduced to the menu and the moment we stepped out it was so perfect.
first of all, the waitor who took care of us was so friendly and informative. couldn't have done better.
we got the study of beef, parmasen slaw, duck fat chips as sides.
the wagyu dry aged was incredible. such strong exquiste flavours
the slowcookedwagyu cheek was heavenly...melted as we cut into it.
study of beef was $150 but it's dependent on the cut of the day i think. so worth it.
if you're looking for a place to dine on a special day + with some good protein, no doubts you must go here.
i also requested a suprise cake be done and even that was perfect
thank you for making our night wonderful
we will be back :)

service here is extremely good as well as the food. the food is on the pricey side but absolutely worth it. the steak wascookedto perfection and absolutely loved the green peppercorn sauce with it.
also the mac and cheese here is delicious and oh so cheeeeesy😍

came here before the lion king. they had a perfect smaller menu that we ordered of. got a perfectlycookedpiece of steak that was juicy n it came with a side all for $39. we ordered the broccoli and the duck fat chips! the broccoli wasn’t for me due to the sour cream that came with it but i loved the chips! the just melted in the mouth❤️❤️ to finish of we ordered the cheesecake and that was divine to! the berries were the perfect accompaniment 😋😋

truly awesome! such an amazing packaging.. each and every item wascookedto perfection and the jumbo meal was quite easily sufficient for myself and my wife.. thank you for such an amazing meal..

visited last week for the truffle menu. the jumbo scallops werecookedvery well, the cauliflower purée hit the spot. the steaks are alwayscookedperfectly, not sure how much of the truffle translated into it but the crayfish side of the surf and turf made up for it. the apple tart is a must try. been on their menu for over a decade and it deserves to be

went here for my boyfriend’s 29th birthday as he loves steaks. the place looked fancy enough. it was next to the grand hotel. fancy is an understatement. it was a bit too dark though but maybe that’s a thing for places like this. we were seated at an odd location though. not much of a complaint. the waiter acted slightly odd, like his head wasn’t in the game (work). but not a big deal as well. he’s doing his job.

we ordered the study of beef, mac and cheese, fries and the new york cheesecake... suffice to say, we’re just inches away from having a heart attack (joking obviously).

i’ve never really been a fan of steaks. or maybe i just don’t order the right cut or ask for the right way to cook it that suits my palette. but tasting the japanese a5 wagyu... now i understand what they mean by melts in your mouth. it was delish!

the rest of the meats werecookednicely and tasted good as well. we could not finish it all of course. we’re not big eaters. had to take some home.

mac and cheese and fries were ordinary. nothing spectacular about it.

cheesecake was soooo good, dreamt about it for days. the bf loved everything.

only one major downside: the price. a whopping 234nzd (we’re not rich people... i’m nurse and my partner works in an advertising company as an accounts manager in hamilton). i’m a small eater. the price i ate is worth around 30 bucks max (meat, cheese, cake). he ate majority of the meal. i don’t mind though... expected that much. it was my treat for the special boy. plus he’s only in auckland on the weekends. bae is worth it.

will be back again for sure.

by far one of my absolute favourite restaurants. hadn’t been in a while so came for dinner with a girlfriend a couple of weeks ago and had almost forgotten how good it really is. we ordered 2x eye fillet steaks both of which werecookedto perfection, the macaroni and cheese which was cheesy and rich with a nice crunchy bread crumb topping and the parsley butter carrots which you can’t go wrong with.. everything was beautifully cooked. the staff were absolutely lovely and so accommodating. can’t fault this restaurant.

came here for dinner last night. service was amazing- the staff were so lovely. the drinks were delicious and the waitress was very knowledgeable when it came to the different wines they served. the sashimi was melt in your mouth. the salmon and steak were good ... salmon wasn’tcookedwell done like i requested and the salad was just cos leaves with oil and vinegar (i ordered a side salad- no dressing. instead of potatoes) ...but you can’t win them all.

i came to the grill for my birthday dinner on a tuesday night. it wasn't very busy but we made a reservation in case anyway. i was very excited to try the food from here as i heard it was very good, especially the butter. the service was alright but could have been better for a fine dining restaurant.

the first course was the bread and butter, which lewis road creamery made just for the grill. you could either choose rye bread or sourdough bread, i chose the sourdough. honestly, i couldn't taste the difference between the special butter and regular butter but i don't use butter a lot, which may have been why i thought it tasted the same. the canape was the mushroom cigar with garlic aioli. it was so flavoursome and crispy, in fact, it tasted a bit like a spring roll.

for the main, my brother and i each got the queensland wagyu eye fillet (medium rare with red wine jus), my mum got the mt ruapehu angus sirloin (medium rare with red wine jus) and my dad got the snapper. for sides, we all shared the duck fat fries and confit mushrooms. my steak was absolutely perfect! it was perfectlycookedto medium-rare and it was probably one of the best steaks i've had. i didn't even put salt and pepper on my steak because you don't need it and i regret pouring the sauce on my steak before tasting a piece of the meat without it. the wagyu meat was so delicate and i used minimal effort to cut it with my knife. i tried a bit of my mum's sirloin and the fattiness made the meat melt in my mouth. the duck fat chips were good, super crispy and hot when it came out and they give you tomato sauce that is spicy. the spiciness of the sauce was addicting and i highly recommend getting this if you've never been to the grill before. the confit mushrooms were pretty average, quite a simple dish that isn't very unique. i've read reviews where some people who had their birthday celebration at the grill got a special gift but i didn't recieve one so that was a bit disappointing.

overall, i would definitely come back to the grill but only for the steaks as that is their specialty.

the whole experience was 5/5! my partner and i went here for our anniversary & loved it completely!!! we ordered the study of beef, absolutely amazing, they evencookedone piece well done & the other two medium rare. suckling pig was also good, the crackling was so nicely salted. the side of duck fat chips and smoked mashed potato also really realllllly good, loved the smokiness of the potato! i ordered a mocktail which was absolutely amazing 👌🏼 staff were really great, especially the young tall boy with the glasses! always checking to see if we were ok/needed anything.
will definitely come back here for another event in the future! 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 10/10

finishing off restaurant month with a meal at @thegrillbyseanconnolly.
we started with a crisp macadamia /parmesan / mushroom cigar with garlic aioli.
this was followed with a rustic rye bread with @lewisroadcreamery butter.
next was a kingfish cerviche - beautifully paired with mandarin segments and lime - refreshing and light.
for the main, i chose the savannah scotch (for flavour)cookedmedium rare, served with an epic red wine jus 🍷 so good and would you look at those duck fat chips!! 🍟 i cannot finish these by myself, despite the fact that i really wanted to, especially with the house tomato sauce.
i had to save space for the dessert which got whoops of delight from the next table as the flamed liquor is poured on top of my bombe alaska, setting the snowy meringue peaks alight, nicely toasting it.
loved the drama.

solid 4.5/5

great atmosphere, excellentlycookedsteak. not much more to say.
we had oysters and a salad to start us off followed by the beef wellington and 1 local eye fillet and 1 wagyu eye fillet. lastly, the lemon meringue and profiteroles.

service was good- only negative took approx 45 min for oysters to be served. 🧐

nonetheless, overall food was excellent! service was good....would return to enjoy another scrumptious meal.

have been to the restaurant quite few times however the most recent visit was very disappointed. the quality of the food has gone down quite a bit (gradually over last few years). last time visit, i’ve asked my steak to be medium but it was served rare. when i raise the question without any apology the waitress just took the plate away. a while later they took the same steak back but this time it was over cooked. to be honest once the steak has beencookedyou cannot just reheat it to make it medium, it would be completely ruined. especially in a restaurant like the grill, you would expect the chef would know more as you are paying top price for them.
will not go back again i rather pay those money where i can enjoy top quality the food and service.