the grill

came here for hubby's birthday, the staff were very friendly and welcoming, 5/5 for customer service!
the sirloin steak we ordered complimented with red wine jus and garlic&parsley butter was delicious, the duckfatchips are a must try! i'm usually not a fan of chips but here i ate the majority of the chips in the cone. the clams were a little too salty for my liking, however it was still nice when eaten with bread. will definitely come back here again to try the study of beef next time.

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, duckfatchips as sides.
the wagyu dry aged was incredible. such strong exquiste flavours
the slow cooked wagyu 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 :)

went there for their promotion. wakanui sirloin steak with miso hollandaise, duckfatchips and drink. no choice of drink, just a merlot, but it was nice. i ordered the steak medium rare, and it looked medium rare but was still chewy :-( the taste was really awesome though!!! chips were uber great. hollandaise a bit too heavy for me, but love that they serve the mustard :-) also ordered the broccolini with almonds and olive oil. meh, couldn't taste the olive oil, and didn't see the point of the almonds. great restaurant but not yet five-star according to me. why??? i was served red wine in a white wine glass- twice, and so was my friend. and their staff didn't seem to knowledgeable about wines when i asked for a recommendation. the staff also seem a bit uneasy- their friendliness a bit forced. maybe my hospitality background making me picky, but when i go to a five star restaurant, i like to see staff who know what they are doing and are actually enjoying their job or can act really well as if they are. i can get stand-offish staff at the food court, i don't care there.

i come here every so often but especially when i want an amazing steak. the price is definitely higher than your regular bistro, but its absolutely worth it! the ambience of the restaurant is lovely, and definitely a nice place to come on a date night!

if you ever have the money to splurge on a steak, the grill has an amazing a5 kagoshima beef, which literally changed my perspective on steaks. (keep in mind the steak is a lot smaller than your usual steak).
for an entree my go-to would be the beef tartare! its made in front of you, and you can also ask to customise how much of each ingredient you want!
however, if you have a big appetite and you have no idea what you want to order, i highly recommend getting the "study of beef", it differs according to the chef's preference, but ultimately they get to choose what you get and the sauces that go with the 3 steaks.
the duckfatchips are a 10/10, highly recommend if you're looking for some extra sides!

food: 5/5
price: 4/5
ambience: 5/5
service: 5/5

i went here and got the sunday roast which had not many veggies (classic) but duckfatpotatoes and a massive lump of meat which i barely finished. it was good value. very good service. i enjoyed the bread and mustard which was a nice touch. when i booked online i said it was a birthday and they came out with decorated dessert that we ordered it was sweet.

currently my favourite steak house. eaten at the grill a number of times, and always impressed. try the duckfatfries and the wagyu short rib. actually try anything. you won't be disappointed!

came here before the lion king. they had a perfect smaller menu that we ordered of. got a perfectly cooked piece of steak that was juicy n it came with a side all for $39. we ordered the broccoli and the duckfatchips! 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 😋😋

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 duckfatfries and confit mushrooms. my steak was absolutely perfect! it was perfectly cooked to 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 duckfatchips 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.

one of the top restaurants in auckland. the service was excellent, as the wait staff knew the menu very well and how to sell it to us. the wagyu platter was some of the best steak i have ever eaten, paired with duckfatchips. the pork was melt in the mouth. all meats were matched with wonderful sauces that elevated their flavour. dessert was another stand out, with a decadent peanut butter and chocolate match. loved it all!

shared among four of us we ordered, study of beef (recommend this if sharing, three cuts of steak for $170 with three different sauces provided, all three steak tasted different i can’t recall which ones but we ordered all to be medium rare and they were beautifully soft and almost melted in our mouth.); salt pepper alaskan king crab (large – this was very hard to eat even with the tools we were given, the crab would have tasted better if it was steamed rather than deep fried.); duckfatfries (a must order at the grill!); mac + cheese (if you’re not a fan of smelly cheese this might be too much for you); pumpkin salad (this side was light and goes well with the meat). the complementary ox tail canapes were very tasty! pre-meal bread and butter is also served (either rye or sourdough – don’t go too overboard before you eat your meat which was hard as the lewis road creamery butter was delicious). 

we really splurged out and ordered two rounds of drinks from cocktails and mocktails to order and glasses of wine.
dessert was really good too, we tried their lemon tart and profiteroles which were excellent choices, the lemon tart had a creme brulee top to it and was refreshing. the profiteroles taste of frangelico hazelnut and was creamy and delicious. we were also presented with a cute “congratulations” dish with chocolate truffle and a macaron, which really made our celebration dinner!

service was excellent, polite and the staff really go out of their way to create a great dining experience!

i have seated upstairs previously which created a more romantic but quiet atmosphere, this time i was seated in the downstairs area which creates a lighter atmosphere, but both experiences were of high quality.

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 even cooked one piece well done & the other two medium rare. suckling pig was also good, the crackling was so nicely salted. the side of duckfatchips 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) cooked medium rare, served with an epic red wine jus 🍷 so good and would you look at those duckfatchips!! 🍟 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.

my partner surprised me yesterday after my graduation with dinner at the grill!

i’ve always wanted to go because the menu look incredible! i ordered the blue peach cocktail and i loved it. tangy, sweet and doesn’t overly taste like alcohol which i’m a big fan of.

i ordered the wagyu eye fillet for dinner and my first reaction is wow. this eye fillet is gorgeous. the wagyu eye fillet had the most gorgeous, salty crust and the most juicy inside. it wasn’t hard to chew so it was very pleasant eat. i really enjoyed the duckfatchops and mash too.

there’s nothing more primal than a large piece of meat on a plate.  cooked medium rare so there’s nothing left but a fleshy bone and a pool of blood from some poor mammal, as the only evidence that they too once walked this earth. the grill by sean connelly is one of auckland’s premiere steak houses. the building of this restaurant was televised in a series of documentaries years ago, i’ve been intrigued about it ever since. it’s one of 6 restaurants owned and run by sean, so it’s safe to say this guy knows how to restaurant.

the layout is slick.  staff have the swagger and style  of your average fine dining wait staff, arms by the side, gentle small steps, polite interruptions. they even have the overly attractive maître d, a spanish looking beauty just shy of 6 foot tall who’d give penelope cruz a run for her money. yup, they’ve got it all.

the kitchen presented us with an amuse bouche to start with, an arancini type deep fried ball centered with sea food. oysters were the next choice, these served with simple condiments of a lemon infused olive oil and a vinaigrette. duck liver parfait was next, this served with a couple of thick slices of brioche, this one was not special, pretty forgettable. (coco’s cantinas parfait is all over this)

for mains it was the 650g savannah angus on the bone served with a miso hollandaise, i was disappointed that béarnaise was not an option, however the miso hollandaise more than made up for my disappointment, clearly the chefs had used nut brown butter to make this and the result was a stunning condiment. the steak of course was cooked perfectly, to be expected.

it was the biggest steak i’ve ever eaten, the most red meat i’d consumed in one sitting. it made for a great instagram post, but that’s where the magic stopped for me. half way through the steak and my palette was crying out for something new. what i was left with was the adult version of your mother telling you to eat your dinner otherwise there’d be no dessert. i had to eat every mouthful of this steak, it has just cost me $60. yes we had sides of green beans and duckfatfries, but i suppose this verdict comes down to my personal preferences .........  steaks bore me, in saying that, a slab of a5 wagyu would garner a different reaction from me. 

there’s just not a lot to shout about if you fancy technique, texture and flavor over a mountain of expensive meat.

it was a novelty, yes, would i do it again, i'd have to think about it ...

the ambiance of the place was lovely. i liked how they displayed their fine meats and seafood for the patrons to view.

the night started well. antipodes water was served. we were given complimentary canapé (fried mushroom, garlic & parmesan twister) which was very tasty and homemade rye bread served with lewis road creamery butter.

i ordered the sunday roast which i thought was value for money. the savannah beef off the bone came with roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding, caramelised onions, red wine jus and bearnaise sauce. when it came out i was like wow, the plate also had carrot and a bit of creamed spinach. the meat was tender and cooked medium (prefect for me). i loved everything on the plate except the caramelised onion - it was extremely salty. i could only taste salt.

the smoked mash potato w chicken gravy again was too salty. but i liked the smokyness in it. the confit mushrooms w garlic & thyme was okay but it was cold. my friends ordered the duckfatpotatoes which i tried, it was lacking salt.

dessert was great and my favourite course of the evening. the apple tart w vanilla ice cream was amazing. crepe suzette and profiteroles were good too. profiteroles had a generous amount of hazelnut favoured cream.

service was a bit on the down side. the lady who served the table (9 of us) only ever asked if we wanted drinks once. when explaining the specials of the day, most of us couldn’t hear what she was saying, so had her come back to ask questions.

no waiting staff ever asked how the food was and if we needed anything else. the is very strange considering it’s seems to be the norm to check on your customers.

i sound picky but if you’re dining at $50 average for 300gm of meat only type restaurant you would expect everything to be exceptional.

however, i would like to go back and try other seafood dishes. and hopefully things will have improved and refined by then