the grill

delicious food,greatenvironment, and most of the timegreatservice. the suckling pig is tender and delicious, steak cooked to 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. agreatplace 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. cooked to 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.

went there for their promotion. wakanui sirloin steak with miso hollandaise, duck fat chips 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.greatrestaurant 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.

such a beautiful place.greatatmosphere, very friendly and informed waiter. if going for an occasion, ordering a cake is definitely recommended. we ordered the strawberry/ mandarin with vanilla sponge (6", $40) and it was absolutely worth it. the menu is thoughtful, and we really appreciate the fact that restaurants are now using more local ingredients.

definitely would revisit.

pictured: seafood platter, cake

fresh oyster, king crab legs are good, steak definitely the best ,greatservice and convenient location

delicious food,greatquantity !

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.); duck fat fries (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 agreatdining 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 rib eye and venison were immaculate. beautifully cooked. however the let down must be the two ladies who served us during payment. they were extremely rude and were making a split payment seem a hassle to them. to soon see one of the ladies walk off to one of the back of house workers to talk about our group, despite being an easy group of people which we were not fussy at all. over all, could findgreatservice,greatfood andgreatenvironment else where. average for service,greatfor food!

enjoyed the three course menu that's on offer this august, but did add the cheeae board as a little extra, nice location and feel to the restaurant is good, staff are very present and attentive,greatwines and food

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 agreatinstagram 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 duck fat fries, 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 food here isgreatbut the service is not up to fine dining standard. my friends and i visited on tue 25th jun, the waiter that served us seemed to be angry all the time, he made a lot of noise when putting down & taking away our plates, the water spilled out when he poured some more for us. the only greeting we received was from a waitress when we left. maybe we just caught him in a bad moon but i really think you should have a better service.

a wonderful meal,greatservice. the steak was amazing and the desserts were amazing too. overall brilliant experience and would’ve gone 5 stars but the music was loud and inappropriate for the setting. felt like we were sitting in a mall fast food or casino floor. had to ask for it to be turned down.

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 duck fat potatoes which i tried, it was lacking salt.

dessert wasgreatand 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

celebrated a birthday here last night for my husband. service staff were lovely, attentive and happy to answer any questions. cannot fault the quality of the food, we had the savannah eye fillet and queensland wagyu. both steaks melted in your mouth and were cooked to perfect medium rare. they do the best sauces to accompany (we had red chimichuri and miso hollandaise), oh and the surprise canapé and bread to start is a nice touch. sides are a must, duck fat fries, cabbage and parmasan slaw are favourite! shared the chocolate peanut butter dessert, agreatway to finish off the night.

4/5taste
5/5 display
4/5 quantity
5/5 customer service

first of all i’m just a poor asian who have little experience with fine dining so my review is pretty irrelevant.

the grill by sean connolly in skycity is one of the top rated steakhouses in new zealand.

staff- they were absolutly the best. generally all of them hadgreatgreetings, customer service skills and fluent english.
i was early for my appointment the host was kind enough to rush things to seat us, whilst waiting for the seat i ordered a beer at the bar and the bartender gave me a full list of recommendations on beer.
the waiter that supervised my table was very nice, he was fully on to his job he almosy sounded like he was the owner of the restaurant.

meal- bread and butter, mushroom spring rolls as complimentar entree. they were abit average actually, they weren’t so special.
“study of beef” was great, 3 steaks were provided for just $150, it was a pitty that the scotch fillet was a bit too rare. others were perfectly cooked.
duck fries were average not sure why they were called duck fries, mash potatoes were just alright.
dessert- we didn’t order dessert but the waiter remembered that the dinner was for birthday and he brought us complimentary platter of dessert.

overall experience was “better than expected”
to me, when it comes to fine dining i expect expensive, beautifully plattered bits of food not filling enough for one man.
the grill was a bit more than just beautifully plattered food, the staff members providing excellent service made the experience really worth it.