The Grill at McQueen, review ★★★★★

In a nutshell: This reincarnation of Shoreditch's McQueen Grill has an ambitious, meat-focussed menu with credible highlights, but a miscast low-lit atmosphere and gaudy décor are turn offs.

The space: McQueen has a club, outdoor space and lounge bar as well as this restaurant, on a naturally quiet Shoreditch street. Inside the McQueen bar is popular, especially on weekends, but the conjoined restaurant seems to keep a low profile - perhaps lower than it'd like.



Large windows are covered up - a shame, as they're the only potential for natural light. Otherwise, the vibe is 'Americana' in ode to the late, great Steve McQueen. The theme becomes stifling though as there's pictures of McQueen everywhere, and the decor's darkened hues are overpowering.

Food and drink: As well as appealing to meat fiends, The Grill's menu has a modest selection of delicate, health-conscious dishes thoughtfully thrown in to please visitors who aren't chasing Guinness World Records for meat consumption.

From the rest of the menu, a starter of both roasted and raw beets, with watercress and sourdough croutons was more than the healthy option; there was nothing straight-laced about the punchy flavour combinations, or the lashings of whipped goat's cheese on top, which gently poked fun at conventional salad starter dishes. This was an simple statement dish, and it's available as a main too.



The pan fried crab cakes were less bold, and craved a chilli kick. Then some London cure smoked salmon, with dill cream cheese, pickles and rye bread was predictably good, but needed a twist to shine - perhaps McQueen could take inspiration from the salmon starter at Parabola, cured with beetroot?

For the mains we went all in with the Tomahawk steak, but for £80 you'd be disappointed. It was served on a pale wooden board the same shade as the meat - why not contrast it to appeal? After all, when the meat looks cartoonish, like something out of The Flintstones, then it's something to make a meal out of on the plate.

Its flavour also lacked the meat's trademark mellow sweetness, and had been cooked too quickly, resulting in an overcooking of the thickest parts of the meat, whereas some of the centre was uncomfortably rare. The chips, too, weren't good enough for a meat place where chips should be a priority as high as the meat.



Still, the boisterous cocktail menu is full of safe bets. Try the Bullitt for an example of this well placed confidence, a stirring mix of whiskey and mescal, with chocolate bitters.

Would we return? Best are the drinks and - ironically - the lighter starters at this low-lit restaurant with an atmosphere that feels encroaching. Restaurants lacking natural light are out of fashion, but this isn't Culture Whisper with our trend-watch cap on: McQueen generally feels too heavily stylised; more like a club than a steak restaurant.