The Grill was always something on my bucket list not only for a prime rib trolley, but also for Baked Alaska, my favorite dessert. Every place makes this different, so it’s fun to see different interpretations. In addition, this restaurant has always been difficult to get reservations timely, so we were able to book this a few weeks out for 5:30 PM on a Friday evening. The restaurant is located in the Seagram building, and the entrance is located off of 52nd St. You can’t miss it because there’s a carpet laid out.
Ambiance & Service
Upon entering, there is a kiosk where you can check in with the hosts. They offer to take your court or bags if you desire. We opted not to, and we were escorted upstairs. We were seated in a larger than usual rectangle table, so we had plenty of space to place our belongings on the sofa couch.
The service was very pleasant, and we did not feel pressured at any time to order superfluously. If there was one criticism, it was that the busboy who was cleaning my table of crumbs accidentally flicked it at my shirt. It’s a bit clumsy, but it was forgivable.
Food
The Screwdriver (left - $26) came with vodka, orange, aperol, and passionfruit. Despite the higher price, this was unbelievably smooth and tasty.
The Pinot Noir (right - $28) came from Trousse-Chemise, Willamette Valley, 2022. This was easy to drink, medium body, with a touch of earthiness. The flavors of this pinot had some subtle spice and paired excellently with the prime rib tonight.
The complimentary bread came with soft chewy pretzel sticks, some type of wheat sourdough, and soft brioche bun. The butter with chives was delicious.
The Seagram Crab Cake ($51) came with lots of crab and a crispy thin-sliced potato top. My partner and I agreed that despite the small size of the appetizer, this was by far one of the best crab caked we’ve ever had. Every bite of the crab cake exuded a ton of natural sweetness and warmth. The crispy potato tops were a great match for this too. And most importantly, the crab meat was dense and absolutely flavorful. The remoulade that it sits on was good, and it did not overpower the crab by any means. Worth is subjective, and all we can say is that we were very happy to have tried this.
The Prime Rib ($95) came in a trolley in a very thick slab and sat on a bed of green onions. They take the slab, and cut a nice thick piece. Do note that they did not ask me for the desired temperature. After they cut the prime rib piece, they place it on a plate and pour au jus. They then put it on your table.
The prime rib was simply wonderful. My partner and I thought the flavor was better than Keen’s despite the portion size being smaller. The steak was wonderfully tender and delectable.
They also offer freshly shaved horseradish, and I recommend that you consider it. It’s not spicy at all, and it adds a very pleasant aromatic flavor to the prime rib.
The Hashbrown O’Brien ($18) was basically crispy hash potatoes with some toppings of pepper and chive. As anticipated, it was sublime. Every bite of this had that crunch I was looking for along with perfect seasoning and nice flavors from the peppers. It’s not spicy at all, and it was very aromatic.
The complimentary beef deviled bone came with some type of mustard glaze on top, and it was grilled to a crisp. This came with the prime rib but on the side. The beef bone was very tender and seasoned quite densely. Be careful eating the top part by itself because it’s quite salty. If you eat the meat directly though, the fall apart meat was super tender and super flavorful.
The horseradish cream on the left was not as creamy as I thought. The consistency was more like sour cream, but the horseradish flavor wasn’t as strong as I would’ve liked.
The hot mustard on the right reminded me a bit of the hot mustard they serve in Chinese restaurants. It definitely has an initial kick to it.
Throughout the night, I mostly defaulted to the horseradish cream since it has that subtle horseradish flavors.
The Baked Alaska ($20) was really the purpose that we came here. The primary flavors for this was butter rum, and it had lots of cardamom seasonings in it. They flambeed the Baked Alaska.
This Baked Alaska was smaller than expected, but it was quite pleasant. It certainly wasn’t the best I’ve had, but it was pretty decent. Off the mind, the Baked Alaska at Carne Mare was probably my most recent favorite in NYC.
Lastly, they gave us complimentary ginger cookies, which were good.
Final Verdict
The Grill’s prime rib was delicious, and the Baked Alaska was good. Overall, every thing here was really pleasant despite the higher than usual prices. If you desire a fabulous night out, this is a great place to consider.
Yelp Jabs
Many reviews here say it is expensive but I would say at $1000 for four the price to quality, service, ambience, cuisine, cocktails ratio doesnt work… I mean if you are going to pay French Laundry prices they have to work much harder to deliver.
This Elitist doesn’t realize that $250 per person isn’t totally out of the ordinary for a non-Michelin restaurant. They are from Los Angeles, so it’s not an easy comparison. The restaurant can be expensive if you let gluttony rule over, but you can still be full within reason.
The cheapest entree on the menu, aside from salads, is like $45+. The steaks are in the $80-100 range.
Keep in mind that much of the food here can be shared. If you have large appetites, it probably won’t be the best value for a night out.
Revisions
- Jan 26, 2024 - Initial revision.