By Jo Cooksey
Another weekend means another excuse to go out for a Sunday Roast. We’re of the school of thought that it’s much better to have it cooked for you, than to have slave over a hot stove yourself. So, when Grill on the Alley asked us to sample Sunday lunch we rushed down there.
We have always been fans of the Grill restaurants, not least as we know that the quality of the meat is superb. More often than not we head to The Grill on New York Street, so it was a while since we had been to the Alley but it was nice to be back.
A G&T whilst we decided on our starters went down very nicely. There is a good range of first courses including several lovely sounding veggie options like Goat’s Cheese & Beetroot Salad with a Walnut Dressing.
I was in the mood for something traditional and hearty, so I went with the Chicken Liver Parfait, served in a small Kilner jar, with bacon jam and toasted brioche. It was utterly delicious but I have to say brioche isn’t substantial enough to have a paté spread on it. It tends to crumble easily. A sturdy piece of toasted sourdough would have served the purpose better.
My lunch buddy ordered Bang Bang Chicken Skewers with Peanut Butter Sauce and a Sweet Chilli Dressing. The chicken was griddled to caramelized perfection and the peanut sauce was full of nutty flavour, without being bitter. Served on a slate platter with a small side salad and a sprinkling of crushed peanuts, this was a great starter and we would have been happy to have it as a main too with a helping of noodles.
The roasts available at Grill on the Alley are Topside of Beef, cooked to your liking, Roast Chicken, not a couple of slices and a wing but a half a chicken and Roast Pork with crunchy crackling. I could have gone for any of those but after a lot of hmm’ing and hah’ing I had the beef and my lunch buddy chose the chicken.
Both plates came with a generous helping of meat. My beef was wonderfully tender and slightly pink and the chicken was crispy skinned but still juicy. Both were served atop a helping of iron rich watercress and roast potatoes, with a lovely stuffing loaded Yorkshire pud to the side. Pet hate time. Restaurants of the world, please don’t stack the meat on top of the roasties. For one, I want to see everything I’m eating and two, it makes the roasties go soggy. Plus I’m just going to deconstruct it anyway. Thank you.
Along with the main plates we were brought cute mini roasting pans, containing two of my fave veggies; Spring cabbage and mashed carrots and swede. Very buttery and well-seasoned. Delicious. We also requested extra gravy, which we always do and got a jug each. Result! It was damn good gravy too. This is my kind of Sunday lunch restaurant.
The portions of all the courses were generous and the main so much so that we didn’t have room for a pud. I know! The Taste Today team eschewing dessert? It’s unheard of but honestly our tummies were full to bursting. As I said at the beginning, we are fans of the Grill restaurants, so we will certainly be back and soon.
We dined as guests of Grill On The Alley but as always, the review and opinions are our own and unbiased.
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