Grill Shack is an “all day counter order grill” on Beak Street in Soho and is the creation of Richard Caring who recently sold Côte Bistro (now there’s a chain I like) for a reported £100m – I bet he’ll have a good Christmas!
We were seated in the ground floor dining room but there’s also a smaller room downstairs in the basement. It was nicely done out and the tables were quite closely packed together giving it a buzzy atmosphere.
There’s three options when it comes to how you order; at the counter, on one of the self service computer screens or by logging into their free wifi and using the app. If you do the latter you can pay using PayPal (how modern!).
The menu was short and concise with just four mains. We avoided the very reasonably priced basic hamburger (£4.95) and instead went for the double with extra cheese and bacon (£8.40). It was absolutely (and rather surprisingly) delicious; soft bun, juicy medium rare patties, gooey cheese and fresh lettuce. It had the perfect amount of sloppiness and drip factor yet it didn’t fall apart as you ate it. My mouth is salivating at the very thought of it.
The rump steak (£9.95) was less enjoyable as it was overcooked – but I’ll put that down to the fact they’d only been open a few days. It was a massive bit of meat (if not a little thin) but the mound of shoestring fries that sat underneath it were very tasty.
The best thing we ate was the half chicken (£7.95) which was some of the finest chicken I’ve tasted in…well forever. It was massive too. The flesh couldn’t have been more juicy nor could the skin be any crisper. With a good drizzle of the homemade BBQ sauce it was an utter triumph and miles better than the chicken on offer at Cookhouse Joe round the corner (which specialises in chicken).
The French fries (£1.95) were thicker than the shoestring fries and were seasoned perfectly. The grilled corn (£2.50) smothered in a chipotle butter and sprinkled with cheese was rather bloomin’ lovely too.
For dessert I wolfed down the ice cream cookie sandwich (£2.95) with much gusto – it was great. It reminded me of a Maxibon – and I do love a good Maxibon. The cookies were double chocolate and the ice cream was vanilla – there was nothing not to love!
I really liked the idea of Grill Shack and could easily see myself going back there with friends for a quick and easy (and cheap) bite to eat. With all the different ordering options it meant you could easily pay for yourself – cutting out that awkward ‘splitting of the bill’ ritual at the end of your meal. Mmmm, that burger and grilled chicken were really rather good. Oh Soho you are lucky.
8/10
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