Monday, May 12, 2008

Hoxton Grille

The location: Bang in the middle of Hoxton/Shoreditch trendiness, in the Hoxton hotel, the brain child of the man who founded Pret. You can buy breakfast and booze from reception and if you are lucky they even do special offers on rooms for a quid.

The spec: A trendy yet cosy space ran by the Grille chain. You can also have cocktails and snacks (eg mini burgers) in the comfy chairs in the lobby, overhung by stunning paper eagles.



The good: I like the paper birds, the vibe and the super friendly service.
The rump steak (15) is a very good cut, beautifully served on a wooden board with a mini-bucket of crispy chips (Yes, I know this kind of presentation is over-used these days, but I still find it cute.)
The Marquis red house wine (3.85) and the amazing alcohol-free fruit cocktail (2.50) they offered to knock up for the husband suffering from the excesses of the night before.



The bad: The veggie lasagna (10) - it's just very bland.
And the fact that if we'd been less dithery and got there 10 minutes earlier we could have had the steak for an astounding seven quid as part of their early bird deal.

The verdict: Will be back for more steak next time we are in the area before 7pm. And may be for cocktails if someone else is paying :-)

Hoxton Grille, 81 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3HU; Tel. 0207 739 9111; Tube: Old Street

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