Stunning return to The Grill Steakhouse 2.0 in Aylesbury

Buckinghamshire’s leading Halal steakhouse, The Grill Steakhouse in Aylesbury, has come a long way since we last visited and rated them a solid 4/5 in 2018.

In 2019, the restaurant’s chef proprietor made the big step-up in moving from Lower Kingsbury Square to the town’s then new leisure scheme, The Exchange.

This modern, 120-cover restaurant offers chic, comfortable seating that’s split equally across two spacious floors.

Undoubtedly though, its most striking decorative feature is its wall-mounted, bright red neon signage, which effectively highlights the impressive array of locally-sourced steaks available to order.

The Grill Steakhouse 2.0 really does create an exciting vibe

There was certainly an improvement in the drinks department both in terms of look (gone are those horrid cocktail umbrella sticks) and flavour, with far more thought put into these classic concoctions.

The best of the bunch was the well-balanced and strongly-flavoured Mint & Lime Mojito Virgin, followed by the Lychee Cooler, which had a candy-like sweetness to it, with the lychee coming through nicely.

Mint & Lime Mojito Virgin, Lychee Cooler

Strawberry Daiquiri, Pina Colada Virgin

Although the Strawberry Daiquiri was more a slushy than a mocktail, with blended frozen strawberries being, the sugary-syrup played its part in helping to enhance things.

As for the Pina Colada Virgin, then, despite being pretty good, it needed more of the coconut flavour to really sing the high notes.

Grill Baked Tikka Camembert – Crispy onion, red onion & coriander chutney glazed flatbread (two share), £15.95

A tray full of cheesy-umami goodness, this Grill Baked Tikka Camembert was just as spectacular as the first time, if not more so.

An inspired dish that has a soft and milky camembert cheese disk surrounded by a rich and mildly-spiced tikka sauce, which has been covered in a piquant cheese, smothered in plenty of crispy onions, and baked to a crispy finish.

The addition of the mint sauce, which helped balance things out, and naan bread that’s been coated in a sweet red onion glaze, completed a superb starter.

Scallops – Brixhams hand dived scallops, beef bacon, crispy onion & signature glaze sauce, £13.95

The difference between this and the last version was one of refinement, with plump and tender, pan-fried scallops being topped by a crispy beef bacon and fried onion combo, and swimming in a deliciously addictive, creamy and buttery, mellow-sweet sauce.

Bone Marrow – Fried onions, brown sugar butter, £10.95

It takes a special something to make a dish with just bone marrow work. Kudos to chef who knocked this one out of The Exchange square.

The simple secret to this was to base these in a brown sugar butter, whose smoky-sweetness helped cut through the richness of the fatty marrow, with the fried onions adding that extra dimension as well as some textural contrast. Add to that the aforementioned slices of naan and you’re on to a winner.

Fillet Steak (250g), £37.95

This sublimely tender and exceptionally juicy Fillet Steak was phenomentally good, having been served rare.

Boasting an almost caramelised exterior courtesy of The Grill Steakhouse’s signature glaze, whose hint of spicy-sweetness lingered subtly in the background, this requires kicking back and savouring each bite through slow and deliberate mastication.

And, of course, the addition of a pitcher of inhouse blue cheese sauce helped mix things up.

Rib Eye Steak (333g), £35.95

The attractively thick griddle marks on this gorgeously glazed and glistening ribeye had us salivating even before anything else.

Having been cooked medium rare, not only did the spicy-cum-smoky glaze play its respective part, but the seasoning was spot on, thanks to premium Maldon Smoked Sea Salt helping to bring through that deep umaminess.

Served with a caramel-esque chocolate sauce, which actually worked, even the salad appeared to be dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette, with crispy thick chips, and a grilled tomato as sides.

Chateaubriand (min 625g; gold at the grill), £79.95

The Grill Steakhouse also has what it calls ‘Gold at the Grill’, which offers the option of adding edible gold leaf for some bling.

This Chateaubriand didn’t meet the high benchmark set by its predecessors, with two Lions considering this over-seasoned, but one believing it to be borderline.

Although sliced-up for convenience, there were consistency issues here, with some segments being reasonable in terms of their texture and others passable. There were, however, those that were woefully underdone and far too chewy.

Butterfly Chicken Breast – Butterfly chicken breast in a mushroom sauce, grilled asparagus, mashed potato or fries, £19.95

This Butterfly Chicken Breast is The Grill Steakhouse’s most popular main. What stood out for us was how superbly grilled the moist chicken was, with incredible charring that took this to the next level.

Placed atop a bed of smooth mash and grilled asparagus, before being covered in plenty of mushroom sauce, with intact mushrooms to keep things interesting, the only criticism we had was that this too was a tad overseasoned. Otherwise, it would have been a wholesomely tasty dish.

Mushroom, £4.25

Cheese Spinach, £4.25

Both of these were their premium sides. The Cheese Spinach contained broccoli tenderstem, which retained a crunchy bite, covered in a mildly piquant, well-seasoned, creamy cheese sauce that was mixed with roughly chopped spinach. Wonderful!

And what a delightly plump and saturated Portobello Mushroom this was, being lightly grilled, and having that distinctly earthy taste.

Buttered Spinach, Sweet Potato Fries, Smoky Mash – £4.25 each

These non-premium sides, however, did not pale in comparison, with the Smoky Mash turning out to be the most surprising. We were willing to look paste the presentation, given how good it was, with a surprisingly light caramelised taste running through it. Extremely addictive.

As for the Buttered Spinach, which was essentially the same as the Cheese Spinach minus the broccoli; and the Sweet Potato Fries, then both were perfectly done, with the latter being ultra-cripsy.