I’ve wrote about the Gillray’s steak challenge before in the eating challenges in central London. I’ve never got round to trying it out though.
The lovely and charming Alexandra from the Marriott Hotel PR invited me down to have a try the 1kg Bulls head steak (thats about 35oz). I was pretty confident I could do this. Its not your normal eating challenge. This is a restaurant in a 5* hotel in central London. Its not the place where you’d have a rump steak and a mountain of chips to eat, then get a T-shirt and a picture on the wall. This place has too much class.
The Bulls head is a T-bone steak so you don’t even really have to eat 35oz of meat to finish it. There’s also some fat on the cut which makes it even less volume to digest.
So Gillray’s is in the Marriott at Waterloo. You can either access the Hotel via the main front Entrance on Westminster Bridge Road or we have an entrance just off the South Bank above the Aquarium. The first thing you notice about the place is that its 5*.
Unlike most places which give you bread as a starter, this place gives you a Yorkshire pudding filled with cheese. I’ve never heard of one of those before, never mind tasted one. It was nice enough though.
While I was there, they had the special wagyu steaks there. If it weren’t for the challenge, I’d have definitely tried a cut or two of that stuff.
The Bull’s head doesn’t come with any sides so you have to order them separately. I opted for some mushrooms, sauté potatoes and chips. The steak did come with a selection of sauces which I ordered but just ate the peppercorn stuff.
If you are a regular reader of the site, you know that this wasn’t even going to touch the sides. To the average person, it was a monster meal but to “semi-pro” eater, this was like a snack.
Less than 10 minutes later, I’d finished.
Challenge completed and hungry for more
Apparently I’m only the second person to have completely finished the steak. I can’t believe that. You do get to keep the metal tags on the steak. I think that’s the serving number. I forget to get mine but I suppose its a nice souvenir. You don’t get anything else for finishing it.
If you want to have a go at the Bull’s Head here are the details.
Gillray’s Steak House and Bar
County Hall
Westminster Bridge Road
London Marriott Hotel County Hall
London
SE1 7PB
I’d like to say a thanks to Alex from the Marriott who invited me down and footed the bill. Also to Jonny who accompanied me to the meal.
Me, Alex and Jonny tucking in to dessert
There are other good things about Gillray’s too.
- Excellent for gin. We had some really nice gin cocktails before eating. Check out the menu here
- Excellent dessert. I had the Traditional Sherry Trifle which came in a jar. I dug a hole in it and poured the sherry in to the middle before demolishing it.
- You can order your drinks on an ipad. Not sure whether this is just a novelty or the way forward but it was nice to be able to see pictures of what I was ordering.
- Excellent views of the Thames. You really couldn’t really ask for better views.
There is also a comfort food menu which offers great value for money if you don’t fancy doing the steak challenge.
The cocktail itself must be worth £8 so a two course meal in a 5* hotel for £12 is a steal.
Check out their other special offers here.
Disclosure. I had my meal paid for by the Marriott. I also ate the meal with Alexandra from the Marriott so my experiences will not match yours… unless you are accompanied by a charming, witty and beautiful woman!
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That other person must have been me then as I have eaten it, it was lovely. You definitely need sides with it just for flavour. I didn’t rush the eating of it, but it was so tasty I finished before my misses finished her meal
@eaaaaaatttttingchallenges: could you modify the 3 Gillray’s URL:
Gillray’s Steak House and Bar : please link to homepage http://gillrays.com/
here : replace “here” by “bar menu” as keyword anchor and link to http://gillrays.com/menus/bar
and replace anchor for “special offers here” by “Gillray’s special offers” and link to http://gillrays.com/menus/seasonal-menus/winter-market
from :
SEO saint from a small island
Its not a eating challenge if there is no challenge. You ate a massive steak son, so you dont pay. So simple.