At Chelsea Grill, every dish delivers exactly what it promises.
The Chelsea Grill. It’s in Chelsea. And its speciality is grilling. If this sounds over-obvious, that’s intentional. The previous restaurant on the same site was called Fantomas, and according to the manager, it closed after less than a year because diners didn’t quite know what to expect.
This new venue, relaunched and redesigned by the same owners, aims to give you exactly what you’d expect from both its name and menu. It boasts great meat, great fish, cooked on a charcoal grill, tasting wonderful, no messing. The Chelsea Grill delivers on that promise — and the team crafts this deceptively simple excellence through relentless behind-the-scenes work.
I do like, when reviewing a new restaurant, to find something to fault. It makes praise for the rest all the more sincere. But it’s hard to find a chink in Chelsea Grill’s armour. Even just a week after launch, some may struggle to find their feet.
Could the weak spot be the décor? No, because the higgledy-piggledy tables — some on a giant kelim and some not — create a friendly, buzzy, relaxed vibe; the arched windows highlight an interesting design feature; and the open-plan kitchen keeps the space on trend.
Could it be the service? Not when the kitchen is already operating like clockwork, and the wait staff are friendly, knowledgeable and attentive.
Or perhaps the wine list? Certainly not. It’s extensive, well chosen, and though not cheap, it is – judging by the quality of the carafe – very good.
Then is it the quality of the food? Again, no. There’s nothing flashy here, but everything is just right.
I expected to criticise the Anchovies, priced at about £3 per thin strip of fish, but their delicate flavour, in an olive oil you could lick from the plate, made them feel worth it — especially when paired with the Potato Focaccia Bread. The Spanish Octopus Niçoise cost a similar £27 a bowl (for a starter!), yet it delivered perfection again.
Take the Poussin, which we had for a main course. It’s one of my favourite easy dishes for dinner at home; you can’t go far wrong. But this was exceptional. How does head chef Anton Vasilyev, previously with the Basque restaurant Sugaar in Paris, do it? He brines the bird overnight, then dries it for a day before grilling it.
Our Fillet Steak was heavily seared on the outside, pink and tender on the inside. And it’s here, at the main courses, that I find the only criticism – though it’s with the quantity rather than the quality of the food.
Apart from the 200g fillet, the cuts of beef and fish are huge. A chalk menu on the wall displays the different weights available that day, and the lightest was 800g. Most dishes, in other words, are a meal for two – so unless your dining companion has the same tastes as you, or you’re with a larger group and happy to share, there could be a problem.
But all is forgiven with dessert. I ordered Grandma’s Sour Cherry Pie with Chantilly, having heard it was a signature dish. It was astonishing: juicy, fat cherries under a browned lattice of perfect pastry, the sourness a delicious change from the cloying sweetness of most desserts, but also adjustable at will depending on the amount of Chantilly you spoon it with.
My companion ordered the Dark Chocolate Mousse, which has an olive oil centre. His exact words were: “Quite comfortably the best chocolate mousse I have ever had.”
Ah, the cocktails. We spent ages choosing our tipples, since they all read so well on the menu. And they proved exceptional – the standard of a great cocktail bar rather than a restaurant afterthought, and at only £14 each – that we ended up ordering five different cocktails between us between then and dessert, everyone a gem.
When we told the manager this, he revealed that the resident mixologist was so dedicated to excellence that he would have key ingredients and potions sent to him from the Chelsea Grill’s better-equipped sister restaurant, Krokodilos.
So if you’re in Chelsea and fancy a grill, try the new Chelsea Grill. You know what you’ll get. And what you’ll get, you’ll like.
GO: Visit www.chelseagrill.co.uk for more information.