The Grill

The Grill Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant & décor: Chef Mario Carbone and Major Food Group, in which he is a partner, reopened the former iconic Four Seasons’ Grill Room as The Grill, preserving the grand room decorated by Philip Johnson with a restoration by architect Annabelle Selldorf. The midcentury modern interior is polished and sleek, with plush booths and mahogany panels. Classic cocktails are poured at The Bar, beneath the brass tubular sculpture by Richard Lippold. A buffet table piled high with fruits and cakes is for display only. The luster of the revamped Seagram Building space is only amplified by the buzz of the glossy, beautiful crowd. It's truly, and self-consciously, glamorous New York.

Likes: Bread service, prime rib, classic cocktails, tableside service.
Dislikes: Wild mushroom omelette, expensive prices.

Food & Drinks: The Grill aims to evoke a “historically based American chophouse set in midcentury New York” in the present day, but the food is significantly better. Parker House rolls are light and ridiculously buttery. Crab Louis is a smartly resurrected 19th-century San Francisco salad, with warm Dungeness crab over fresh lettuce studded with avocado. Famous rolling trolleys are wheeled across the floor for tableside service with plenty of pizzazz, from pressing ducks to setting peach Melba on fire. Honey-mustard duck breast is sweet and tangy, juicy under its crispy skin. Fourteen ounces of Creekstone Farms prime rib is spit-roasted, then finished in the oven and served with a smoky slow-cooked beef bone. The restaurant bills itself as a steakhouse, and the Prime aged steaks are delicious, although less notable and creative than other options. Lobster à la Newberg is balanced by a kick from cayenne pepper. A buffet at the top of the stairs is artfully, generously piled with cured meats and smoked salmon, terrines and crudités. Champagne cocktails and Boulevardiers are on offer, as is a whole roster of martinis including Turf Club, gin mixed with Ambre Vermouth and absinthe. The extensive wine list ranges from big investment bottles to some surprisingly affordable finds, like a 2008 Château Simone La Palette Rouge. Retro desserts such as pineapple upside-down cake and the aforementioned flambéed peach Melba are well-executed and satisfying.