NOT long ago, Chester hardly rated a mention in the Good Food Guide. Save for hotels, as far as restaurants were concerned, the only mention of Michelin would be on a garage forecourt.
But things have changed and Chester’s rapidly becoming a foodie haunt, a restaurant destination which can begin to look somewhere like Manchester in the eye with confidence.
That’s why Upstairs at the Grill is welcome. It took over Watergate Street premises long occupied by the Japanese restaurant Shamsi.
We did our usual trick of arriving unannounced at 6.30, only to be told they could fit us in three hours later. On a Monday evening in March. Booking, therefore, is absolutely essential.
It’s certainly very welcoming. The night we went, they were booked solid, though they fitted us in to their private dining room, which was quite special.
Restaurant décor is something approaching cultured Gothic kitsch – fin-de-siècle France meets Transylvania. Yet it’s charming, in a low-lit way. Our room comprised a long, low table, with a settee, the walls covered with drapes and the whole place lit with candles.
Service is attentive and impeccable. Naturally, the grill is its main attraction and, ingeniously on the menu, it lists the degrees to which cuts of meat can be cooked – from bleu to well-done – and how each particular cut reacts to the time for which it is cooked. That certainly implies an eye to detail in the kitchen, which is no bad thing.
Most meat for the grill seems to be locally sourced, though it does seem pricey: a 24oz bone-in rib eye would set you back £24.00.
Wines, too, do not come cheap. Whites start at £22 a bottle and range to £145, while reds vary from £22.50 to £140. House wines start at £14.95 a bottle and, if pushing the boat out, you could buy a 1961 Dom Perignon Champagne for a mere £1,500.
We settled for a bottle of Jarrah Ridge Shiraz at £16.95. This proved a reasonable choice: soft and fruity but with a peppery aftertaste. The wine arrived promptly – as did a bottle of still water, though it would have been nice to know it weighed in at £3.50.
