John Porter
Google
The food is good but not amazing and, surprisingly, the service and atmosphere was a little disappointing.
Firstly, and most importantly perhaps, I enjoyed most of the food.
All courses bar the main course were enjoyable. The main course of chateaubriand was not cooked to my liking and the chewy nature of the meat spoilt my enjoyment (I don't know whether it was cooked correctly as we were not asked nor told how it would be done).
I was disheartened to see the chef lean on gold and silver-leaf for some dishes as it adds absolutely nothing. The food should speak for itself.
The main issue with Under Grain was unfortunately with the style of service. It was all too stuffy and rigid. My previous visits to Michelin starred establishments have always been improved by the exemplary yet relaxed service.
The whole staff seemed slightly on edge as our fellow diners appeared to include 'influencers' and a reviewer of some description.
Maybe because of this the focus was elsewhere, but there must've been an issue with our main course as we waited basically an hour between starter and main course. This is far too long to wait, yet it was not mentioned at all by the staff. After this, the evening soured and later courses were not enjoyed as much as a result. We declined the cheese course option as it was now getting late. The waiter seemed offended by this and the staff barely spoke to us after that.
I was also disappointed by the wine flight. I know enough about wine to hold my own, yet I was recited a bland script about each wine that added nothing to my knowledge. The miniscule pourings meant I didn't get to enjoy the wine with the food as I had either finished my wine during the wait between courses, or, on rare occasions the food came out quickly, only had two small sips to pair with the food.
Overall, the whole evening goes on too long. Most reviews said the evening lasts around three hours. We were there for four hours and skipped the cheese course. This over-long service was needless and reduced the enjoyment rather than enhanced. We sat at 1900 and the main course was served at 2200.
Lastly, I have never been welcomed back from the toilets in my life, yet that seems to be a policy here. Very odd, very uncomfortable. Discretion would be the better customer service option in this instance.