Review: Manhattan Steakhouse

The Manhattan Steakhouse has been in-residence at the Honqiao Marriot for some time. Now that we’ve found a little slack in the budget, we took the opportunity to head over and see if their reportedly expensive steaks make the cut or are just inflated sub-prime offerings.

Once you’ve managed to find this hidden away Marriot tucked deep into Hongqiao, there’s no mistaking you’re in the right place. The restaurant is the caricature of a downtown steakhouse; heavy leather furnishings, gleaming silverware and walls covered in black and white photos of Manhattan skyscrapers. As we muse over the two page menu, a warm bread basket arrives complete with olive oil & balsamic, softened butter and a gently roasted garlic bulb.

To start, a Wagyu beef carpaccio with sesame ginger dressing (¥120) was silken slices of perfection with undoubtedly the best breed served in the purest form. Filo encased scallops with a spicy coconut sauce (¥80) were also a unique and well balanced appetizer.

On to the main event: The beef is far from cheap; around ¥400 buys you almost 300 grams of Black Angus in the cut of your choosing, served with one of a selection of sauces. We opted for a t-bone which was prepared exactly right (medium rare of course) but for this price a little slender and too skimpy on the fillet side. The rich but not dominating red-wine sauce enhanced both the steak and the creamed potatoes and spinach sides (¥25 each) to round off the quintessential steak house experience.

Really though, it’s a standard steak meal with good service. Tot it all up, add a 15% service charge and for around 600¥/head we’re not left with a sense of satisfaction but an aftertaste of paying through the nose for an overpriced encounter.