Located in the lobby of the Berlin Marriott, the Midtown Grill is the primary dining facility on the property. The other option is the Catwalk Bar, which we weren't able to try this time around. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, though we only tried the dinner service.
What is Midtown Grill? It's a good old American Steakhouse... or is it? The prices are high and everything is ala carte, but the flavors are a little more varied. The service, however, is classic. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful, though not overbearing. So what did we have?
To start, you're served bread & spreads. Unlike standard bread service, the bread was served in a basked and came with pesto, olive tapenade and one more spread that I can't remember. All were great and it was difficult to not fill up on the bread!
Next up was the appetizers. The wife opted to order the beef tartare, though I wasn't able to get a picture of it. She liked it just fine, though her selection surprised me. Had to ask her to make sure she knew it was raw beef! For my appetizer, I ordered the Foie Gras with Stewed Fits. It was well balanced and delicious! The portion was also very generous.
Next up, our main dishes were served. The wife and I both ordered rib eyes. Where we differed, however, was in our "toppings". The wife opted for soy sauce & wasabi, while I went the more traditional route with herbed butter and caramelized onions. While the steak arrive looking a little gray in kind of unappealing, they were perfectly cooked and quite tasty.
For sides, the wife and I decided to order two and split them. For our starch, we ordered the double baked potato with chives, bacon and cheddar cheese. Our other side was sautéed mushroom medley. Both sides were quite good, and while the potato was on the small side, it was very filling.
For the finale, I was too full, so my wife ordered the creme brûlée. To our surprise, the creme brûlée was HUGE! Ok, so it was shallow, but it was still a large amount of food and was quite good! Did I mention that the dessert comes with a postcard to send home?
Ok, so I lied... The creme brûlée wasn't the finale. To our surprise, our bill was delivered with a treat! To send you on your way, the bill is brought to you on a tray containing a s'mores bar! This was a fun way to end the night to say the least.
As a rule, I typical try not to eat in the hotel restaurant, as they are often overpriced and not that great. While the Midtown Grill is quite expensive (if memory serves me, we spent between $100-$200US), the service and food was quite good. It also appears to be a quite popular restaurant for the area and makes for a great splurge option, especially if the weather outside isn't cooperative. Then again, there's also the Ritz-Carlton right across the street with its French restaurant as well! read more