The New York Grill, York

"A Touch of New York comes to old York," as the press release suggested. So, seduced by all that, we booked for Friday night in good time and with high hopes for the 7.30pm kick-off of England versus Algeria.The basement is not much changed from its days as a brasserie, an attractive mellow brick vaulted cellar. A few black and white photos of the Manhattan skyline launch the New York theme and a sexy backlit cocktail bar serving mojitos and margaritas develops the mild illusion we are in the Big Apple.

There was an anticipatory buzz when we arrived. The bar and alcoves were almost full, and the pre-match build up was showing on three HD screens. We rejected the table directly beneath a screen on the basis we wouldn't be able to see a thing. The next couple declined it, too, but by then there were no more tables. The solicitous maitre d' moved

the furniture and with some judicious juggling made sure everyone could

see a screen.

The menu comprises half a dozen starters, including avocado and prawn cocktail, smoked salmon, potted shrimps, chicken liver parfait and fish cakes, typically dishes that required minimal kitchen skills. Dry hung and 30-day aged, is the claim made for the steak. The star of the menu is the two or four person cote de boeuf rib on the bone at 35 and 68 respectively. Then there is rump, fillet, sirloin, rib eye, T-bone and Chateaubriand variously priced between 14.95 and 22.50. Vegetables, onion rings, chips are all extra. A bottle of Chilean Adobe Merlot (20) was top of the range from a list of six reds, six whites and a rose.

It all took a while. Short of a vuvuzela to hurry the kitchen, we sat through two advertising breaks, expert analysis with the sound down, two national anthems and 10 minutes of desultory play before our starters arrived. The potted shrimps were nicely spiced with mace, served with a single slice of brown bread and butter, crusts cut off and a few salad leaves. Chicken liver parfait came with toasted brioche and a spoonful of chutney.

The pace of delivery picked up for our mains but the 100 per cent beef "Grange" burger is not yet destined to become a famous name. It was dense and overdone so that it lost critical moisture and succulence. A slice of cheese and rasher of bacon in a plain bun did little to help. Proper chips were the saving grace.

The 8oz rib eye, too, was disappointing. It had authentic crosshatched grill marks but scant tenderness, which was probably as much down to the quality of the meat as to the cooking. A steak bar without great steak is going to be problematic. Suspicions of the kitchen's limitations were further indicated when we asked for garlic butter instead of sauce. Sorry, only the sauces on the menu could be provided: barnaise, peppercorn, diane, mushroom and stilton.

Looking for the positives, as the football pundits say, they'd only been open a week and this evening undoubtedly saw a kitchen under pressure. When everyone arrives simultaneously to eat between

7 and 7.30pm, it's a restaurateur's nightmare.

Grilling turns up the heat, too. "The grill station is hell," wrote Bill Buford of the New Yorker magazine – he once did time as a genuine New York line cook: "You stand at it for five minutes and you think: 'So this is what Dante had in mind'. It is a dark, hot corner – hotter than any other spot in the kitchen; hotter than anywhere else in your life."

Whether or not the Grange's kitchen was hotter than hell that Friday night, the overall system wasn't clicking.

One table was brought mains before their starters, another was given chips instead of potatoes and an own goal was scored when the burger at the next table came raw not rare and the whole plateful had to be replaced.

The front of house staff were all unfailingly polite throughout, although less of a hard sell of drinks and side orders at every turn would be welcome.

Having a TV on can be an awkward distraction to a pleasant dinner once

your companion starts looking over your shoulder. I felt we were not in the natural milieu for watching football. But that all finishes tomorrow in South Africa.

As to performance, I can't see that New York Grill has the flair or the passion at the moment to win trophies.

The New York Grill, The Grange, 1 Clifton, York. Tel: 01904 644744; www.grangehotel.co.uk; Open Mon-Sun noon-2pm, Sun-Thur 6pm-9.30pm, Fri and Sat 6pm-10pm. Dinner for two including wine, coffee and service, about 85. Car park.

YP MAG 10/7/10