Review of Up in my Grill (Dinerama Shoreditch)

It’s fair to say that I get a little upset when I have a bad steak experience. Last year I visited Up in my grill in Canada Water and savagely took them to task. A year later I returned to check out their brand new set up inside Street Feast’s Dinerama in Shoreditch, one day after they opened.

Dinerama – Street Feast

The premise of Street Feast is to take a dilapidated building, fill it up with vendors selling things like Vegan Tacos, mix in a few craft beer bars and a wine lounge, chuck a burning barrel here and there with a few surly security guards to boot. It’s a heavily bearded young man’s dream. It’s formulaic, I kind of hate it, but I visit Street Feast far too often to really mean that.

Street Feast’s Dinerama set up in Shoreditch is no exception. It’s composed of an ensemble of shacks and rickety shipping crates that juxtapose against the backdrop of skyscrapers in the City of London.

It’s more like a settlement from fallout, with hipsters standing in place of the mutants and central London filling in for the nuclear wasteland.

Up in my grill

Last year I visited up in my grill at Street Feast Hawker House (in Canada Water) and challenged them to up their game. I was interested to see what had changed and what they were now selling.

The core proposition is a £10 Bavette steak with a decent serving of fries. Now a Bavette steak (perhaps a better sounding name than Flank steak) is a working muscle from the abdominal area of the cow. 

It’s a tasty steak but often isn’t as tender as other cuts. It’s a similar idea to the Flat Iron (Butlers’ steak) at Flat Iron.

The steak

The Bavette steak, grilled over charcoal, comes in two ways: as a Prego roll or sliced over chips. I decided to get both. I started with the steak plate, the steak was cooked medium rare. The crust of the steak was a divine balance of seasoning and charcoal infused meat, the inside was very tasty, beefy and more tender that I expected. The texture of the steak was actually excellent, despite not being overly tender, it wasn’t chewy either.

I started eating the Prego roll. The Prego roll is sliced bavette steak in a bread roll served with a bit of greenery, bone marrow and chimichurri sauce. It is absolutely delicious and I quickly found myself wanting more.

Old cow special

I went back to the counter and only then noticed a cardboard sign for Rib Eye aged for 75 days from an eight year old Hereford breed cow going for £16. If you know me, then you know I love an old cow. I immediately ordered it.

I grabbed a piece of Rib Eye and the moment I bit into it, my taste buds exploded. The steak was full of intense beefy flavour. The steak was tender and just exceptionally delicious.

The old cow special is not a regular on the menu, but I really hope that Up in my Grill bring it back for some additional cameos. Most people won’t realise that a piece of beef can taste this great.

Verdict

I’m impressed with the evolution of Up in my Grill. This is a slick operation with a focus on quality ingredients, excellent grilling and some pretty delicious steaks. It is essentially a street feast alternative to Flat Iron.

You can find Up in my Grill inside Street Feast’s Dinerama. Dinerama is open Wednesday – Saturday from 5pm. Entrance on Friday and Saturday nights costs £3 per person after 7pm.