With a new menu focusing on steaks and pork, 27 Grill is carving out a place within the dining scene
Rooftop bars are sprouting up all over Ho Chi Minh City, but there is no arguing that Chill Sky Bar has, for nearly two years, enjoyed a reputation as the trendiest - just check out the queues that form Friday and Saturday nights. However, less well-known is its associated restaurant another floor higher – 27 Grill (27th Floor Rooftop, AB Tower, 76A Le Lai, D1) - and part of the broader Chill experience. The dining destination reopened in July of this year after a major makeover and is now under the creative control of Executive Chef Casper Gustafsen and Sous Chef Camilla Bailey, both from Denmark.
Approaching the second anniversary of Chill, the restaurant has had a revamp with a deliberate move away from fine dining to a more accessible cuisine and a heavy focus on steak and pork. The upmarket environment stays (not to mention that killer view) but not the price tag.
27 Grill sits above the bar in an enclosed area where you’re sheltered from the DJ’s music below, and the crowds of Saigonese wanting to be seen in the hippest joint in town.
Access from ground level is by dedicated lift after you check-in for your reservation in the lobby. On Oi’s night to test out the new offer, we were treated like royalty, greeted by name when the lift arrived at the top and shown to a table in a quiet corner with a great view of the open kitchen. Chill Sky Bar is trendy, hip and modern, while 27 Grill is modern and elegant with dark wood tones contrasting huge plate glass windows, sumptuous red leather booth-style chairs, matte polished wooden dining tables and Scandinavian-style cutlery and crockery.
Given it’s attached to a well-run bar, it should come as no surprise 27 Grill has a complex array of cocktails and spirits on offer, along with one of the broadest wine lists in town, including at least three bubblies available by the glass for a romantic toast before dining. When a restaurant offers Cape Menthelle Shiraz 2012 from the Margaret River province of Western Australia as a house red, you know the management knows its wine.
Once seated, we were served bread to munch on while we considered the menu. Not the usual bread, but a soft, flavorsome homemade focaccia bread with a thin crunchy crust, served with butter blended with salt flakes. The bread was so addictive it was impossible to leave any behind.
The Meal
The night we stopped the restaurant was serving a special dish suitable for sharing as an entree or large enough for a main in itself - Burrata cheese with Parma ham and rocket lettuce (VND365,000). The soft cheese, made from mozzarella and cream with its firm ‘shell’ was flown in from Italy and served laid on a bed of fresh salad greens and thinly sliced, lean Parma ham, with halved baby tomatoes around the outside. Not only did it look stunning and taste divine, its arrival at the table involved a little theatre: the waitress carefully cuts the case to let the soft centre ooze out, and offers a dash of olive oil on top.
Diets be damned, this cheese is so soft and creamy one simply craves more. It’s not rich and filling like a high-end blue, rather smooth and silky with delicate flavor which is complemented by the smoky meat and crisp salad, with crunchy chunks of peppercorn for a little zest.
Burrata is made by pouring still-hot mozzarella cheese into a pouch, with scraps of leftover mozzarella and with fresh cream added before closing. Served at room temperature it has a truly unique taste, but it is not sweet. As an appetizer it is certainly enough for two but its uniqueness made it a memorable meal in its own right.
The regular starters menu includes Smoked salmon with cream cheese and cucumber, Oysters with lemon and vinaigrette, Grilled tiger prawns or Foie gras terrine with apple chutney.
27 Grill is predominantly a steakhouse format, so we both opted for meat mains. There are three grades of beef on the menu - Australian Wagyu, the ultimate in taste and tenderness from grain-fed beef, MSA Angus from Western Australia and grain-fed USA Choice. Expect to pay VND 1 million for a 250gm Wagyu ribeye and VND 520,000 for a 200gm USA Choice tenderloin. We opted for the mid-ranking 200gm MSA Angus tenderloin for VND 690,000, matched with blue cheese topping and blue cheese sauce (a welcome recommendation from our waitress).
They also import Spanish Iberian pork - ‘Presa’ shoulderloin (200gm) and ‘Secreto’ marinated pork (180gm). We chose the Secreto (VND 620,000) with a garlic and pepper rub and bordelaise red wine sauce.
Sauces and toppings for meats from the grill are included in the price. But it’s advisable to order vegetables to accompany your mains so we opted for Fries with aioli and Grilled king mushrooms. Other options include Macaroni and cheese, Creamy spinach, Corn sauté and Chilli fries - all side dishes are the same price, VND 65,000.
The steak was served beautifully presented with the sauce in a tiny crockery serving pan and a whole clove of garlic with a sprig of herbs resting on top. We ordered medium and it was tender, just as pink as it should be and full of flavor as you’d expect from this grade of meat.
The pork was served in similar fashion. The meat was a gastronomic adventure in itself. Thanks to the marinade the pork had a full texture and a dark pink hue, and the garlic and pepper rub gave it a slight kick on the tastebuds. The red wine sauce proved the perfect accompaniment, all the herbaceous spiced of the condiments complementing rather than drowning the delicate smokiness of the meat.
Full of delicious Burrata cheese, divine pork and delicious beef steak we left satisfied and have earmarked 27 Grill as an ideal destination for a romantic dinner for two or a venue to impress clients.
We felt the service was amongst the highest standard we have experienced in Saigon. From arrival to departure, the staff’s attention to detail yet unobtrusive presence was impressive. They all conversed easily in English and there were no awkward moments if the conversation or ordering process veered from the expected course.
After its revamp, 27 Grill is now starting to draw increasing customers as word of mouth spreads about the new format and menu. Our expectation is it will soon leap to the top of the Trip Advisor rankings, and deservedly so.
Images by Quinn Ryan Mattingly