Grid Iron Bar and Grill

I’d been avoiding Grid Iron because I have found steaks in the UK to be hit-​and-​miss. However, on the recommendation of a colleague and not wanting to go to our usual haunts, we gave Grid Iron a try. As another reviewer said, there was nothing spectacular.
Reasoning that a steak place should be able to do any steak well and (more importantly) not wanting to risk £27 on the ribeye given previous disappointments at other restaurants, I went with a medium well rump steak with the peppercorn sauce. It was slightly dry but still pretty good and the sauce was a very good addition. If I should go back, I think I’d be willing to try the ribeye.
As for the other food, we ordered the spicy squid and my wife got the salmon. The squid was spicy enough, lightly battered and, of course, fried. The aioli, mayonnaise seasoned with garlic (as one online dictionary defines it), was light and a nice complement to the squid. My wife enjoyed the salmon, but I was too busy contemplating my steak and forgot to get a taste. All in all, we had a nice meal.
So, why doesn’t good steak, tasty starter, and enjoyable salmon translate into a 4-​star «Yay! I’m a fan»? All the other little things that add up to the restaurant experience.
The price. Our meal was reasonably priced but some of the other menu items seemed arbitrary. I thought £16 was reasonable for a rump steak, but the £11 jump from there to the ribeye was pretty steep since the price difference at the butcher is significantly less. Then there’s the mac and cheese for £11 and the chili for £12 which, having lived in Texas, is just plain ridiculous.
The décor. As hard as the surfaces were, I was pleasantly surprised that the restaurant wasn’t colder. However, I’m not sure if the chairs were too low or the tables were too high, but something was off. Also, the tables were awkwardly constructed of plumbing pipe and forced me to either sit with my knees together or straddle a table leg or two. I have long legs so the former is too uncomfortable and the latter is uncouth.
The service. I generally liked the service… until I read the other review that said that they got popcorn. I didn’t get any popcorn. :(

Nice, new, great décor, ok food but great for Cheltenham.
This is a restaurant I’ve wanted to try for a while and finally I tried it and was not disappointed. Ok let’s be honest the food is nothing special, not in a mean way but put it this way, when you see ‘steak house’ on the front of the door it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what their specialty is. What makes this restaurant unique is the décor but the staff is what really separates them from the surplus chains in the town centre– so well done (especially for a busy Friday night).
The 8oz sirloin is deff worth a try as is the Fish and chips but unfortunately the Bronx Burger didn’t go down too well– shame.
What is really worth a try is the Sharing board for 2 as a starter is GREAT!
One last thing is the day before I phoned to confirm my reservation (booked online) but they had no record of it. The gentleman was very apologetic and phoned me back to offer me a table (even though they were packed– Which was evident throughout the meal).
Check them out!