The Barrel-Aged Negroni is presented with some flair via a smoked-filled dome. – Photo: Facebook/Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill KL
You’ve probably heard a lot about the food at the Gordon Ramsay Bar And Grill restaurant. There have been plenty of reviews and articles about the food at the recently opened restaurant at Sunway City, so that covers the 'grill' part of the name. But what about the 'bar' part of the name?
Bar manager Marek KleckaRamsay’s first ever restaurant in Malaysia is also the first Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill outside of London, and is located at the lobby level of the Sunway Resort in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur.
As you enter the restaurant itself, you are greeted by a large portrait of Ramsay himself, surrounded by a luxurious interior with a polished walnut hardwood floor, accentuated by brass finishes, a 24 karat gold leaf hand-placed ceiling walls lined with Monochrome portraits of British style icons like Mick Jagger and Sean Connery.
Walk further in past Ramsay's portrait, and a nice cozy bar area greets you. If you're not already dining at the restaurant, you may choose to sit at the bar, where you can watch bar manager Marek Klecka and his team work their magic.
The food menu here is inspired by Ramsay's Savoy Grill restaurant in London, and the drinks menu follows a similar pattern. According to Klecka, the signature cocktails on the menu are mostly based on drinks from the Gordon Ramsay Bar And Grill restaurants in London. Yes, even the Hibiscus Mojito, which one can find on the menu at the Chelsea branch, though the one here is made with homemade hibiscus syrup.
Chelsea Royal GardenThe Chelsea Royal Garden is another one that would be familiar to regulars of the London branches. It is a light, floral and refreshing tipple with a base on St Germain Elderflower liqueur, mixed with fresh green apples, lemon bitters and prosecco.
Many of the other drinks are twists or variations on classic cocktails, including a Chili Margarita, Bailey's Espresso Martini, and Ginger Cosmopolitan.
If you only have one drink there, however, then do check out the OMLG, an original drink created by Klecka, and made using Tanqueray London Dry Gin, Chambord raspberry liqueur, fresh lime, egg white and homemade lavender syrup.
At first glance, this seems like an overly sweet cocktail, but it is not – Klecka has managed to perfectly balance the sweetness of the liqueur with the lime and gin, while adding just enough lavender notes to give it a wonderfully floral nose.
OMLG
The Angostura Sour, made with Amaro Di Angostura, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, fresh lemon juice and egg white, was another highlight, as the bitter notes of the amaro pair nicely with the bourbon and citrus to give you a complex and rich mouthfeel with balanced bitter and sour notes and a lingering whisky finish.
Hibiscus MojitoThe final drink on the menu we tried was the Barrel-Aged Negroni, which is made using Tanqueray Gin, Mancino Rosso Vermouth and Campari, and served with a touch of flair inside a dome of smoke, giving the drink an extra elegant smoky aroma.
Besides cocktails, the bar also serves mocktails (many made with non-alcoholic spirits), beers, and boasts an extensive wine list as well. Price-wise, being the Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill, expect to pay premium for many of the drinks, though it has to be said that it is par for the course compared to many hotel bars in Malaysia.
