Morton’s Grille @ Shanghai

Went when it was first opened in 2018, Morton’s Grille was having some teething problems with a brand new crew. Fast forward to 2021 and they are still at their location in Raffles City Changning despite their more famous neighbour vacated their space. Perhaps they are different this time round.

It was a business lunch, and there were some set menus available. Reasonably priced for a prime location and classy steakhouse, we decided to go luxe even for lunch.

Classic Italian Antipasti

We started with an assortment of cured meats and cheese platter that included salami, prosciutto, chorizo, parmigiana and several hard and soft cheeses, together with the usual condiments like pickles and breadstick.

Crusted Tuna Salad

This is a Morton’s classic, and in Shanghai, they have made a few adjustment. The dressing is now a soy sauce based vinaigrette with deep fried shallots as toppings. Yummilicious.

Classic Tiger Prawn Cocktail

Nothing beats the classic shrimp cocktail with the spicy, tangy cocktail sauce and a tacky presentation. Simplest of all appetisers but usually the party favourite, all you need are very fresh shrimps and a good and chilled cocktail sauce.

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But, it was the steaks that we came for. While the host originally wanted to order a set lunch, we quickly changed our minds when we saw the dry ageing that was going on in the chill room. Nice racks of tomahawks beckoned.

Dry Aged USDA Prime Wagyu Beef Tomahawk

Only 2% of the top beef are considered “Prime” under the USDA beef classifications. And each piece of these Prime cuts is then dry aged in Morton’s for another 28 days to provide the optimised flavour profile for each piece of steak sold.

The tomahawk steak is essentially a ribeye beef steak specifically cut with at least five inches of rib bone left intact. The tomahawk steak is an incredibly tender steak with buttery, rich flavor. This section of the animal naturally collects more intramuscular fat, creating the beautiful white lines of fat – the fantastic marbling unique to the rib primal.

We ordered another tomahawk steak to share, but to contrast the dry-aged one, we chose a different bred, wet aged tomahawk. The meat is less marbled than the wagyu, but it was beefier and most satisfying, at least for me.

Besides the main cuts from the tomahawks, the bits around the bones were the most delicious morsels. The Milliard effects had transformed bits of fats and meats to one that can only come from well grilled piece of meat on an open grill. Very rich so one cannot have too much.

Ordered some classic sides to go with all those meat. It was a really heavy lunch to digest afterwards

This time Morton’s had decked out the quality and service that I had experienced back in Las Vegas, Singapore and Hong Kong. Maybe because the bill was almost a thousand USD, but I chose to believe that with the cutthroat competition in Shanghai, they have to up their game to attract the clientele.

Morton’s Grille (Raffles Changning)
No. 7, Bldg 4, Raffles City Changning, 1195 Changning Lu
长宁路1195号长宁来福士4号古建, 近凯旋路

Tel: +86 21 6088-1699

Date visited: Jul 2021