Underwhelming food that is like a mindless action movie: all style, no substance.
I’ve wanted to go to Gravy Baby for months now but always felt like I didn’t deserve the indulgence of their fattening food… or their prices. Coming into a small sum of bonus money was all it took to justify a visit and promptly squander a chunk of said bonus money.
Ambience & Amenities
Gravy Baby is as ostentatious as a drunk American. It’s hard to ignore the restaurant’s bright, flashy facade lit by marquee bulbs. Cheeky posters adorn the walls, their quips are sure to get a chuckle.
At the Plaza Damansara location, there is a small covered patio with about four tables. If you sit here, you’ll have to listen to the wait staff constantly shouting welcomes to literally everyone who walks by.
Inside, the cinema vibe continues. In here it is dim but warmly lit, like at the movie theatre before the previews start. The only light sources are pretty much just the marquee bulbs on certain decorations around the place. At the back, there is bench seating with the rest being in the style of director’s chairs. I’m not sure if it’s the regular soundtrack or the whim of the manager that day, but the music selection during our visit was entirely 80’s.
The washroom is down a narrow corridor at the back left. One toilet, western style, of course, is in a small room with the sink just outside the door. The sink had good soap and paper towels provided.
Menu
If you want to binge on classic American and English food but you can’t decide on what specifically, the Gravy Baby menu has a guilty indulgence for everyone: sundaes, cheesy fries, fish and chips, buffalo wings… the list goes on. The prized Sunday Roast is offered to anyone craving this British tradition. What little options for Malaysian flavours that exist on the menu have been Frankensteined into a fusion creation like sliders. It’s missing from the drinks list, but filtered water it is free.
Click on any menu picture to enlarge
Very annoyingly, I tried to order my top three choices but they were all unavailable on this day. They didn’t have the lobster sandwich, and for some unexplained reason, they couldn’t make waffles. All the best sounding items had a waffle involved so a sizeable portion of the menu was ruled out. With such a diverse selection, I doubt the restaurant can keep everything in stock all the time, so be warned that you might not be able to get whatever you’re craving.
Food
Gravy Baby is apparently famous for its pies. It brags about them everywhere from their sign out front to on their napkins. You have your choice of sides when ordering a pie, though you’re locked into certain choices and combinations if you make it meal. You also get a choice between three different gravies, which will be ladled all over your pie.
Our Slow Cooked Steak and Wild Mushroom Pie (RM32 with sides) came out shockingly fast – within five to ten minutes of ordering. This definitely signifies that the pies are frozen and are simply warmed up before serving. I guess it was naive of me to think the pie would be cooked to order, as they normally take up to an hour to bake. For a restaurant “famous” for its pies, it’s kinda BS to know that they’re not freshly made.
For RM32, what is this… a pie FOR ANTS? It couldn’t be more than 10cm across, it’s like something off the kid’s menu. Is an adult supposed to eat this and be full? Even my baby-sized stomach could glom this and have room for dessert. Maybe that’s the restaurant’s strategy.
Despite being soaked in gravy, the pie held up well after being cut. The crust managed to stay in the shapes we wanted when cutting off chunks with minimal flaking and breaking. The steak inside was very tender and succulent. We got our pie with the Original British Meat Gravy, and it was full of flavour with just the right viscousness – not too thick, not too watery. The beans were in a barbecue sauce that was tangier than what you’d get out of a Heinz can.
Since we were obviously not satiated with that tiny plate of food, halfway through eating we ordered the Caramelised Gravybaby (RM39). In contrast to our pie, this is a huge burger. No one’s mouth is big enough to bite this properly. In the struggle to eat this, you’ll either have to deal with burger juice all over yourself or be a dandy and try using a knife and fork. We opted for the latter method… so we wouldn’t be utterly turned off by each other for life from having to watch the battle of getting this down our food tubes.
The meat patty is so thick, it’s gotta be a half-pounder. The brioche bun was a standout, brioche being able to soak up juices better than other bread and for a wet burger like this one, that’s essential. Though it looks impressive, the taste is actually sort of bland. There’s a lot of meat, but it isn’t seasoned much, if at all. Lettuce and tomato don’t add much, so all you’re tasting is the sweetened onion flavour.
Honestly, with the lettuce, tomato and gravy on this, this was just too messy to fully enjoy. Ingredients kept sliding around and if you eat this with your hands, you’ll get frequent bites of just one or two elements. There was a side of “dunking gravy” that came on the slab, but this gravy wasn’t as good as what was on our pie. This one was much thinner and didn’t have the bold gravy flavour.
We got a Sweet Basil Lemonade (RM14) and a Mango Lemonade (RM14) to drink. They were both typical, palatable lemonades. The sweet basil had a nice strong basil flavour that was uniquely different in a lemonade, but the mango version verged on too sweet. It arrives with concentrated syrup on the bottom, so be sure to mix before drinking.
Saturday Worthy?
I was hoping that we’d come back and try their waffles and all the different sandwiches, but in the middle of eating our English pie, I already knew that we would never be returning to any Gravy Baby location. Although the menu presents sinfully gluttonous food, the actual taste is very generic and the prices are high for how much food you get. Put Gravy Baby in the same category as chain restaurants like the Hard Rock Cafe – overpriced, unmemorable western food that’s there for rich foreigners to save them from having to eat “icky” local cuisine.
Price for 2 Pax: RM104.95
Steak & Mushroom Pie: RM32.00
Caramelised Gravybaby Burger: RM39.00
Sweet Basil Lemonade: RM14.00
Mango Lemonade: RM14.00
6% SST: RM5.94
Rounding: RM0.01
Gravy Baby
16 Jalan Medan Setia 2, Plaza Damansara, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Kuala Lumpur
Daily: 7am – 1am
Alcohol Served: Yes
