This weekend we had dinner at one of my favourite restaurants in Dubai – Le Classique at the Emirates Golf Club. Okay so this is only my second meal at the restaurant, which may make the declaration that it’s one of my favourites a little hard to believe, but it’s true. When some good friends of ours visited last year I really wanted to take them there, but the club was closed for renovations sadly. Anyway we decided on the spur of the moment we felt like going, and rounded up a few mates to make it a fun evening. No reason, we just felt like it.
The inside of the restaurant hasn’t really changed much as far as I remember. The chairs are new (and very comfortable) and the bar has been modernised, but I was happy to see they have left the rows of Moet bottles lining the entranceway. The decor seems cleaner and a little sleeker, but the views of the golf course remain as spectacular as ever. I was ecstatic to see the menu (and prices), as well as the chef, are unchanged.
I elected (again) to go for the set menu – a choice of dishes for each course, priced accordingly (so 2 courses are 220 AED, 3 courses 275 AED). You can even have 4 courses if you can possibly manage it. I think its great value. After an amuse-bouche of duck liver and a bite-sized piece of prawn I tucked in to my starter of pan-grilled scallops served with a celery risotto and chicken jus. Heavenly. The choice of Bordeaux that Stu made was the perfect accompaniment. Stu (the rebel) chose to head off into a-la-carte land and started with a goat’s cheese tartlet served with roasted vine tomatoes. It certainly looked delicious, although he didn’t offer me a taste so I can’t be sure (selfish man!)
For main course I chose duck breast (served pink yummy) with a cranberry sauce and mixed veggies. Now those of you that know me know that I always chose duck in a restaurant if I can. I love it, and seldom have it at home, so it’s always a treat. This was no exception. Stu had opted for the steak, which was cooked at the table and flambéed in spectacular fashion. Wow, I am surprised our waitress has any eyebrows left.
I hadn’t expected that I would have dessert, but I decided “what the hell” and ordered the crepe suzette. Mostly because I love the orangey-alcoholy flavour, but also it’s such fun to watch them make it. And it was outstanding. Stu had pre-ordered the cheese platter (so that it was room temperature by the time it arrived) and he seemed more than happy with his choice.
What a lovely evening, I will definitely not leave it that long before I visit again.
p.s. I wrote some time back about a French bakery that had opened up the road from us, and was fabulous. Well what I haven’t told you since is that the French partner (and main baker) left there suddenly some time back and the bread had become disgusting. So imagine my surprise (and delight) the other day when I popped into a relatively new bakery to pick up some sandwiches for lunch, and found that he was managing the shop there. Outstanding bread, I am so excited. If you, like me, miss the good bread you used to get at Le Succes, then pop down to Crumbs Elysee on SZR, fantastic.
