Once upon a time, long long ago, I was a vegetarian. For eight years. But my dad always reckoned it was a “phase”, and maybe he was right, because it didn’t last. After reading “Eat Right for your Type” and suffering with never-ending allergies, which I blamed on my felines at the time, I realised I wasn’t feeling great and maybe it was my diet. After slowly adding fish, followed by other meat, back into my diet I was like a new person, and I never looked back. As much as I wish I could give it up again altogether, I just can’t quite do it. And being a South African married to a South African does mean that meat is pretty much always on the menu.
Sadly, South African meat is no longer available in Dubai. After some kind of bureaucratic snafu a couple of years ago it was banned, and has remained that way. And the upshot of that is a serious lack of decent quality steak (in my opinion). So when my friend Ryan announced he was moving to Dubai to open another branch of the restaurant group he works for, I was delighted. Not only to see him again but also because he works for a restaurant group called Gaucho, and they happen to specialise in Argentinian beef and steaks.
The restaurant fit-out has taken several months now, and probably caused Ryan a great deal of stress and grey hairs. He certainly sounds pretty stressed whenever we speak. Originally, their (ambitious) plan was to open for Eid (after Ramadan) but the day came, and went, and I heard not a peep about it. We then went on vacation and trust me I was seriously worried that Stu and I would miss the opening completely. But I needn’t have stressed about it after all, as they still have not opened officially – despite him stating in a Timeout interview that the opening was on the 1st October. Anyway, last Wednesday I received a call from Gaucho inviting me to dinner as part of a dry-run / training night for the staff and kitchen. Oh, and would I bring a few other people, 6 in total if possible. Well I never thought it would be so tricky to invite people to what was essentially going to be an almost-free meal (we only had to contribute for the staff’s wages and tips) but it did prove a little more challenging than I had expected. Although to be fair it was for a Friday and I guess some people in Dubai actually plan ahead.
We were welcomed to the restaurant by some smart ladies dressed in black dresses – in fact all the waiting staff were dressed in black, very chic indeed. On the upper level of the restaurant as you enter is the 18m long ceviche bar and some small tables, where we had our pre-dinner drinks. I loved the hide covered ottoman stools! We had to make do with mocktails sadly on the night, although the Strawberry Cooler was actually delicious, and I polished off 3 or 4 in the end. The decor is very modern and clean – white leather and black & white cow-hide covered walls, black granite or glass topped tables and plenty of chrome and candle-light. The glass-sided elevator will whisk you directly from the parking lot into the lower level of the restaurant – from there you will be able to see into the massive wine-lined room where there is a large square table, presumably the chef’s table or something equally fabulous. After a few appetisers (which were yummy) we were escorted downstairs to our table. I think we had the best spot in the room! A large, round, black-granite topped table that seated the 7 of us comfortably > 4 on the white leather, curved booth section at the rear, and 3 on cow-hide covered chairs. Above our heads the white leather was studded with tiny lights, like stars, tapering into a point about 2 meters above us. Despite no alcohol being served we did have a look at the wine-list. From what I could tell the wine is all Argentinian (except for some Champagne) and the wine-list is grouped by region, where each style of wine is explained.
Our waitress brought over the “meat-board” which displayed the various cuts of meat for us, and she explained these and the cooking styles to us. I chose a 225g medallion of fillet, cooked medium and served with a creamy mushroom sauce. We also ordered chips and some veggie side dishes for the table. Whilst we waited for our starters we sampled home-made bread served with chimichurra sauce. My starter was a salad of octopus served cold with tomato and olive sauce, and rocket leaves. Divine. When the waitress reset our table she gave us regular knives, which prompted Stu to ask about a steak knife. She informed us that we wouldn’t need it, and she was right! The steak was soft and tender and delicious. Wow. One of the nicest steaks I have had in ages. Grass fed, and free range, and you could taste it in every mouthful. For desert I had a “dulce de leche” (caramel) tart with home-made banoffee ice-cream (not exactly the low-calorie option haha) and a cappuccino. Stu indulged with a cheese platter and was in his element thanks to the room temperature cheeses, quince jelly and home-made oat cakes.
I had a superb evening. The service was impeccable, although we were short delivered a sauce with the mains and one of the deserts was incorrect, but as it was a training run after all I think our expectations were exceeded overall. I can’t wait to have a lovely glass of Malbec next time, THAT is all that was missing.
The restaurant is located in DIFC, directly opposite ZUMA and may be contacted on 04.422.7898.
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One response to “Gaucho – a sneak peak!”
Happy to report that Gaucho in DIFC is now licensed and open for business!