What happens when a renowned restaurant from Monaco opens a branch in Dubai? We get excited, very excited, and we shimmy over to Beefbar Dubai, expectations in tow. How did Beefbar Dubai fare?
Well…….
Sigh, let’s break it down one by one. I went to Beefbar twice in a week, and the two experiences were like night and day. The first time knocked my socks off. The interiors were perfectly Gentlemen’s Lounge-y, lighting dim enough to be moody but bright enough for us to see our food. House full even on a weekday.
Cuts of meat displayed like couture gowns in a wall-to-wall, marble-clad display in a foyer large enough to give the feel of an art gallery. The amuse bouche was some beautifully cured bresaola with properly seasoned crisp bread. The steaks we had (Kobe, tenderloin and striploin) all had the perfect cook on them (medium across the table). The mashed potatoes were beautifully creamy and the variety exciting. The trio of tartare luscious. Fries crispy and irresistible, and the parmesan corn completely unforgettable. We finished off with the passionfruit shuffle for dessert and it was a thoroughly enjoyable meal that was made me want to come back before I was even done. Beefbar Dubai promised to instantly become the best steakhouse in town.
The first meal was a social one and not a tasting, so I didn’t take my DSLR with me.
Fast forward to a week later, I went back in for a fair review, DSLR in hand and imaginary microscopic monocle on eye. Here’s how it went:
Amuse Bouche this time was hummus and tortilla chips. A very, very odd contrast from the stunning cured bresaola and crisp bread the previous week. Granted, that the hummus was smooth, creamy, and much better than the one we had the previous week, but…..hommus and tortilla chips? An odd tone to set at the start of a meal at a….steakhouse.
The trio of tartare ranged from excellent through average to what had more of a paté like texture. Our least favorite one was the “classic”.
Next, we tried the tataki, which was comparatively excellent but nowhere near the best tatakis in town.
This lamb “shawarma” flatbread was highly recommended to us by the server, and while my friends liked it, lamb is always a hard pass for me.
One thing we almost always order is burrata. The “burrata” here was very, very odd. 1. It did not look, or taste like burrata. Our server claimed that they scoop out the creamy insides of the burrata and serve that only. Not only did that not make any sense to me, but I can bet my life it wasn’t burrata. It was labneh. Secondly, the labneh/burrata was only a thin smear on the bottom of the plate, under a pile of veggies. While the salad tasted good, it will gravely disappoint anyone looking forward to a burrata in in all its integrity and glory.
My FAVORITE thing at Beefbar Dubai was the cheese and truffle corn. It was ridiculously good, you guys. I would actually go back just to have this.
For mains, we ordered some rib eye and a striploin to share. We asked for both of these to be medium rare but the striploin was a definite medium and the rib eye….um….
That…..to me….looks more Blue than Medium Rare. That fat does not look rendered in the least.
The striploin, on the other hand, had a better cook on it.
Thank God we had things like good onion rings to fill us up.
I have to agree with A to Zaatar on the dessert for the most part. I enjoyed the soufflé a lot, but other than the Pain Perdu (which, although irresistibly delicious, was an odd fit for the sophisticated setting considering its breakfast-y roots), the desserts were nothing to write home about.
Would I be going back to Beefbar Dubai? In a highly competitive dining landscape where mediocrity doesn’t cut it and diners have a plethora of options to move on to, it seems highly unlikely that I’ll be going back anytime soon, unless I hear news of major changes in the kitchen.
