Last Monday, Ian and I had dinner at Gaucho’s, which I was
really looking forward to – You just can’t be perfectly cooked Argentinian
steak!
Already a
Gaucho officiando, as it has been a regular
haunt of mine for years in London, I was very much looking forward to seeing if
there would be any difference.
Located
in the heart of
DIFC in Gate Village, this stunning restaurant is accessed
either from Gate Village or else directly from the car park – For those wanting
a discrete entrance, or just valet parking.
The Gaucho brand is very evident throughout the venue. The cowhide seats, black décor and tables
(which you expect from the brand), adds a sense of luxury which you find in all
the restaurants.
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| Bife de Cuadril | |
The staff, as you would expect were excellent throughout the
night.
With a warm welcome, our waitress
for the evening Jacelyn was lovely and friendly.
She knew the menu inside out, and was able to
tell us what wines we should consider to go with each dish that was selected,
which is vitally important for vino novices like ourselves who tend to stick to
mocktails or cocktails.
Both Ian and myself started with the asparagus soup with
truffle oil. I had never had this in any
Gaucho’s and loved it. The creamy soup
was perfectly seasoned and buttery. It
made me question why I had never made it myself (it is now on the list for my
next dinner party), and was a great intro into what the rest of the dinner
would bring for us.
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| Grilled Asparagus |
Being pregnant, the starter that I would have loved were the
Scallops (Ian made sure to order these and very much enjoyed them), but I was
happy when my starter – King Prawn Chorizo and Orange – arrived. Ian had food envy when he caught sight of the
huge juicy butterflied prawns had been lightly grilled and were delivered, with
fresh pea shoots making the dish look beautiful, to our table. The slightly sweet orange coulis, with just
hint of chilli, perfectly complemented the meat of the prawns. Divine!
As a main course, I have to admit that I was boring; I
overlooked the large menu and favourites of mine such as the Risotto, to focus
purely on the steak. I mean, when in
Rome and all that… but I did question this choice. Under ordinary circumstances I would have my
steak blue, I like to taste the meat and the more juices that flow from the
steak, the better. Unfortunately, I am
not allowed this at the moment. As I am
pregnant, my steak has to be well done.
I couldn’t go that far though and asked for a medium to well-done Bife de Cuadril (fillet
steak), with mashed potato and truffle. Ian’s
order mirrored my own. We both shared
the asparagus and quails eggs with Parmesan shavings. Both steaks were cooked to perfection and it
was great to have the truffle oil not over power the mashed potato as I have
found it to in other restaurants.
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| Vanilla Pannecotta |
By this point, I was ashamed to say I was full. Ian ordered the deconstructed Vanilla Pannecotta and declared it to be the best desert in Dubai. The wonderful creaminess was perfectly
sweetened with the vanilla and it was light too, meaning he didn’t feel the
bloat that he would usually experience by having desert with such a large
dinner.
It really was a great dinner. All in all, I can’t wait to return once bump
is born so that I can have the steak exactly as I love it.
