Anecdotally at least, Dubai residents seem to dine out more often than people in most major cities, but even in such a place, is there a case for an “everyday” restaurant that will tempt guests to visit multiple times per week? That’s the thinking behind Rhodes W1, the latest UAE creation of the bottlebrush-haired British celebrity chef Gary Rhodes.
The casual-dining concept W1 has replaced Rhodes Mezzanine in Grosvenor House’s right-hand tower. In lineage terms, though, it’s also possible to see this as a successor to Rhodes 44, his debut Abu Dhabi restaurant in the St Regis Corniche that closed in August. Yet Rhodes, who has long been associated with Dubai, seems much more of a natural fit here than in the capital.
Speaking of W1’s physical location, once we’ve found its door, on the mezzanine level of Grosvenor House’s left-hand tower, there’s very little to nitpick. White and lime-green shades dominate the soothing interior, with potted foliage on each table (any doubts whether it’s real or plastic are dispelled when a friendly small slug pops out to say hello midway through our meal – it should be disgusting, but somehow it’s utterly charming).
There’s certainly nothing revolting about Rhodes’s menu magic, either, despite his insistence on innovation wherever possible. Exhibit A: my starter, the chicken liver and foie gras parfait brûlée. The cast-iron-dish presentation was rustic, but given a takeaway slant via a transparent vinegar bottle full of moreish balsamic syrup. There wasn’t quite enough chargrilled bread, unless you like your liver and foie gras spread two inches thick, but that aside, it was satisfaction all the way.
My dining partner’s braised oxtail risotto wasn’t as visually arresting, and the salsa-sized diced tomato within it was quite sour, but it manfully combined two taste sensations. With some starters going up to Dh115, however, you might not want to sit down to a three-course meal too often. The mains’ pricing, by comparison, does make a case for Rhodes’s “everyday” claims. My dining partner chose the most expensive option, at Dh195, but seven of the remaining 12 options are less than Dh150 each. That Dh195 proved a sound investment, too: her roast rack of Welsh lamb was more tender than almost any Middle Eastern version, while the accompanying Lancashire cheese and onion pan haggerty (a traditional flan-like potato dish), plus lamb gravy, homemade redcurrant jelly and minted peas and leaks, all set off the meat in varied, imaginative manners. My battered monkfish scampi was more of a gastropub delight, served on a wooden platter with spindly sea-salt straw potatoes and some of the tastiest tartare sauce you’re likely to savour.
We resolved to go as British as humanly possible for dessert, something that was amply rewarded. The steamed jam roly-poly comprised three hearty chunks of pastry, doused in jam sauce and custard, while my baked egg custard was a generous triangle of tart alongside a scoop of nutmeg ice cream and a circular splodge of raisin syrup.
You might not make it to Rhodes W1 several times a week unless you’re feeling particularly flush, then, but based on our experience, it demands checking out more than once if only to find out whether the rest of the menu is equally plaudit-worthy.
• Our meal for two at Rhodes W1, Grosvenor House, Dubai, cost Dh818. For more information, call 04 317 6000. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and conducted incognito
aworkman@thenational.ae