There are few places in Dubai where you can sit outside on a balmy evening in total peace, without noise pollution from passing cars, lorries or buses or the clanking of construction. The Address Montgomerie is one of them. Not even the squeak of a mosquito can be heard from the balcony of its recently revamped restaurant Nineteen, and even if it were, one can rest assured that the obliging staff would promptly catch it with nimble fingers and apologise for the bother.
The Montgomerie has never been a dusty, old golf clubhouse in which middle-aged gentlemen retire after a few holes for a curling sandwich. But with the relaunch, the hope is that Nineteen becomes a destination in itself and attracts a younger, more lively crowd. Last month, it was the venue for the Ahlan! Hot 100 launch party. There was nary a Pringle jersey to be seen among the throng. As part of the relaunch, a new executive chef has been appointed and a new menu drawn up. Given that Tom Jalleh arrived at the post from a long-standing gig at the Argentine grill Gaucho's in Australia, it is perhaps unsurprising that the menu is one to make a vegan blush. Nineteen is now a rotisserie dealing in great hunks of meat. Should Desperate Dan himself step from the fairway into the restaurant, he could be quite happily accommodated with the three cuts of Black Angus steak on offer - tenderloin, sirloin and rib-eye - which come in various sizes up to 400g.
Before dealing with his steak, however, he would have to be seated. And here is a curious dichotomy in Nineteen. Perch yourself inside and you sit in library-like grandeur amid dark wood panelling and on cream leather seats. It is the kind of atmosphere in which you sit up straight and try not to drop breadcrumbs on the floor. Outside, on the balcony overlooking the 18th hole (hence the restaurant's name), things are more relaxed. There are wooden tables and chairs and lanterns dotted about. The lake lies flat and calm beneath you, and there are fountains spouting in the distance. Recently, the scene was only marginally disturbed by the plinky-plonky sound of Cafe Del Mar-like music, but one imagines this is to try and settle the new demographic into the surroundings.
The menu is not vast, but almost everything deserves studied attention, which my dining companion and I duly gave it. For me, the root artichoke soup with oyster tempura won out over the poached lobster and mayonnaise salad. For my friend, the scallop and leek risotto infused with truffle oil beat the oxtail and goat curd tortellini. The soup was more of a velouté, wonderfully rich and well seasoned with peppery watercress strands. Lying across the bowl like a fallen soldier was a slightly sweet cheese straw, which added little. The tempura was fluffy, although in danger of becoming flabby if not immediately fished out of the soup. My dining companion's three scallops were the plumpest, happiest ones ever peeled from their shells; they sat on a glistening bed of risotto, although it arrived slightly too cool. Both, however, were generous portions.
It meant that we struggled somewhat with the second round, which was a shame as it, too, had all the right intentions and fell only just short of perfect. I faced a tenderloin steak, crisp onion rings, a side salad and a slightly lumpy béarnaise sauce (my friend prodded at it; we decided it had curdled). When my dining companion turned to her rotisserie chicken, she shrieked at the size. "Two breasts!" Both were a touch too dry and, again, let down by a mushroom sauce that was deemed too bitter. It came with a mountainous bowl of roasted vegetables - and is there anything more lovely than a sweet, roast parsnip? Possibly truffled potato puree, which we ordered as a side.
In the same spirit, we rounded things off with blueberry clafoutis, which came light and springy with sweet berry ice cream. It was not a cheap dinner, but you certainly won't leave feeling hard done by. Nineteen, The Address Montgomerie, Dubai, 04 390 5600. Our reviewer's meal for two cost Dh500. Restaurants are reviewed incognito and the meals are paid for by The National.