I’m very lucky to have an opportunity to visit my third Gordon Ramsay restaurant in a month. This time, I was in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Verre is located inside the Dubai Creek Hilton and is adjacent to the Glasshouse Mediterranean Brasserie, the hotel’s general purpose restaurant. I had two breakfasts and a dinner at Glasshouse during my Dubai stay. The dinner was good, but the breakfasts were, well, English style, and therefore something I really don’t happen to like (for reasons I won’t blog here because they’re irrelevant). I’m told the kitchens are run separately, but both are “overseen” by the same crew. I can’t see how this can possibly be true, because Verre was lightyears different from Glasshouse.
I’ll start with the two things working against Verre – the ambiance and staff. Because it’s inside the Hilton, there’s only so much within their control. There was no table overlooking the kitchen as in other Ramsay restaurants(unless it was in the kitchen itself which I did not see), and the dining room is basically a giant rectangle. Although decorated nicely, it did not have the flair of the the other Ramsay restaurants I’ve visited. And although I never thought I’d say this about any restaurant, the staff was a bit aggressive. There were at least five purple-shirted people working the restaurant, plus a maitre’ d and a manager. At some point in the evening, every person visited my table at least once either running food, bread, refilling my water, or just making sure all was well. At first I thought this was great considering service outside the US sometimes requires flares and arm waving, but I was eating by myself. Mid-way through the meal, I began to wonder if if this would be distracting if I was eating with others. I noticed patrons around me giggling and frustration at the constant visits and explanations as each item is presented to the table – possibly because the accents of some of those delivering the food were so difficult to understand.
Verre is a hybrid fine dining restaurant. I suspect if I wandered into one of Gordon Ramsay’s UK fine dining restaurants wearing jeans and a golf shirt, I may be chased away. But at Verre, I was ok. I’d like to think this is the best of both worlds because you shouldn’t have to wear a jacket to enjoy a fine meal. I ordered the “Fillet of Angus beef with braised onions and salsify served with pomme puree and port jus.” I figured this was a steak and potato, and although fish is touted, I didn’t want fish.
Just after ordering, canapes arrived. One type was fried with a sour cream center, another was a tomato and possibly onion puree. There were a few varieties altogether. Although each was introduced, I struggled to identify what some were and simply didn’t understand the accent of the person running the food or I’d have written it all down; but every one of them was good. Shortly after I finished the canapes, a shot of butternut squash and mushroom soup (possibly a bisque) arrived in an espresso cup. It was frothy on top and the flavors were really well balanced.
Finally, my main course arrived. It was a filet mignon (probably 8oz) with potato puree on the side. The potatoes were similar to mashed potatoes, but basically annihilated in a food processor. I’d have preferred a bit more imperfection and chunkiness, but if they were shooting for silky-smooth and buttery, they nailed it. The filet was cooked a bit more than medium rare (which is what I ordered), could have used a touch more seasoning, and it was surrounded by six to eight little bits of pearl onions and what I believe was asparagus stalks, broiled in au jus. I was surprised the steak was so small, but that just may be I’m so used to US restaurants and the typical US portions size. The steak was topped with sunny-side up little egg. It was ironic the Glasshouse couldn’t figure out breakfast and here was a perfectly cooked egg next door – just 1/4 the size it should be to really eat it. It was cute, but I wasn’t about to try that with my filet so I scooched it over to the side of the plate.
I skipped dessert which was a good idea since they brought complementary little chocolates and a couple of chalk-sized meringues in a small glass.
All in all, it was a very good dinner for a hotel restaurant, though I’d have expected a bit more for a bit less from a Ramsay restaurant, even in the fine dining category. Had all the little creative and tasty extras not come along, the main course would not have scored as high a rating from me.
The lone entree and a glass of bottled still water came to 278 Dirhams (service charge included).
Out of a possible five stars in each category, Verre scored:
Atmosphere:  | Food: |
| Service: | Value: |
My opinion: Check it out, if it’s on your way.
