West 14th Steakhouse
West 14th is a welcome addition to Dubai’s steak scene 29 Reviews
Hops night
An evening of hops and dishes made with hops. Learn the inside-story on brewing from an expert. Dhs195 (three courses and three hop-based beverages) Timings: 8pm-10pm (Monday)
After months of dormancy, many of the long-awaited projects on the Palm appear to be slowly reawakening. But while we wait for construction to finish on the Fairmont and the Kingdom of Sheba to bequeath Dubai with yet more restaurant options, the city’s culinary mavens can content themselves with West 14th in the newly opened Oceana Beach Club.
The area is clearly still undergoing its finishing touches, but it nonetheless provides a great setting for a steakhouse – the first-frond location affords great views of Dubai’s coastline, and it is conveniently situated next to the resort’s outdoor bar (not a bad pre-drinks option). Inside, guests are left in no doubt as to the restaurant’s theme – faux exposed-brick walls, dark reds, low lighting and exposed pipes running across the ceiling all transport diners from Dubai to New York’s Meatpacking District. It almost works, but on our visit it was a little too much when our waiter felt the need to reiterate this as we took our seats. We get it, we really do.
After this introductory spiel, it only seemed right to ask said waiter to go off script and recommend a starter. He duly obliged, urging my date to go for the crab cakes, while advising me to pick the sticky calamari. He was a charming little fellow, so we took his advice and were soon left with our thoughts and a small, warm, rustic loaf served with a knob of fresh butter.
As we waited for our starters we watched the restaurant slowly fill up – West 14th had only been open for a few weeks, yet was already luring plenty of customers. A good sign, though we could only guess how the staff would cope if and when the venue was fully booked; service wasn’t exactly slow, but we were glad not to wait any longer than we did for the crab cakes and calamari.
Still, as far as appearances were concerned, time had been well spent on the trio of crab cakes, which were presented in a neat row with a chilli-corn relish garnish, and a hint of red beet and creamed sweetcorn. The taste didn’t quite meet the finesse of the presentation, but the dish nonetheless played well on the palate – the prickle of chilli complementing the soft crab meat within the crispy breadcrumb exterior.
It was difficult to know what to make of the calamari: it had a great deal going for it (namely that the squid itself was fresh and succulent), but the sweet chilli and almond was a little too much. In layman’s terms, it tasted like Crunchy Nut Cornflakes – but with squid. Interesting.
There were no doubts as to what we would be having for mains. I ordered the 250g US tenderloin (though the waiter did his best to persuade me to go for the 400g – I wasn’t sure if he was upselling or just being overly enthusiastic), while my date opted for the 300g Australian rib-eye. After relaying our order to the kitchen, our waiter returned brandishing what looked like a cigar box. Halfway through a meal is perhaps not the best time to puff on a stogey, but our confusion was soon abated when the box was opened to reveal an armoury of glinting Laguiole steak knives of varying weight and handle size. Unlike the more traditional steak knives, Laguiole blades are not serrated; instead, they are razor sharp and smooth. We chose our respective weapons and readied ourselves for battle.
Aesthetically speaking, the mains didn’t compare favourably with our starters – the meat of my tenderloin looked chapped and dry from the outside, while my date’s ribeye was a little gnarled and gristly. Happily in this instance, looks were deceiving, and I cut into the tenderloin to find the meat pink and juicy. While my date’s dish tasted better than it looked, it was still overly fatty, even for a rib-eye.
The sides we ordered consisted of creamy spinach, root vegetables and fries. While the lukewarm, limp spinach disappointed, the root vegetables were suitably fresh and flavoursome, and the gargantuan cuboid fries were excellent. An array of mustard was wheeled around on a trolley and we were advised to complement our steaks with a portion of strong Dijon and hearty horseradish mustard. Both worked to great effect, adding a lively edge to what was, all in all, good meat.
Though arguably a little kitsch, West 14th manages to hold its own among Dubai’s already bloated selection of steakhouses. The dining experience is enhanced by thoughtful touches such as the steak knives and mustard trolley, as well as its great location – it’s refreshing not to walk through a hotel lobby or mall to reach a restaurant, especially when the standard of the food is this high.
The bill (for two)
1x Pacific crab cakes Dhs56
1x Sticky calamari Dhs48
1x Australian rib-eye Dhs145
1x US tenderloin Dhs170
1x Root vegetables Dhs28
2x City fries Dhs56
1x Creamed spinach Dhs28
Total (including 10 per cent service) Dhs531
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