Having ranted and rambled at great length about this city’s seemingly insatiable appetite for steakhouses, imagine how horrified I was when I heard that Legends at Dubai Creek Golf Club had been renovated, compelling me to revisit for a review. Okay, maybe not horrified, just a little deflated at the prospect of having to eat yet more red meat, not to mention anxious about my high cholesterol levels and rising blood pressure.

Often, Dubai restaurant ‘renovations’ amount to little more than a few new pieces of furniture, but Legends really has taken on a new look – a look that was enough to banish my aforementioned anxieties. Gone are the fussy carpets and limp drapes, in favour of sleek geometric furnishings and low lighting – a perfect complement to the sloping, canopied ceiling. Though it was a little too chilly to sit on the deck when my date and I visited, it was certainly worth a look, and we were equally impressed by the flickering flame lanterns and sweeping golf-course views.

To get the most from this rather unique setting, we chose one of the elevated booths, which afforded both privacy and great views of the rest of the restaurant. Luckily, our vantage point didn’t prove a problem for the fleet-footed staff who merrily skipped up and down the small staircase armed with water, bread, menus and a board displaying the various cuts of meat from the menu. We were soon sampling an eclectic array of ‘miniature’ starters as recommended by the waitress.

I’d chosen the scotched quail egg, dates and foie gras, and a blue cheese spring roll. Each dish promised much, though the results were varied – the scotched quail egg, embellished with a dab of wholegrain mustard, was disappointingly rubbery, while the sweet flesh of the date combined with the silken foie gras proved too rich. The blue cheese spring roll, however, hit all the right notes, the pungent, creamy cheese contrasting wonderfully with the roll’s crispy shell. My date, meanwhile, was making cheerful work of the beef carpaccio and the colourful accompaniment of zucchini and carrots, but after reaching over to
try it for myself, I wasn’t entirely convinced: what should have been a medley of taste and flavour was, in my opinion, a little bland.

The arrival of our mains was preceded by an exhibition of culinary showmanship (or show-womanship, in this particular instance) as our waitress flambéed my date’s tenderloin. After a flash of flame and the hiss of the pan, the meat, complete with a few charred onions and a stack of salad, made its way up to our table-turret. Much to my date’s delight, the pyrotechnic display proved more than just a gimmick – she sliced open the tenderloin to reveal a delightfully pink interior, boasting a flavour as sweet as its rosy hue suggested.

I eventually prised my envious eyes away from the little meat treat being devoured opposite, and turned my attentions to the comparatively surly cut of grass-fed ribeye on my plate. While it certainly wasn’t as pretty as my date’s order, it was as juicy and tender as I could have hoped for, not to mention marginally more flavourful thanks to the ever-so-crisp slithers of fat clinging to the dark red meat.

Such a generously proportioned main course meant that our desserts were limited to light refreshing sorbet and ice cream – not the most adventurous items on the menu, but certainly the most sensible options at the time. Espresso and a selection of complimentary dark chocolates followed soon after, and as we descended from our elevated table into the dimly lit restaurant below, I begrudgingly admitted to myself that there’s always room for another steakhouse in Dubai – as long as it’s as good as Legends.

The bill (for two)
1x Sparkling water Dhs25
1x ‘Lifestyle’ appetiser Dhs65
1x Beef carpaccio Dhs70
1x 200g organic ribeye Dhs160
1x Flambée tenderloin Dhs210
1x Chocolate ice cream Dhs15
1x Mango sorbet Dhs15
1x Espresso Dhs40
Total (excluding service) Dhs600