A couple of days ago, O and I went to the Marco Pierre White steakhouse for the second time. The first visit was my birthday treat and this last one was (as far as I’m concerned) to celebrate a couple of very cool people moving to Abu Dhabi.
The restaurant is snuggled away in the gorgeous new Fairmont hotel (Bab Al Bahr) which sits next door to the Souq at Qaryat Al Beri (which is, in turn, next to and linked to the Shangri La). An unassuming entrance leads into a dining room that is casual, but definitely trying very hard to be so. Tables are roomy (apart from in the smoking section, although that is right by a window looking in to the kitchen so smokers aren’t treated like total pariahs) and not laden with silver, flat or glass wear and the additional decoration (small flower arrangement and a candle) are removed after ordering to make way for the freshly baked bread. Crisp white linen always works, but unfortunately I can’t say the same for the huge ostrich leather chairs which are not as comfy as they look and have arm rests too high to fit under the table.
But all that is trifling really. The service is excellent (friendly and not too formal) and only just briefly touched on overbearing on our first visit – I put this down to the restaurant being fairly empty for a Friday night – perfect on our second visit, they only have one sitting so once you book the table is yours for the whole night and the food is superb!
After ordering they serve delicious bread, of three different flavours baked into one loaf – cheddar and rosemary, mustard and onion. These come with salted, tomato and fig and date butters. It is very difficult not to fill up on the bread.
On our first visit I had duck foie gras served with caramelised pears and warm raisins while O had a warm salad of jumbo asparagus, fresh crab meat and a perfectly poached egg. I’m not normally a fan of fruit with savoury food, but the pears and even the raisins (a real no no for me) were the ideal accompaniment to the foie gras and counteracted the richness of the duck liver with a helping hand from some spiced salt served on the raisins. O’s dish was absolutely delicious. We both knew that asparagus and runny egg is a magic combination, the addition of the crab worked so well providing extra flavour and texture without removing anything from the other, more established, ingredients.
For the second course there was no question of what to have. It had to be steak. It had to be fillet and it had to be medium-rare. That’s not to say there aren’t other delightful options on the menu, if a slab of cow isn’t really your thing. There is a nice choice of fish which all sound delicious, not to mention rosemary baby chicken and a mustard encrusted rack of lamb. But! As I said, on this first visit there was absolutely no question. We ordered dauphinoise gratin, garlic mushroom and more asparagus for the side dishes and we both had the truffle cream sauce.
My steak came perfectly cooked, while O’s was a little over done. It was dealt with speedily and with subtlety, and we didn’t have to wait long until the second – better – steak was brought out. Since O had already dished out some of the sides and the sauce, we were provided with full portions of these (but not the spuds – sadly) as well. It was all phenomenal.
The deserts at this MPW are all terribly English. Off the top of my head there is bread and butter pudding, chocolate fudge cake, treacle tart, an English cheese plate and sticky toffee pudding. I seem to remember there being some kind of burnt cream thing as well, but I can’t remember exactly what it is.
I’m sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that I ordered the chocolate fudge cake. O went for the treacle tart.
While the savoury courses are portioned well, the deserts are huge. Definitely share portions. I was able to manage half… just.
On our second visit I started with potted duck. I’m generally a fan of potted meats (although since that’s such an un-appetising term I’ll stick to rillets) as long as they are done well I was exciting to try it with duck. It was ok, but not spectacular. I felt it was under-seasoned, it definitely lacked… something, but since I’m not a chef (and so probably shouldn’t comment on seasoning or much of anything) I couldn’t really tell you what that was. It was accompanied by a lovely thick marmalade which cut through the fatty-ness delightfully. O had the crab, asparagus and egg dish again and since O is the kind of person who prefers to try everything on the menu rather than stick with something he knows is good – that should really tell you something about how fantastic this starter is.
For the second course, I was very tempted to try the rosemary roast baby chicken but I stuck with what I knew was superb and had the fillet medium-rare again, with the same truffle cream sauce. O went for the rack of lamb and it was wonderful. The lamb was perfectly cooked and the crust had just the right amount of heat to enhance the flavour of the lamb without detracting or distracting in any way from it. Sides were gratin dauphinoise, triple cooked chips (not my cup of tea with steak, much prefer soft potatoes), spinach and mushrooms.
This time, O and I shared the sticky toffee pudding which was light but gluey in the way steamed puddings should be, subtle and not too sweet. Delightful.
I have to say that I think MPW is my new favourite steak restaurant. The food really is lovely, though I don’t know if the price tag is entirely justified. We are able to get a fabulous discount at another, excellent, steak restaurant that is closer to us in town which will remain our regular. That said though, I’m already thinking about when we can go to MPW again – I’m going to have the Eton Mess for dessert.
The restaurant is snuggled away in the gorgeous new Fairmont hotel (Bab Al Bahr) which sits next door to the Souq at Qaryat Al Beri (which is, in turn, next to and linked to the Shangri La). An unassuming entrance leads into a dining room that is casual, but definitely trying very hard to be so. Tables are roomy (apart from in the smoking section, although that is right by a window looking in to the kitchen so smokers aren’t treated like total pariahs) and not laden with silver, flat or glass wear and the additional decoration (small flower arrangement and a candle) are removed after ordering to make way for the freshly baked bread. Crisp white linen always works, but unfortunately I can’t say the same for the huge ostrich leather chairs which are not as comfy as they look and have arm rests too high to fit under the table.
But all that is trifling really. The service is excellent (friendly and not too formal) and only just briefly touched on overbearing on our first visit – I put this down to the restaurant being fairly empty for a Friday night – perfect on our second visit, they only have one sitting so once you book the table is yours for the whole night and the food is superb!
After ordering they serve delicious bread, of three different flavours baked into one loaf – cheddar and rosemary, mustard and onion. These come with salted, tomato and fig and date butters. It is very difficult not to fill up on the bread.
On our first visit I had duck foie gras served with caramelised pears and warm raisins while O had a warm salad of jumbo asparagus, fresh crab meat and a perfectly poached egg. I’m not normally a fan of fruit with savoury food, but the pears and even the raisins (a real no no for me) were the ideal accompaniment to the foie gras and counteracted the richness of the duck liver with a helping hand from some spiced salt served on the raisins. O’s dish was absolutely delicious. We both knew that asparagus and runny egg is a magic combination, the addition of the crab worked so well providing extra flavour and texture without removing anything from the other, more established, ingredients.
For the second course there was no question of what to have. It had to be steak. It had to be fillet and it had to be medium-rare. That’s not to say there aren’t other delightful options on the menu, if a slab of cow isn’t really your thing. There is a nice choice of fish which all sound delicious, not to mention rosemary baby chicken and a mustard encrusted rack of lamb. But! As I said, on this first visit there was absolutely no question. We ordered dauphinoise gratin, garlic mushroom and more asparagus for the side dishes and we both had the truffle cream sauce.
My steak came perfectly cooked, while O’s was a little over done. It was dealt with speedily and with subtlety, and we didn’t have to wait long until the second – better – steak was brought out. Since O had already dished out some of the sides and the sauce, we were provided with full portions of these (but not the spuds – sadly) as well. It was all phenomenal.
The deserts at this MPW are all terribly English. Off the top of my head there is bread and butter pudding, chocolate fudge cake, treacle tart, an English cheese plate and sticky toffee pudding. I seem to remember there being some kind of burnt cream thing as well, but I can’t remember exactly what it is.
I’m sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that I ordered the chocolate fudge cake. O went for the treacle tart.
While the savoury courses are portioned well, the deserts are huge. Definitely share portions. I was able to manage half… just.
On our second visit I started with potted duck. I’m generally a fan of potted meats (although since that’s such an un-appetising term I’ll stick to rillets) as long as they are done well I was exciting to try it with duck. It was ok, but not spectacular. I felt it was under-seasoned, it definitely lacked… something, but since I’m not a chef (and so probably shouldn’t comment on seasoning or much of anything) I couldn’t really tell you what that was. It was accompanied by a lovely thick marmalade which cut through the fatty-ness delightfully. O had the crab, asparagus and egg dish again and since O is the kind of person who prefers to try everything on the menu rather than stick with something he knows is good – that should really tell you something about how fantastic this starter is.
For the second course, I was very tempted to try the rosemary roast baby chicken but I stuck with what I knew was superb and had the fillet medium-rare again, with the same truffle cream sauce. O went for the rack of lamb and it was wonderful. The lamb was perfectly cooked and the crust had just the right amount of heat to enhance the flavour of the lamb without detracting or distracting in any way from it. Sides were gratin dauphinoise, triple cooked chips (not my cup of tea with steak, much prefer soft potatoes), spinach and mushrooms.
This time, O and I shared the sticky toffee pudding which was light but gluey in the way steamed puddings should be, subtle and not too sweet. Delightful.
I have to say that I think MPW is my new favourite steak restaurant. The food really is lovely, though I don’t know if the price tag is entirely justified. We are able to get a fabulous discount at another, excellent, steak restaurant that is closer to us in town which will remain our regular. That said though, I’m already thinking about when we can go to MPW again – I’m going to have the Eton Mess for dessert.
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