Steaking a claim

JW's Steakhouse
JW Marriott, Dubai

There's nothing in the world quite like a perfect steak dinner. It exudes a simple luxury that anyone with a decent frying pan and the will to spend just a little more on really good meat can experience.

It's simple, classic and, while chewing on a T-bone, one can reminicse about the days before cholesterol and saturated fat. Oh, and on occasion, a good steak dinner is the way to a man's heart.

Feeding time

My dining partner was not male, but there was plenty of machismo present during our meal at the JW Steakhouse, named in honour of the hotel chain's founder, apparently a steak man himself.

Ninety-nine per cent of the other diners were male, and the restaurant itself is built for REAL MEN. Cow horns adorn every possible item.

But the interior is really more gentlemen's club than cattlemen's club.

Deep green leather wing chairs almost beg you to sit back and light up a cigar, amid portraits of hunting dogs and champion horses.

The hushed surroundings are comfortable rather than intimidating, however, and very conducive to conversation. Something women can do just as well as men.

Nice touches

And JW's can do some things in a lady-like manner — such as the dainty little amuse-bouche of turkey, or the good sourdough bread served in a flowerpot.

But the menu is a hilariously unwieldy blackboard, with a to-the-point bill of fare: oysters, lobster, steak and potatoes.

As a starter, the ragout of mushroom and snail with a fennel biscuit looked tempting, as did the oysters Rockefeller.

But we plumped for the lump crab cake, which turned out to be a smart choice. A fist-sized patty of pure crabmeat, spiced and shallow-fried, arrived, accompanied by what was described in the menu as a lime tartare sauce. The lime didn't really make itself known, but the crab was superb, light as air and sea-sweet.

Where's the beef?

After some dithering over whether I wanted a chewy and flavourful strip steak or a ribeye, I went for the latter.

Unfortunately, being out of the Wagyu (a Japanese breed of cattle that produces intensely marbled and tasty meat), I had to make another choice, and I went for the Tasmanian ribeye.

From the accompaniments, which are pretty much restricted to potato preparations, I took the gratin, while my dining partner, who was eating honey-roasted chicken, had the garlic mash.

I also selected some asparagus with hollandaise to add some token greenery, although these were disappointingly undercooked.

The steak arrived perfectly medium-rare as requested, crusted on the outside. Sauce Bearnaise, peppercorn and two types of mustard were provided to dissolve into the flowing juices, to be mopped up by the creamy potato.

The chicken was proclaimed to be great, although tasting even the best poultry after a juicy steak is akin to eating sandpaper.

Desserts were again classics — apple pie with vanilla ice cream, cheesecake, bread pudding — but were in no way tired.

I've rarely enjoyed an apple pie so much — hand-crimped pastry with a salty edge and fluffy apples.

Nothing is worse than a too-sweet dessert, and this one lingered on the border of sweet and savoury, a real pleasure.

Checklist

Getting there: In the JW Marriott Hotel, Deira, Dubai.
Open: Noon — midnight.
Decor: Old boys' club
Seating: 80
Dress code: Smart casual
Recommended: Ribeye steak, gratin potato and apple pie.
The verdict: 4/5