Pithivier of Quail
by Everett Hutt
September 29, 2008
VERRE BY GORDON RAMSAY
Hilton Dubai Creek
Beniyas Rd
Dubai, UAE
+971 4 212 7551
As a rule, I have tried to stay away from the celebrity chefs’ gastro-chain restaurants. Why eat at Guy Savoy in Las Vegas, when you can eat at the original in Paris? (Of course, I have an advantage since I live in Paris.) The top Parisian chefs still spend much of their time at their lead — often eponymous — restaurants.
To be fair, I have eaten at two of Joel Robuchon’s Atelier restaurants with great success. The Atelier Joel Robuchon in Paris is always packed and recently got its second star from Michelin. The few times I have managed to get in (often there is a two-hour wait at this no-reservation restaurant), I have been very impressed, not just with the food, but also with the wine and service. I have also been to the Atelier in New York, which was equally successful, both in terms of food and service.
But for the most part, my few forays into these gastro-chains have been disappointments. I recall an awful dinner at Spago in The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace Las Vegas back in 2004. The food was overcooked and largely tasteless, and the service was hurried. Worst of all were the ridiculously high prices on the wine list. Fortunately, the Elton John Red Piano concert I saw just after saved the day, much to my surprise as I had thought Spago would be the highlight and Elton a disappointment.
In late 2005, I ate at the now defunct Savoy Grill in London. (The Savoy hotel closed in December 2007 for a multi-year, multi-million dollar makeover.) The restaurant was part of Gordon Ramsay’s empire, and the best I can say is that I hope the Savoy does not renew the contract.
Thus, it was with a bit of trepidation that I accepted the advice of a friend to try Verre by Gordon Ramsay in Dubai. I was there for the first time and had one last evening before boarding my flight back to Paris. I came away from the restaurant with mixed feelings but a better insight into what can make gastro-chain restaurants work or not.
Let’s start with the highlights: the service and the wine. The service ranked right up there with top restaurants. Clearly the head waiter and sommelier had taken the time to instruct the extremely helpful local staff on the techniques expected at a Western style restaurant of this level.
Much to my surprise, the wine list was excellent. It offered a diverse selection that was not off-the-charts expensive. Sure, if you wanted a top growth Bordeaux, you would pay dearly, but there were very reasonable selections from many new world markets. Upon the advice of the sommelier, I decided to splurge. I selected a top Pinot Noir from New Zealand. The 2006 Marlborough by Villa Maria was a great value at $102. The wine had a lovely bold nose of fresh ripe sweet cherries, but it was surprisingly supple and mellow on taste. For such a young wine, I have rarely seen such smoothness.
The food unfortunately was mostly disappointing. To start, I had a pithivier of quail with forest mushrooms and spinach. Many people do not like quail as it can be too gamy, but this was exactly the opposite. It was so bland as to cause me not to know what I was eating. Ironically, the quail sauce was stunningly seasoned and tasty. It brought the quail, and vegetables, to life, but there was very little of it.
The main dish had a different set of problems. I chose the overly complex-sounding fillet of sea bass with sea scallops, potatoes, red cabbage, white asparagus, creamed morel mushrooms and civet sauce. As I should have suspected from the list of ingredients, the dish did not hang together. Parts of it were quite tasty, like the red cabbage with the civet sauce, but I just could not understand what combination of textures and flavors Ramsay wanted to achieve. Of course it did not help that the sea bass was served too cold and that the scallops were overcooked.
The amuse bouche — two types of overly strong liver pâté — and finishing petit fours — sweet cakes — only confirmed my overall impression. Ramsay had clearly developed or overseen the menu, but the kitchen staff was not strong enough to pull it off. I could imagine, for example, the main course fusing together with a defter hand in the kitchen.
And so my take-away from these gastro-chains is that you can get the service, the décor and the wine list correct. But if these great chefs really want to provide the top level cooking that they are renowned for, they themselves need to spend some significant (or at least more) time in the kitchen. Otherwise, what you get will be too inconsistent.
Clearly Joel Robuchon has learned this lesson, but Ramsay appears not to have. He recently opened a new restaurant just outside of Paris. Reviews and my friends have panned it. I do not think I will be going. Two Ramsay gastro-chain experiences are enough.
