Prime beef at Prime Gourmet?
Dubai; Now when you’re shopping around for jewellery, you don’t expect to stumble across a butchery do you? Well Dubai can finally stake claim to its first dedicated butcher shop – Prime Gourmet – located at Emaar Gold & Diamond Park. FooDiva must admit it’s been open a few months, but with all this eating out, I’ve only just had the chance to pop in. 
Australian-run, Prime Gourmet calls itself a ‘purveyor of fine quality meats’, and butchery aside, it also features a grocery and deli ‘dish of the day’ section with a handful of tables should you wish to grab a bite to eat. Just don’t expect to see carcasses hanging off fridge doors – in typical Dubai style, it’s all spotlessly clinical. Feelings divide as to whether you would prefer to purchase your meat at your favourite supermarket, or make a separate trip to a standalone, neighbourhood butcher, as many would do back in their home countries. FooDiva thinks it’s good to have the choice.
Naturally, the meat selection is very beef-centric from the Australian grain-fed Angus fillet steaks and beef burgers that FooDiva bought, to every cut of cow imaginable in wagyu, grain-fed and free-range options. But you can also buy lamb, veal and sausages (beef, lamb and chicken). The fillet grilled rare (and topped with FooDiva’s very own Café de Paris butter) was simply so succulently tender, it just melted away, giving my mashed potato a run for its money. The mini burgers were flavoursome and juicy, and most importantly tasted home-made.
Call me old-fashioned but I would have liked to see the Australian manager dishing out advice on the best cut, not that the service wasn’t up to scratch. I guess it’s all about reassurance and that personal touch. There’s plenty of herbs and meat rubs in store, as well as marinades and all sorts of condiments, but nothing you can’t get elsewhere.
Very importantly, price. Two 200g fillet steaks AED90. Four 93g mini burgers AED18.50. So dependent on what you buy, it may or may not break the bank. Good news is their website is soooo comprehensive, you can price it all up before leaving the house. Or if you’re lazy, just order in, a day in advance. AED50 delivery charge for orders under AED300. Prime Gourmet is open from Saturday to Thursday 8am to 8pm. And Friday 8am – 2pm. T: +971 4 3415445.
If you’re in need of some cooking inspiration, try this roasted rib of beef recipe from a previous FooDiva post.
A bientôt.
FooDiva. x
Just love the variety of your reviews Sam. Prime Gourmet is definitely worth a visit and we like supporting independents. We have American foodie friends who travel from Deira to buy their meat from Prime Gourmet, particularly for special occasions – they really rate it.
Thanks for inspiring posts and evocative word pictures. I’m hungry!
Tara
Great to hear they will travel across town for good meat Tara. Hopefully, with good custom, we’ll see more spring up. Thanks for continually PRing me! x
The deli bit of this shop confuses me – as you say, nothing you can’t get elsewhere. I’ll give their meat a try on your recommendation (and that of Tara’s).
Dear FooDiva –
On behalf of my fellow members at The Steak Council here in Dubai, supermarket cuts don’t even come close to what’s on offer at Prime Gourmet. And it should be that way – they specialise in meat and don’t sell detergent.
“Call me old-fashioned but I would have liked to see the Australian manager dishing out advice on the best cut.”
On my first visit to Prime Gourmet, the manager, an extremely helpful Australian chap gave me 15 minutes of his time, understanding what I wanted to do and advising the best means to achieve it. I was very impressed with the service.
My advise is to dodge the anorexic looking, greying cuts of cling film wrapped beef in your local supermarket and head to Prime Gourmet for doorstop sized, juicy, vacuum packed cuts of prime beef.
Glad to see the manager was on hand to help you out Mark. Upon reading my review, Hamish the manager has invited me back for a personal tour – now that’s what I call service.
We passed by there the other night when it was closed, we hadn’t known it existed & were wondering what it was like! Thanks for the heads up 🙂
I get all my meat from Prime Gourmet, I always had a great results with their product and don’t buy meat for my clients anywhere else.
Check out their website for home deliveries. I personally like to come in and talk meat with the head butcher though.
Couldn’t agree more Tomas. I also prefer to visit the shop direct.