Does Grove Road reimagine the classics?
The latest concept by the Bystro team, Grove Road at The Pointe West on Palm Jumeirah promises Melbourne-inspired, fresh, flavourful and fuss-free fare with full views of the world’s largest fountains. Australian owner Josh Benson named the homegrown Dubai restaurant after his childhood street and is keen to recapture that nostalgic culinary charm of his youth.
Booking is incredibly easy, and we opt to do so via WhatsApp. Efficient, and accompanied by a useful reminder to bring a jumper as the evenings are getting cooler. Arrival, as always at The Pointe, is punctuated by the fabulous views of Atlantis and a low-key, friendly welcome is very much up my street. We secure a prime table on the terrace overlooking the water, whilst admiring the casual interior and open plan kitchen. The view of the fountains is slightly obscured by a palm tree but once you’ve been in Dubai for a while, you can probably survive without any more fountains. Or perhaps I am spoilt.
Speaking of water, only an expensive imported bottle is available and two of these cost us AED50. Dubai, for the umpteenth time, please give us local water, preferably in a sustainable bottle. Restaurants that are relying on water mark ups to make a profit, are doing it wrong, and, given the crisis, there is a palpable sense that people want to use local products with a local price to match.
However, service is casually friendly to allow conversation to flow, as well as the wine. Our request for a glass of Chianti is neatly upsold into a carafe, adding to the unfussy nature of our evening. The staff is wearing masks with suitable distancing between tables, but we try to avoid touching the crumpled paper menus; have we been conditioned by the necessity of QR code menus?
Burrata served with tomato three-ways tastes as expected, but with three different flavour profiles plus a cherry-infused balsamic vinegar, it is difficult to distinguish individual flavours. I cannot criticise the generous portion size. Malaysian clams are not as generous, but made up by a delightfully salty, ginger, garlic, sticky, oyster, soy sauce that is ripe for dunking the accompanying herby toast. This also adds texture to my burrata dish and is the ideal vessel for scooping the clam sauce.
Main courses consist of a roasted lamb rack and pan fried seabass, largely selected because of the interesting accompaniments. The lamb fat is not rendered enough but the meat part is nicely pink. A side of roasted potatoes, pumpkin and onion with za’atar chimichurri sounds exciting but fails to deliver. Roasted potatoes are simply new potatoes cooked in the oven, alongside large pieces of pumpkin and a culinary scourge: a giant roasted half-onion. These charred onions look great but the slippery texture is not pleasing. As feared, the za’atar in the chimichurri is slightly overpowering and leaves the dish crying for a better sauce to marry all the components together. The seabass is pleasant enough, presented nicely, but again, would benefit from an additional sauce to make it more than just plain fish and veg on a plate.
The sticky toffee pudding for dessert is what I would expect from a gastropub, but somehow fails to deliver the ‘ooh’ that usually goes with such a dessert. Maybe the clotted cream is not the best partner and the sauce lacks the oomph required. Now, the limoncello tiramisu. Limoncello? Yes, please. Tiramisu? Absolutely. But, like many a fusion collaboration, it falls flat and leaves us wishing for one or the other. The citrus flavours are bitter and other than the presence of ladyfingers, you would never call this a tiramisu. Putting that aside, trying to taste it as a limoncello-flavoured, pot of cream and biscuits, it still falls short. To their eternal credit, the waiter notices our reticence and when we give him polite feedback, he immediately removes the dessert from our bill. A potential bad vibe smoothly negated that leaves us feeling satisfied with the overall experience.
The service and warmth of the staff are highlights of this wonderful location. The interior makes complete sense, with a clear vision and plan evident throughout the concept. Atmosphere is as good as one can get on a ‘cold’ Monday evening and is certainly accentuated by the festive parties on nearby tables. At AED265 per person based on three courses without alcohol, the price point is reasonable for a location on Palm Jumeirah and with a few tweaks and a couple of sauces, the food could be improved. More of that clam sauce on the other dishes please. And for that, it’s a reasonable three out of five FooDiva knife rating. Note that kids eat free and with generous happy hour promotions, I may well be back to order those clams again.
Grove Road assures us of reimagined yet classic gastropub fare but sometimes the classics are classics for a reason. Have you tried any successful reinventions of traditional dishes in Dubai?
Matt Broderick
Who is guest reviewer Matt? A father and husband with an obsession for French wine and food, he loves nothing more than trying new restaurants and dishes with his wife and friends. Travel plans are always made around food and he can remember what he was doing on any given day by recalling the meal that he ate. His favourite chefs at the moment are Burcu Eralp, Will Stanyer and Tommy Banks. You can follow him on Instagram @finediningmatt
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