Restaurant review: Reform Social & Grill Dubai

How does the gastropub phenomenon translate to the Middle East? We taste-test the capital's new Reform Social & Grill.

The Reform Social & Grill Dubai in The Lakes is based on a sister venue of the same name in London. Antonie Robertson / The National

The gastropub has become the subject of much hand-wringing in recent years across the United Kingdom. You can sympathise with the detractors who argue that the middle-class trend is at the detriment of the traditionally working-class, spit-and-sawdust pubs that have long characterised the country’s streets. But if you’re heading out for a proper, sophisticated meal, beyond some cheap grub, to accompany your liquid refreshment, the gastropub trumps the humble pub almost every time. So how, then, does the phenomenon translate to the Middle East?

A true British pedigree is present and correct at Reform Social & Grill Dubai, which is based on a sister venue of the same name in the affluent Marylebone area of London. Its head chef in Dubai, Ryan Waddell, is a veteran of the acclaimed English restaurants The Canbury Arms and Hoxton Grill.

And the British aura is built from the feet up, thanks to the location inside The Lakes’s gated, family-friendly community – on the end of a low-rise block that also features a handful of shops and is reminiscent of a provincial UK high street. The outdoor beer garden and a selection of English voices behind the bar heighten that impression.

From the starters, the leek and goat’s cheese pudding – a slight misnomer – was a perfect example of the gastropub modus operandi, with an attractively crafted vegetable-and-dairy turret atop a bed of pickled beetroot, carrot, rocket and walnuts. The honey-mustard ribs were somewhat simpler, but the satisfying slab of meat and bones, which was mounted on a long board with coleslaw accompaniment, was no less laudable for it.

Indian food has long been vying for the title of Britain’s most popular cuisine, which made the pumpkin and mushroom masala catch our eye. A hearty level of spice, which occasionally made itself known at the back of the throat, lurked pleasingly among the chunky curry. It seemed remiss, meanwhile, not to test out the “grill” element of Reform’s moniker. The 300g Stockyard Angus sirloin didn’t disappoint – at Dh250, you wouldn’t expect it to – although it arrived closer to medium than the requested medium-rare.

There’s plenty of after-dinner debate to be had over the puddings and dessert menu – chiefly, how exactly does one classify which dishes fall into the former or latter category? But after parking that particular discussion, we kept things quintessentially English with the Eton mess (misspelt, presumably unintentionally, as “Eaton mess” on the menu). The mass of red berries and meringue, slathered in mascarpone, was sufficiently splendid on the tongue to almost convince us that it was a healthy conclusion to the meal – it counts as one of our five a day, surely?

There were no such box-ticking possibilities with the sticky toffee pudding, which automatically comes with custard but was kindly substituted for ice cream at no extra charge. We were also served up a free side jug of some of the finest vanilla custard known to man, which we asked for after noting that the menu generously stated, in anti-Oliver Twist-style, “please don’t be afraid to ask for more”.

The service was affable, although we counted at least three or four different waiters frequenting our table, making it more of a culinary speed-dating experience than a personal one. Not that it’s a deal-breaker at Reform, where the “social” side of its name seemed to be going down a storm, too, with a bustling expat crowd that only thinned out near to closing time. Reform, it seems, has relocated the gastropub format with almost flawless success.

• A meal for two at Reform Social & Grill, The Lakes, Dubai, costs Dh625. For reservations, call 04 454 2638. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and conducted incognito