If you fancy dinner that’s a bit of a deviation from the norm, try out SoHo Bar and Grill’s signature SoHo Stone. When I told friends I was going to a restaurant where I would be cooking my own dinner, I was met by quizzical looks and questions as to why I would go to a restaurant to cook my own food. “Because it’ll be fun!” I said, although I admit I wasn’t fully convinced. I consider myself a fairly competent cook so I was pretty confident I wouldn’t poison myself, but I was going to be cooking steak – and for the most part I find restaurants do a better job than I do at home of managing perfection.
SoHo Bar and Grill is a New York-style restaurant located in Dubai’s bustling Century Village in Garhoud. My dining partner and I were there to try out the restaurant’s SoHo Stone experience in which a slab of volcanic stone, heated to 400C, is brought to the table for diners to cook their meat on. From the selection of Angus steak cuts – ribeye, sirloin, fillet and centre-cut – we opted for the fillet and sides of sauteed mushrooms, straw fries and mashed potato and an accompaniment of bearnaise sauce.
Ahead of the main event, the server tied a large bib around both of our necks, which I found a little odd, as we were going to be eating steak, not dismembering a lobster. I had to wonder how much danger I might be in from this super-heated stone that was arriving imminently. Not much, I was soon to find out, so the bibs must be just a quirky touch. The hot stones were brought to the table with a (large) slab of raw meat sizzling away on each of them. The server showed us how to use the very sharp knives to slice of pieces of meat and then cook them on the stone, to our liking. I like mine medium-rare, but my first attempt left me with a rather overcooked piece of steak. My dining partner fared rather better (from France and therefore serious about his steak) and ended up with a perfectly cooked piece of meat. Cooking on the stone was certainly a novelty and made for a fun evening, but if you're not confident about cooking your own meat, the staff will do it for you. To make a reservation, call 04 286 8520 or visit www.sohogrill.ae.