In Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, the number of steakhouses for a special evening or casual dinners with friends are far and few but The Grill at Marriot Al Forsan certainly stands out. We had the pleasure of spending our anniversary dinner at this venue and we were not disappointed.
Boasting a welcoming ambience with modern décor chic lighting, the atmosphere was relaxed and warm. We were seated with a big smile from the hostess and was promptly attended to by our server. As we opened this massive maze of a menu, the chef was kind enough to come by and walk us through their concept and his signatures dishes.
We started with two shareable appetizers. The Oyster Rockefeller were baked with a rich sauce of butter herbs, and topped with a layer of Béchamel sauce. They were served at the perfect temperature with an influx of flavours from the sauce and the herbs. It comes with 6 pieces and decently priced at 132AED (net).
Next, we were recommended to try one of the chef’s signature dishes – Foie Gras Terrine (132AED net). Note that this dish has traces of alcohol and nuts in it but it is clearly noted on the menu. The plating was quite nice as it comes in 3 pieces of foie gras, all large enough to share so you can try all of them. Each piece had a different garnishing and sauce so I recommend you to try all 3 to see which one you favour. The foie gras was served with small slices of bread for you to balance the heavy taste. This was simply delicious, to the point we wanted to order another plate but knowing we had our main courses being prepared in their open-view kitchen, we resisted.
Their open-view kitchen is a fantastic concept where you can view their live charcoal grill and the sizzling steaks in all its glory, which brings us to the main courses. The Grill is a steakhouse and by definition, they pride in the quality of their cuts. Not only is their quality at a very high level but the size of the cuts is massive!
The chef recommended us to try whole tenderloin (600g, priced at 646AED net) which serves 2 people (but to be honest, I think it could possibly serve 3 unless you’re very hungry). Their signature tenderloin is grilled in the kitchen but finished at your table. What I mean by that is they start grilling the tenderloin in the kitchen to give it the nice charcoal lines with a bit of crisp. It should be cooked to approximately rare. The chef will then bring a small grill on a cart to your table and finish the steak on the spot. It’s a great experience to see the chef work his magic with their in-house Robespierre specialty sauce right in front of you. By the time the steak is beautifully plated, it is served at medium-rare and cut into 6 pieces – fairly easy to share at the table. It is then garnished with some rocket leaves and bread.
Be sure to act quick and remove the steak off the hotplate as the meat tends to stick to the surface if it is left on it for too long (we were victims of this but nonetheless, it did not affect the flavour or the texture of the steak). The tenderness is absolutely perfect with the tenderloin cut just melting in your mouth. The Robespierre sauce is not overpowering the natural flavour of the meat but is almost a sidekick that brings out the best of the cut. We thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful main course with some wine (which was also recommended by the staff).
If you are ever in a position of indecision at The Grill, speak to the chef and get a recommendation. If that is not an option, order the tenderloin and you will not regret it!
Cheers,
Dot
