READ NINETEEN'S REVIEW FROM 7 DAYS ~ 5TH JANUARY 2007

Restaurants in golf clubs are usually monuments to male, middle-class suburbia crammed full of paunch-patting middle managers dressed in bright shirts, two-tone shoes and one glove, like a gaggle of dismal Michael Jackson impersonators.

Golf�s a good game, but its image has been tarnished in the past by many of those who play it. That�s changing thanks to a new breed of younger, funkier players. And the positive changes are happening off the course too it seems, not least at Nineteen, which is one of those restaurants that should be heaving every night, but rarely is. Perhaps it�s the connotation of being a restaurant at a golf club that�s putting people off but they�re missing out - it�s a class act from the tee-off.

The sturdy, dark wood chairs and hefty tables give it the feel of upscale Manhattan and soon you forget you just spent 20 minutes driving through the set of �The Truman Show� (or The Springs, as residents call it) to try and find the place.

Our waiter was efficient, polite, able to recommend dishes - everything you expect a decent waiter to be, but often find in Dubai that they are not. There were certainly no static grins or �don�t know sirs� in lieu of useful information. He also scored bonus points for looking like Charlie from �The West Wing�.

And there�s an open kitchen. I love open kitchens, not only because they add to the atmosphere with a gentle background sizzling noise and light clang of pots, but also because it means that the cooks can�t slack off or scrimp on hygiene otherwise everyone would see.

I started with the dome of goat�s cheese with rocket salad, walnuts in oil, Java peppers and artichoke hearts and it was the size of a main course in certain other restaurants. A little leafy but it set the meal off to a flyer with thick strong cheese leading the rest of the plate in a procession of excellence. My partner struck culinary gold too with Thai spring rolls that almost redefined the standard by which spring rolls are set. They were as rich as Donald Trump, but thankfully nowhere near as greasy, and spiced to just the right level ensuring flavours complemented and didn�t compete.

The surf and turf my dinner date chose for a main course may sound like it was back onto golf club territory, but it turned out to be in name only. The surf was comprised of delicate little piles of lobster meat while the turf was a thick piece of steak that would win awards if it were served in a steakhouse. It was no one-off either, as I had beef tenderloin in red wine sauce and it was among the finest pieces of meat that I�ve ever had put in front of me. I�ve eaten Wagyu beef on several occasions, but while the famed Japanese cow would have cost the price of my entire meal (and been half the size) this was the final piece of evidence to convince me that vegetarians are not only wrong, they�re insane for not wanting a slice of this.

For dessert I had white chocolate soup with a hint of basil and caramelised pineapple chunks, which sounded like something a small child (or Willy Wonka) would create. But far from being sickly or too heavy it was mind-blowingly good and I�m not even a chocoholic. The basil worked a charm and the �soup� was so smooth I thought it was going to gently nibble my ear and invite me to a weekend in Aspen. My dining partner had the chocolate fondant with almond ice cream and vanilla pod sauce, which is like the famous wagyu steak, in that; if you cook it too little or too long you totally ruin it. We were both impressed that this was delicately firm on top and gooey but not chewy inside.

We�d just had two of the best deserts this side of the raspberry souffl� at the (mostly horrendous) Boudoir. The mains and starters had been pretty much flawless too and if Nineteen was located in Manhattan, London or Paris there would be a six week waiting list to get a table. People would name drop and casually boast that they were dining at Ninteen later in the week. I never normally name-check chefs but I�m going to make an exception here because the head chef at Nineteen is a Frenchman called Nicolas Valero and he gets it. He understands how to do food the way it should be done and although the menu has hints of Asian fusion it�s a great all-round collection of dishes that are prepared, created and served stunningly well. Try his creations before he�s poached buy one of the top eateries in Europe. It�s rarely too busy here so you can get a booking pretty easily.
Maybe the prospective diners are getting lost in The Springs or The Meadows while trying to find this place, or maybe the �golf club� preconception of greasy burgers and boring men is putting them off. But don�t let the misleading stereotype dissuade you, because this is up there with the best restaurants in Dubai.

7DAYS VERDICT ~ Quite possibly the most underrated restaurant in the city.

The price: dhs530 for three courses for two people

Reviewed by James Montague ~ 7 Days Food Critic ~ Friday, 5th January, 2007