Forget about what you think you know about 49ers, The Gold Rush and give the steakhouse and Wild West-themed bar a chance. It has recently moved to a new home, outside Le Méridien Abu Dhabi, meaning one of the capital’s oldest hangouts has moved to one of the original chain hotels.
Like anywhere that’s been open 25 years, the original incarnation had built up a reputation, but with a new location comes a new atmosphere, layout and look. What hasn’t changed are the good value food, drinks and commitment to providing entertainment every night.
The first thing we notice is the room is huge, with a long bar area running along the right-hand side, a more formal dining area along the left and a big space filled with high tables in the centre. At the end of the room is an open kitchen (there’s plenty of smoke coming from the grills), a stage and a big screen showing football. There are more screens dotted around, too.
The menu will be familiar to anyone who’s been before. For those not in the know, there’s a bunch of Tex-Mex style starters, steaks, burgers, chicken and seafood main courses and salads and pastas (but we can’t imagine may people are here for the last couple of sections).
We’re here for the deep-fried stuff and some meat. It’s midweek, around 7pm and the place is filling up nicely, especially as it’s somewhere that tends to get busier later in the evening.
Mac and cheese bites are perfect. Crispy and filled with a rich cheesey, carby mixture, hot enough to burn your tongue and totally delicious. The dynamite prawns we get alongside probably aren’t traditional saloon fare, but we’re happy with the crunchy coating and meaty shellfish.
Mains of a T-bone steak and a fillet are good, if not excellent. The T-bone is the tastier of the two, but given the bone and the fat that was always going to be the case. But there are a few chewy bits and it’s not cooked evenly throughout. The tenderloin’s cooking is much better and the melting butter over the top adds taste. There are good chips and sauce on the side. We’re happy.
Good value, good fun and good food. We’ll be back.
