cooking

Medzo is an Italian restaurant in the Wafi Mall which our dining companions assured us is 'The best Italian place in Dubai'. And, I have to say, I was fairly sceptical going in. The Wafi restaurants are all good enough, but, in my opinion, tend to err on the side of keeping tourist diners happy by avoiding anything too creative. On balance, Medzo avoids this trap, comes up with some delicious offerings in the process, and only makes the very tiniest of slips.

The restaurant's interior is pleasant, all beige, pink, and off white. The vestibule and long hall enhance the sense of stepping into a secure, quiet, and elegant world. The dining room is immaculate & uncluttered. The outdoor dining area is well surrounded by greenery to help isolate you from the clubby scene at other Wafi restaurants. The non-Italian concept of Oasis is much in play at Medzo.

For wine, our dining companions ordered a 2010 Banfi Chianti Superiore. I'm not a huge Chianti fan, so its not my favorite. What I did note was the flawless wine service our waiter delivered. So many staff in Dubai restaurants do not know how to perform this simple part of table service, it was truly refreshing, not a drop spilled, no bottles touching glass, each person served in the correct order. The best part was our waiter did this naturally, without awkwardness, and was entirely unobtrusive.

A Tomato crostini amuse bouche and a bread basket arrived quickly after the wine. Foccacia, chopped tomato with a dollop of goat cheese and a delicious, tiny olive punctuated this dish. Some kind of basil pesto was squirted on the plate beneath the bite, my readers know how much I hate this practice, this bit of basil oil belonged on the bite, not under it for you to discover after you have eaten it.

For appetizers, we ordered Beet parcels stuffed with goat cheese, Scallops with truffled polenta and an Asparagus soup. The beet 'ravioli' were very nice, paper thin rounds of roasted red beet stuffed with goat cheese. Tiny cubes of pear dotted the plate. These might have been better as slices, placed on top of the 'ravioli' to be eaten in a single mouthful, but still a very nice appetizer.

Seared scallops were served over a truffle polenta. The scallops were perfectly cooked and seasoned simply with salt and pepper. The polenta suffered a little from being slightly runny and I would have liked this dish to have a stronger truffle flavor. Can't argue with perfectly cooked scallops, though.

For entrees we chose the lamb butterflied and stuffed with olives over roast potato, artichoke and olives, a veal scallopine with pancetta and more of the mushroom polenta and the beef tenderloin. Aside from the slightly undercooked pancetta served with the veal, each dish was prepared and presented with care and deliciously fresh ingredients. Everyone cleaned their plates.

For dessert we had the Sorbet, two dollops each of mango and raspberry served in a silly gigantic platter, awkward, but still very tasty. The pannacotta was perhaps the only non-home run dish of the evening. There was just too much gelatin in it so the consistency was rubbery, rather than the normally smooth unctuous texture pannacotta is known for.

Go to Medzo for the service, for the ambience, for the food. Just go. It really may be the best Italian restaurant in Dubai.

$$$$ ****