New Opening
The Roaring 20s
The indelible image of the 1920s has been immortalised on the silver screen with such vivid lucidity that it’s easy to imagine days long gone. Flirtatious flapper girls with feathers poking out from bobbed hair, wearing short skirts and strings of pearls, sultrily smoking from elongated cigarette holders. Dapper dandies in tuxedos and spats sipping on bootleg gin in fashionable jazz bars. It’s equally easy to make assumptions about a restaurant evocatively entitled The Roaring 20s – and brave for the restaurateur not to crumple to such clichés.
Upon our entry we were expecting to hear the Charleston but instead ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ danced from the stereo with just the waitresses’ clip-clop pacing to break up the song’s soft focus. The casual interior offers subtle details dedicated to the decade – posters depicting elegantly attired women, art deco candelabras, a copy of The Times from November 1920 pinned up in the toilets, and a saxophone standing silently on a small stage. The waitresses also wore flamboyant red feathers in their hair – the only submission to period style in their otherwise drab uniforms.
The menu, however, grabbed the reckless indulgence of the era with both hands with a small list of decadent dishes. We snapped up the moules marinières – a huge bowl overflowing with meaty mussels swimming in a subtle, creamy sauce. We also chose a quartet of plump mushrooms oozing oil and embraced by a mound of strong, melted blue cheese – which despite their size, begged to be popped into the mouth in one greedy go.
My catch of the day – a steaming sea bass served whole – came complete with crunchy skin and a belly stuffed with aromatic herbs, enhancing the meaty flesh that fell away from the bones with ease. The accompanying potato with its buttery exterior was deliciously cholesterol- inducing and the salad was a lightly- dressed complement. Just as satisfying was my friend’s fist of tenderloin steak. The seared meat with full-bloodied flavour was served medium rare with chunky glazed carrots and vibrant green sugar snaps. A small jug of mushroom sauce was a freshly made addition, but the creamed spinach side dish proved a little too runny.
The dense mousse au chocolat topped with rich chocolate ice cream upped the stakes on the decadence scale – a dish so indulgent it felt like it needed to be your birthday to warrant even a single spoonful (not that we stopped after one bite). The tart of the day was also a treat – a freshly baked apple pudding with crumbly pastry and moist fruit that avoided sogginess, finished off with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
The rebellious spirit of the ’20s is reflected in the loose abandonment given to diners’ unavoidably expanding waistlines eating here, while the frivolousness of the era seems reflected in the prices – perfectly good value for the quality ingredients used, but a bit steep considering the stark surroundings of the Green Community ghost town.
The polite and friendly staff, who currently outnumber diners embarrassingly, also need more training – particularly on the menu. But while it must have been tempting to turn The Roaring 20s into an over-the-top themed restaurant, the owners have thankfully showed considerable restraint – relying on the quality of their food to reflect the decadence of the Jazz Age rather than a tacky soundtrack and fancy dress. Echoing the era’s prohibition, the place (like the rest of the Green Community) is not allowed to serve alcohol at the moment, but the licence is due in about a month that will boost the appeal of the place yet further. We just hope that this combined with R20s’ gastronomic diligence will result in a well-deserved capacity crowd soon.
The Roaring 20s, Green Community (04 885 1010). Taxi: The Green Community. Open 12 noon-3pm, 7pm-11pm daily. All major credit cards accepted.
The bill (for two)
2x mocktails Dhs50Blue cheese with mushrooms Dhs35
Moules marinières Dhs45
Steak Dhs95 Catch of the day Dhs75
Creamed spinach Dhs20
Tart of the day Dhs40
Mousse au chocolat Dhs40
Voss water Dhs25
Total (excluding service) Dhs425