Premium steakhouses, on a whole, are as interchangeable as an aging European DJ’s set-list at a regional music festival. Night after night, the most recognizable names serve up the same cuts, but as comforting as a fillet mignon or a New York strip can be, it’s hard not to feel that we’re going through the motions, stuck on the notion that only a few specific cuts are premium, and every other part of the animal is to be discarded as refuse, or ground up into a hot dog.
If that’s your view of things, don’t tell traditional Italian butcher Dario Cecchini, whose newly opened restaurant Carna, located on the 74th floor of SLS Dubai Hotel & Residences, strongly embraces the ethos that he and his family have passed down for eight generations—that there are no premium cuts of meat, and each part of the animal has its place at the center of a dish.
In the world of food, we’ve lost more than we’ve gained. The art of properly preparing beef heart or sweetbreads is one rooted in traditions that many cuisines have left in their past, something Ceccini’s newest spot revives with aplomb. On the menu at Carna, look past the ribeye and the striploin (as good as they are) and take a chance on the Il Bollito Di Dario, a dish composed of slow-cooked veal tongue, beef cheek, ox tail and veal belly. If you are tempted by the Kiwami Tomahawk, and we can’t blame you, be sure to get a grilled tail or roasted bone marrow on the side. It’s there you’ll find textures and flavours that will show you there’s still more to explore in the world of meat than you may have realized—and have you coming back to explore the unfamiliar corners of this diversely-curated menu.
Carna, SLS Hotel Dubai, 7pm to midnight. Tel: +971 4 607 0737
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