The restaurant is located in The Monarch, Dubai.
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Understated but highly detailed, the interiors of Ruth’s Chris Steak House complement the cuisine without drawing too much attention away from it, says Selina Denman
Reviews of the recently-launched Ruth’s Chris Steak House barely mention its interiors. The awkward sounding name is always commented upon; its impressive location within The Monarch Hotel, No.1 Sheikh Zayed Road, is often alluded to; and the lean, juicy steaks that are Ruth’s Chris’ specialty are eulogised at length. Its interiors, however, receive limited attention.
That, explained Gavin Mackenzie, senior design manager of Outcast, the Dubai-based firm responsible for the art deco-inspired interiors, was the point. The design is meant to act as an accompaniment to the food, rather than a distraction away from it. “Reviews don’t mention the design, which means we have answered the brief,” Mackenzie said. “The aim was to create an ambience that brings people back – because it complements what the client is trying to achieve.
“Design with no purpose is just called art. As a designer you have to make something that works. The whole point of interior design in a restaurant is that you are part of a wider frame. And in this case, the whole thing works. The restaurant will be very successful not just because of the food or the design but because if the whole environment and atmosphere,” Mackenzie continued.
Protein and starch
Currently the largest fine-dining company in the US, Ruth’s Chris Steak House is already present in some 129 locations across the globe. The slightly odd sounding name is explained thus: there was a Chris Steak House. Ruth took it over but then it burnt down. The original contract didn’t allow for the opening of another Chris Steak House on a different site, so Ruth’s Chris was born in New Orleans in 1965.
“The concept is old guard steak house – your protein and starch concept,” explained Daniel Clayton, general manager of the new Dubai restaurant. Because it is not what the local market would traditionally term as ‘fine dining’, Ruth’s Chris Steak House has positioned itself as a ‘premium dining’ establishment, intent on carving a niche for itself at the high end of the market by offering quality cuisine and prices to match. The restaurant’s UPS is the finest USDA prime steak, prepared in a very precise fashion – broiled at 1,800ºF on trademark Montague grills, and then served on plates that are warmed to 500ºF.
Perhaps surprisingly, dealing with an established brand with a strong existing identity impacted only slightly on the design of the Dubai branch, according to Justin Penketh, managing director of Outcast. Even though the restaurant is part of a wider franchise, there were only a few ground rules that had to be followed. In keeping with the focus on good food, table sizes were pre-ordained and strict guidelines were set down for the design of the kitchen. “There was no flexibility with the kitchen – that’s where the franchise element came in,” noted Mackenzie.
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“There were certain things that were set. For example, you are always met at a reception and shown to your table, so we had to incorporate that into the design,” he added.
“We are a family of restaurants and each one is different,” Clayton pointed out. There was recognition at all levels that a formula that might have proven successful in the US might not translate comfortably in the UAE. “We had to Dubai-ise it; to bling it up,” he joked.
Bar none
Isolated incidents of ‘bling’ reoccur throughout the space, most notably in the bar area, where a sense of self confident, old-school glamour presides. One whole wall is adorned in black leather; marble coats the bar’s surface and upstands; red, crocodile leather bar stools and lounge seats inject a vibrant splash of colour; and wooden flooring reinforces the comfortable, all-encompassing nature of the space. “One of my joys is designing bars,” Mackenzie admitted. “This is where the glitz and glamour come in, but in a small area. It is moody, cosy and secluded, like a dining room in Paris.”
The restaurant’s location in a shariah-compliant hotel dictated that the bar would act only as a holding area, rather than a fully-fledged attraction in its own right. This presented a design challenge that Outcast was able to overcome by creating an intimate pocket nestled inconspicuously into one corner.
“We created a space that was not immediately visible to people dining in the restaurant or even walking past. It is actually possible to have a meal in the restaurant and leave without even noticing the bar – which was quite a design challenge,” Penketh said.
Overtones of glamour are also inherent in the elaborate crystal chandeliers that tumble elegantly from the ceilings elsewhere in the restaurant. “Again,
we wanted to bring in a bit of glitz
and glamour, and the lighting and crystals are part of that. Everything else is pretty angular and straightforward,” commented Mackenzie.
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Does anyone have a phone/ email/website contact for Gavin and justin at Outcast? thanks