Dinner with...Girl & the Goose - Restaurante Centroamericano

From a humble living room to a sprawling tribute to Central America…

“Welcome home,” says Chef Gabriela Chamorro, her smile bright. She flourishes tight, uninhibited hugs, and her excitement to serve is palpable.

We’re stood inside Girl & the Goose – Restaurante Centroamericano, her lifelong dream, a whispered prayer finally come true. The venue opened  just this past Friday and it’s already packed. The full tables, the low, gentle din of conversation and the simmering hum of music fills me with joy, for I was there when this was all but one dining table, brought to life back in 2019.

Ambiance

Girl & the Goose is designed to reflect and celebrate rich cultural heritage and regional influences. The entrance, a terracotta doorstep, awning and door frame of a home with Spanish and Mesoamerican colonial influences, will tell you at first glance.

“At the supper club, it was all about making people feel at home,” says Chef, as she walks us through the space. “This is something I wanted to bring back here, a cosy place that reminds me of the humble houses that I grew up in.

Inside, that feeling is made deeper and more nostalgic with the open kitchen, where diners will be able to see Chef prepare dishes and interact with her, a warm echo of her supper club evenings, the rust red furniture, the veranda-style balcony, the traditional arches, the rattan touches, the corners of artefacts.

With a spring in her step, she leads me to the private dining room, where the elements of the origins now live – the communal dining table, and the iconic artwork that hung on her wall and made the backdrop of all the supper club group photos.

“For me, it’s been a very humbling experience, because out there in Dubai, there are so many restaurants but people still choose to come home and spend an evening with us and that’s absolutely powerful. This is one of the reasons why I chose to bring this table and this painting here. For us, this painting is a symbol of resilience, change and the remarkable power of community.”

Food

“Girl & the Goose is a modern take on Central American food,” explains Chef Gabi of the food. “I take timeless traditional recipes from our region and I pair them with inspirations from my travels around the world, for something new and special.”

The starters come as the flautas de pato (Dhs81) and the nacatamal de pollo (Dhs61). The flautas, crispy rolled tortillas filled with shredded duck confit and salsa negra, offer a snap and a crunch, smoky fat from the duck and a smooth sauce that steals the show – tart, sweet and spicy, like tamarind. The nacatamal is a traditional dish of masa corn dough filled with chicken, olives, rice and dates, and slow cooked in a banana leaf, warm and subtle with that telltale density of corn.

The goat cheese and caramelised onion pastelitos (Dhs53) are little chewy Nicaraguan empanadas, a hint of sweet complimenting the salt of the cheese. The falta de ternera asada (Dhs83), Costa Rican tacos, feature grilled strips of insanely flavourful steak, with that sweet and smoky signature of slow cooking, and herby heat from the chimichurri and the gochujang chili mayo – a bodied bite.

For the mains, the lemongrass Omani cod (Dhs137) is the highlight – fresh fish lashed with the lemon-ginger-heat trifecta of lemongrass chilli oil, slightly floral and sweet from the corn espuma foam. This dish is light, floats on your palate, as opposed to the heavier, saltier, more intense entrées.

At the end of the meal, we’re handed little cards with whimsical pictures of inviting desserts printed on them. My partner chooses the fiesta cake, a bomb of bitter chocolate served with crispy fried plantains and I choose the horchata tres leches, milky, sweet and deeply comforting, with cinnamon and lemon curd.

While transformed, the food never strays too far from it’s Mesoamerican roots, bringing a group of cuisines seldom touched here in Dubai. It stays true to the celebration of storytelling, community and the tradition of shared meals, a vital part of Central American hospitality.

Girl & the Goose – Restaurante Centroamericano, Anantara Downtown, opening Fri, March 7, daily, 12pm to 1am, Tel: (0) 52 772 9888, @girl.and.the.goose

Images: Supplied