Dubai Restaurant Review: Spike Bar, Emirates Golf Club

In a nutshell: very good food but disappointing layout of restaurant and lack of service.

4/5

I was really looking forward to visiting the newly refurbished Emirates Golf Club clubhouse but was left sadly disappointed. The quality of the work was of an excellent standard but the whole 'modern-minimimalist-open spaces' design left Simon and I cold - literally as well as metaphorically. The food that was served was very good but the service was not the greatest - it looked like there was garlic on my salad and I asked the waiter to check with the chef...he never bothered to come back. After a lot of sniffing I finally decided it was garlic-free and safe to eat. I would go back since the meal itself was good and not too expensive but I had high hopes that this would knock the socks off our experience at Lake View, Dubai Creek Club - sadly it didn't.

Downstairs from the entrance, you arrive into a huge echo-y empty area where tables from outside had been set up to cope with the high number of guests. It was a very dusty day so a lot of people didn't want to sit outside, however the automatic sliding doors to go outside kept opening to let all the dust and wind into the building. If you're going to spend millions on a refurb, surely you would put in double doors to prevent sand blowing in and to keep the heat of summer out? The interior of the Spike Bar didn't look very much different to previously: small, dark and cramped. The area we sat in the 'lobby' could have easily been incorporated into the Spike Bar to double its size instead of creating an empty space which seemed such a waste. The lobby area had no curtains, carpets or pictures to absorb sound so it was noisy and was also quite cold with the AC - when we got home Simon actually put a jumper on to warm himself up! The strangest thing I found was that the ladies' toilets were down the service corridor past the kitchen and stores - very weird indeed. It is really such a shame, I'm just happy I'm not a member thinking about how my extortionate annual membership has been wasted.

As I mentioned above, the food itself was well-presented and very flavoursome. My prawn salad had an interesting mix of lettuce leaves, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber and a generous number of prawns. Simon's club sandwich was fairly standard but tasty none-the-less. Our friends had a Murgh Tikka and Pad Thai. The chicken tikka was nicely presented with rice, naan bread, a poppadum and some pickled vegetables - although Louissa would have liked it to be a little more spicy than it was. The pad thai looked delicious with lots of fresh vegetables, noodles, chicken, prawns, tofu and egg - I think that is what I will order on any future visit. Although my salad was more than sufficient for a main course, it did leave me with enough room for dessert...luckily because the fruit pavlova really was fantastic. The meringue was crispy on the outside and soft and chewy inside, just as it should be. In terms of value for money, the ECG Spike Bar is a definite winner with all our dishes in the Dhs 55-65 range so it is certainly worth a visit.

Our next visit will be to Le Classique, ECG's fine dining restaurant, as this has always ranked as my favourite restaurant in Dubai. We had a quick look at the new menu and were shocked to see that the prices seem about 50% higher than in the past, so I think that will have to be a special occasion visit and I'll have my fingers crossed that the food is still as amazing as it used to be.

Dubai Restaurant Review: Biella, Times Square - Take 2

In a nutshell: friendly service, good food and reasonably priced.

4/5

My last visit to Biella was a total disaster but as I said in that posting: stick to the Italian basics or the salmon and the experience should be a lot better. On this visit, that is what we did. I had the salmon that I have had countless times before and Simon had the spaghetti bolognese - verdict: lovely lunch.

Our waitress was a trainee but she was clearly getting good training as she understood the menu, was friendly and efficient. In the past the grilled salmon was served with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables and I would always substitute those for chips and salad, but the new menu serves the fish only with a fennel salad and a salsa. After requesting the waitress to substitute my usual side dishes, she spoke to a more senior waiter who then got the manager to come and speak to me. I was advised that they would have to charge extra for the chips, which I was fine with but I asked that I only get a small side portion - not a huge plate of chips - and that is what they did, charging me just Dhs 9 for a half portion of chips. It was all handled politely and professionally.

The salmon (Dhs 73) was perfectly grilled and bone free, the fennel salad was mainly just mixed lettuce leaves with some slices of fennel on top but it was very flavoursome - chips or rice was definitely needed though or it wouldn't have been filling enough for lunch. Actually, I had wanted to have the lemon creme brulee for dessert but was too full to face it so maybe skipping the chips would have been better! Creme brulee is dairy though (which I am meant to avoid) so I suppose I was saved from my own temptations. Simon's spaghetti bolognese (Dhs 60) was just the right size; sometimes spaghetti portions can be quite over-facing. He enjoyed it but then, unless poor quality mince is used, it would hard to go wrong with such a basic dish.

This visit redeemed Biella in my eyes, although I will continue to have the salmon every time since I know that this will suit me exactly. Hopefully next time I'll have enough room for that delicious lemon creme brulee...

Dubai Restaurant Review: Cafe Havana, Dubai Mall

In a nutshell: Great location, excellent food and fantastic prices
4/5



The Mall of the Emirates branch of Cafe Havana was one of my first reviews on Bon Appetit and I was pleased to find I rate it as highly now as I did then. The Dubai Mall branch sits at the far end of the Dubai Fountain lake so you get a great view of the water and the Burj Khalifa - it's a little far to clearly see the fountain display although it is still visible and the accompanying music is clearly audible. Their outside area is huge and they have split it with smoking and non-smoking sections which I loved since so often outside areas are smoking zones and that can ruin the experience for me. The only problem with such a big area is that it can make getting a waiter's attention a little more difficult. Although the staff were friendly they just aren't at the same standard as Japengo's (I ordered a water that never came and our waitress didn't seem to know the menu that well), hence the one point difference between these two chains.



Simon ordered chicken fajitas (only Dhs 42) and they came beautifully presented with the chicken mix sizzling on a platter and the guacamole, tomato salsa and sour cream served in small pots for you to mix as you prefer. There were only 2 tortillas (not many but I presume we could have asked for more) and a portion of rice - Simon actually found this a really nice way to serve it since it meant he could have his tortillas but then mix the remaining chicken and sauce into the rice. His verdict on the flavour: delicious.



I must admit that Cafe Havana's seabass with mango salsa (Dhs 60) is my new favourite meal when I'm at a mall and want a guaranteed great dish - the Dubai Mall lunch was actually my 3rd time to have this! My first taste was at the Cafe Havana in the Umm Suqeim Spinneys mall just before Christmas and it blew me away (I didn't do a posting on it since I didn't have my camera with me) and my second was a week later at the Mall of the Emirates branch. So this was my 3rd time in just over a month, which says something about the flavours. The mango salsa is a mixture of mango (of course), tomato, onion and spices cooked together to give a slightly sharp flavour that goes perfectly with the fish. It seems that each branch makes theirs slightly differently and so far the Spinneys branch one comes out the best as it had a strong ginger flavour that I loved. The fish is pan-fried but next time I have it (since I'm sure there will be a next time) I'll ask them to grill it instead since I found the Dubai Mall one, whilst still fantastic, was a little too greasy. The official accompaniments are rice and garlic mashed potato but every time I have it I substitute those for chips and salad (counter-balances the chips!) and there has never been an issue with swapping.



Last night I made my own mango salsa to have with our Nile Perch - it was tasty but needs a few more tries to get just right I think. Maybe I need to speak to the chef at the Spinneys branch to see if he'll share his recipe with me!

Dubai Restaurant Review: Bocadillo, Dubai Mall

In a nutshell: very friendly service, good food and great price!

4/5

On our recce of the Dubai Mall's 2nd floor food court, my Mum and I stopped to look at Bocadillo's menu and told the welcoming hostess that we might come back. Recce complete, we decided that Bocadillo would fit the bill and on our return the hostess smiled broadly and said, "Welcome back!" Yes, we had just spoken to her 3 minutes earlier so she would have been unlikely to forget us, but not all restaurant staff would actually make the effort to acknowledge the previous interaction.

Although located in the food court, Bocadillo is not a fast food restaurant along the lines of Pizza Hut, Hardees or one of the many outlets selling food from bain-maries. The menu is Spanish-focused with hints of Italy and it offers various tapas, salads, sandwiches, wraps and baked potatoes. There are surprisingly few restaurants that sell baked potatoes and it was this that attracted us to Bocadillo. I ordered a potato with tuna & sweetcorn mayonnaise and Mum had a potato with butter and sweetcorn. I was a little worried that we might get one of those awful blackened potatoes that have been sat in a warming oven for hours on end, but luckily our potatoes were fresh and there was a generous amount of filling with a simple side salad. I had requested minimal mayonnaise with my tuna and no pepper (of course!) and that had been followed exactly so a thumbs up there.

I had seen jars of nutella as we walked into the restaurant and sure enough, crepes were on the menu (savoury as well as sweet). I talked Mum into sharing a nutella crepe with me and it was delicious. In my eagerness to tuck into this sweet delight, though, I forgot to take a photo! Buying a nutella crepe from a road-side vendor is one of my favourite things to do any time I'm in France and although this crepe was a little thicker than a French one would be, it was still the perfect end to a great simple lunch.

My biggest surprise of the day came when I got the bill - just Dhs 100 for both of us and we had had drinks as well as the potatoes and shared dessert. This is definitely where I'll be eating next time I'm at Dubai Mall and just want a straight-forward lunch that's light on the pocket.

Dubai Restaurant Review: North Pool Bar and Bussola, Westin Hotel

North Pool Bar: lovely location by the beach, friendly service and very nice food.

4/5

Bussola: ridiculous lunch-time prices and poor service.

Avoid this one based on the bad service alone!

My last visit to the Meridien Mina Siyahi complex was a fairly mixed experience but it does provide a good value 'holiday' day, which is just what Simon and I were looking for after the Christmas madness. On this visit we stayed away from the pool where Simon's mother was attacked by a crow last time and planted ourselves firmly by the sea. As the Meridien side of the resort only offers the Horizon pool bar where Kath and I had eaten, we decided to head over to the Westin side for our lunch and see what they had to offer.

Our first stop was Bussola as we had an Entertainer voucher (buy 1 get 1 free) but after sitting down and ordering drinks, we decided to move to the North Pool Bar instead. Bussola operates a strange 2 floor system with only pizzas being served upstairs and only fine dining served downstairs, we had come for dinner once and sat downstairs - some of our party wanted pizza but we were told that was absolutely not allowed! They must use the same kitchen so we thought the attitude was ridiculous, especially as the staff were particularly condescending and unfriendly. Sadly we didn't have a better experience this time. The upstairs was closed so we presumed this meant everything would be available on the downstairs terrace...wrong. Who wants to eat a fine-dining lunch sitting in their swimming costume and pay Dhs 150 or more for it? Initially I thought I'd have a Dhs 70 caprese salad but when I checked, I was told that it was a starter portion and so not enough for a main course. Not only was the entire concept ridiculous for a lunchtime, beach-front restaurant but the staff were very much on their high horses and clearly thought that if you weren't happy to pay over the odds for lunch then you shouldn't bother being there.

Our move to the North Pool Bar was a breath of fresh air as we were warmly welcomed and handed our menus. Prices are still high at around Dhs 70 just for a sandwich and I felt really sorry for all the hotel guests with so little choice of lunch restaurants on-site and such high prices. After my disappointing panini at Carluccio's last week, I thought I'd try again in my search for a mouth-watering tomato and mozarella panini. This time I got what I would call a 'real' panini and it was delicious - a bit soggy at the end that had been enclosed in the cardboard sleeve so not perfect, but still very good. My only small issue was that the chips had a slightly strange taste, perhaps from the oil they had been fried in, so I didn't eat too many of them - a good thing really since I had eaten a fair amount of bread! Simon's club sandwich was excellent and had been cut into small sections similar to Madeleine Cafe, it seems this is the new very useful style for presenting sandwiches.

All in all we had a lovely day but the Bussola experience was very disappointing; they could certainly learn a thing or two about good guest service from the North Pool Bar staff!

Dubai Restaurant Review: Sezzam, Mall of the Emirates

In a nutshell: great view onto Ski Dubai, varied menu and good food.

4/5

The restaurants around Ski Dubai are a great place to sit in the run up to Christmas so you can look at the snow and imagine (for a short while) that you're having a White Christmas. When my friend and I arrived at Sezzam, not only was there the snow but Santa and his helpers were also there singing Christmas carols! A great atmosphere, although (not to sound like Scrooge) we were glad when they stopped singing because their microphones amplified the sound so much it was hard for us to talk.

Sezzam, although located in the mall, is actually officially one of the Kempinski Hotel's restaurants. That means they are able to serve alcohol - they have a black curtain across the 'alcohol' section so that non-drinkers can't be offended. The restaurant is laid out with various open kitchens including a Chinese one with roasted ducks hanging up, an Indian one with a tandoor oven and an Italian one with a pizza oven. The menu is suitably varied to include all these cuisines and prices are fairly standard with main courses in the Dhs 60-80 range. On a Friday they have a brunch and over this festive period we were advised there was a buffet option, but it was easier to order a la carte and stay glued next to the window - especially since my friend's baby was fascinated by the sight of the winter wonderland.

I initially fancied the Peking Duck but they only offer a half duck and I thought that might be a bit too much just for me so I ordered the duck fried rice instead. I could have had my usual grilled fish with chips and veg but in a restaurant offering more variety I decided to have something different. The portion was generous and the no garlic and black pepper request had been followed, however, there was a bit too much onion in the rice for me and the fat and skin had been left on the duck but they weren't crispy so needed to be pulled off. I also felt that the amount of vegetables mixed into the rice could have been a bit more generous - I don't count onion as a vegetable! Despite the small niggles, it did taste very nice and my friend really enjoyed her vegetarian Indian dishes. Another time I wouldn't have the duck fried rice, if I go with Simon then he can share the pancakes with me. The staff were all friendly and service was efficient although I think our waiter was quite new since his English was still quite stilted.

The good sign at the end of the meal was that my friend, who had never been there before, said she would definitely need to take her husband back there to try it...phew!

Dubai Restaurant Review: Ping Pong, Dubai Mall

In a nutshell: Really friendly staff, great food but uncomfortable seats

4/5

Although I have been trying to get away from Far Eastern food since a large number of my blogs feature Oriental food, I couldn't resist a visit to Ping Pong since I'd been wanting to try it for ages. I had read that the restaurant is modelled on a traditional Chinese teahouse where dim sum are served to accompany the tea and from the menu on their website, it all looked delicious. The decor is the standard dark wood that most Chinese-style restaurants seem to go for but the seats were either benches or stools - no chairs. Sitting on a hard wooden block is not my idea of a comfort and after being there 1.5 hours my bottom had gone numb! Next time I go I'll have to take my own cushion - although my comment to them was that cushions on the seats would be a great improvement so maybe they'll have some by then. I should point out that there is outside seating looking out on the Dubai Fountain and Burj Khalifa but we stayed inside.

The drinks menu is as extensive as the food menu but I had already heard about the 'flowering tea' which unfurls in your glass so I decided to give it a go - green tea wrapped around jasmine petals. A glass with what looked like a dried up butterfly cocoon was placed in front of me and hot water poured over it. Over the next 10 minutes the tea leaves slowly rehydrated and opened up to release the jasmine flowers trapped inside. A sort of 'grow your own flower' similar to those 'grow your own pet' toys. Sadly the taste was not the greatest, the only thing I could liken it to was grass (not that I've ever drunk grass tea) so I won't be ordering that next time.

The food is arranged in sections based on steamed, fried, baked, clay pot etc. We ordered a selection to cover all the different dim sum types. One thing to note is that the vast majority of the options were seafood based (mostly prawn and scallops) although there were some chicken items. We were told that each item (around Dhs 20 per plate) contained 3 dim sum so we ordered 6 dishes between 3 of us which turned out to not be quite enough and we then ordered an additional 4 items. The seaweed wrapped dishes were too 'fishy' for my taste, as was the seafood claypot, but all the other dim sum were fantastic, particularly the steamed buns which were incredibly soft with flavoursome vegetables or chicken inside. We ordered a smoked duck salad and the salad was similar to a pickled, mayonnaise-free coleslaw: red and white cabbage and carrotts - delicious.

Although all the food items were really tasty, dim sum is more of an afternoon snack since you need to order a lot of dishes to make you full for lunch. Despite the fact that each item is only about Dhs 20, that quickly adds up when you need to order at least 10 dishes for 3 of you to be sated. There are a selection of set menus (prices of Dhs 100 and upwards) which looked like a lot of food but my friend Dara ordered the Dumpling Fix menu and was still hungry at the end of it so had to order a couple more dishes. On a Friday you can have unlimited dim sum for Dhs 132 and although we were there on a Saturday, our dim sum plus drinks came to an average of Dhs 131 per person. Not extortionate but even after all that food we left feeling like we'd had a big snack as opposed to a meal.

Dubai Restaurant Review: Paul's Cafe, Jumeirah Beach Residence

In a nutshell: Reasonably priced, good food but very manic

4/5

After last week's disappointment at Le Pain Quotidien, we decided to give Paul's a try for breakfast over the Eid holiday. We'd been told by friends that it doesn't open until 9 and on arrival a few minutes before then we found it was already filling up outside - seat yourself style since the staff were having their 'pre-onslaught' briefing. Just after 9 the staff flooded out of the doors with each person appearing to have a designated job to do for all the people in their section: hand out cutlery; hand out menus; lay out paper placemats; and start taking orders. All very efficient but it made me feel a bit stressed watching such feverish activity - a chilled out breakfast this was not!

We all opted for the classic breakfast of a hot drink, orange juice, pastry of choice (chocolate croissant for all of us), bread with jam and an omelette with salad. All of that for just Dhs 49, not a bad deal at all. Within about 15 minutes of ordering, our 'cold' plate was delivered with a very skinny baguette split in half and the chocolate croissant. Just as we picked up our croissants to get stuck in, our omelettes arrived! I asked the waiter if he could bring them after we finished our first plate of food but he said if he put them on the side then they'd go cold. Until then it all seemed to be working like clockwork, but that is a real glitch that we felt needed a rethink. Moving our first plate aside - and the tables are very small so that was quite a balancing act - we had no choice but to have the omelette first.

It would be hard to go wrong with an omelette and this was no exception; it was perfectly fluffy and light. One thing I really like at Paul's is their salad dressing but sadly only one piece of my lettuce had any on it, the rest was just plain so that was a shame. The chocolate croissant was fantastic: soft, squidgy and with just the right amount of chocolate inside. Yummy indeed. Not wanting to miss out on what I'd paid for, I decided to have half the baguette and risk the consequences of eating yeast. Even if I'd wanted to eat the whole thing though, my jaw would have prevented me since just the half I had was a major workout for the teeth and I was actually feeling bruised by the end of it. I prefer a less overdone baguette that remains soft and chewy and I can't honestly imagine that anyone else wouldn't feel the same.

Sitting outside looking out towards the sea is always a great benefit in the winter months but Paul's popularity is also its downfall because as you looked at the growing queue to get in, you just didn't feel you could take your time and really enjoy the experience. From the cafe, it's a 2 minute walk to the shoreline but we were shocked and saddened to find that this stretch of coast has been totally destroyed by all the offshore construction. The beach is no longer made up of its natural sand, it has clearly been trucked in and laid there to combat the effect of the erosion. The drop from the top of the 'beach' down to the sea was almost 45 degrees - really sad when I can remember it being a beautiful gradual normal beach just 5 years ago. The water was magnificent though...azure blue and still warm despite the dropping temperatures. Another time I think I'll buy a take-away breakfast from Paul's and eat it down on the beach so I can really savour that delicious pain au chocolat and soak up the view of the water.

Dubai Restaurant Review: Barasti Bar, Meridien Mina Siyahi

In a nutshell: Fabulous location, good food but rip-off prices

4/5

In a city built along the beach, it always amazes me that there is really only one beach bar/restaurant available. As pretty much the whole coastline has been commandeered by hotels, most seem to have decided to keep the beachside for sunbathers - if I was a hotel guest I would appreciate that but as a local resident it is a real shame. An afternoon spent at Barasti Bar lets you feel that you're almost on holiday and is a real escape from the city but sadly they have capitalised on this fact by charging extremely high prices for their food.

A few years ago Barasti was just a small bar looking out over the sea, it has since been hugely expanded and now covers 3 floors - on a Friday night the downstairs section attracts the mini-skirt and high-heels brigade so we stayed around the swimming pool upstairs where it's more casual. From our rattan sofa we were able to soak up the view of the yachts on the shimmering water, the sun slowly setting and turning the sky orange and a very strange constant fall of parachutists landing on a strip out to sea - does that happen every Friday? I have no idea! What would be perfect would be if I could include a photo of our view but I completely forgot to take one...I was clearly too wrapped up in just absorbing the atmosphere.

We decided a tapas plate would be a good starter for the 4 of us to share; at Dhs 190 for 6 plates it seemed quite pricey but we needed something to nibble at. When I went to the bar to order the 6 plates we wanted, I was informed that the Dhs 190 offer is the 'chef's choice' of plates - why? It made no sense. Not wanting to end up with items we didn't like, I ordered each plate individually (Dhs 35 a plate). My understanding from the menu was that each plate would have 4 pieces - perfect for the 4 of us - but as it turned out there were only 3. Sharing a pork rib or a chicken wing is not the easiest thing to do! Everything was excellent (pork ribs with a slight BBQ kick, tender calamari, chili chicken wings that weren't too spicy, vegetable spring rolls and 'popcorn shrimp' which were just breadcrumbed shrimp) but I think Dhs 20-25 a plate would be a much fairer price and would encourage people to order a few more.

There is a Dhs 75 Friday Arabic buffet serving lamb kofta, beef kebabs and chicken kebabs accompanied by Lebanese salad and bread. It looked alright but Lebanese salad isn't the most amazing thing in the world (just chopped vegetables for you to make your own salad really) and Arabic bread has yeast in it so I'm still trying to avoid yeast where possible. We all decided just to order off the menu: pizza, a burger, pork ribs and seabass for me. A steak and chips at Barasti is Dhs 170!!! At M's Bistro in Meridien Dubai you can get a fantastic steak with side orders for under Dhs 100 so I was really shocked at such an extortionate price. My seabass was nicely tender but there was barely enough potato and squash served with it and they could certainly do to be a bit more generous with the accompaniments.

Overall, location-wise Barasti can't be faulted and the quality of the food was very good. It's just a shame that they are capitalising on their position to overcharge for the food.

Dubai Restaurant Review: Dean & DeLuca, Dubai Mall

In a nutshell: great view out to Dubai Fountain and Burj Khalifa, small menu but great food

4/5

Dean & DeLuca is a bakery-cafe-gourmet food shop all rolled into one. The floor to ceiling windows give fabulous views outside but for some reason I totally forgot to take a photo! The downside of having such large windows is that at lunch-time it makes it pretty toasty inside - and that from the girl who is never without a cardigan on when she's inside in the A/C. The menu is limited to breakfast, salads, sandwiches and cakes but sometimes it's good to not have to read through page after page of menu items. Once you've finished eating you can browse the rows of pastas, sauces, soups, biscuits, teas, coffees and more in the gourmet shop section or buy some bread and pastries to take home with you.

Simon's chicken tikka wrap had been grilled like a panini which gave it a great look and flavour. The tortilla wrap itself was quite thin which meant that when you ate it you could really taste the filling and didn't get a great mouthful of dough. The level of spiciness was perfect for him, but I couldn't have eaten a whole wrap since it was just a little bit too piquant for my delicate taste buds. The accompanying side salad was very small, but then there was salad in the wrap itself and the chips were perfectly cooked so as not to be too greasy.

I opted for a healthy salad of prawn, mango and avocado. There was a good variety of lettuce leaves as well as tomatoes and beans so it was very well balanced. After the lycee and pineapple prawns of the day before, I was really getting into the combination of fruit, veg and protein. The only small complaint against the salad was that the dressing was very lemon-y and so quite sour sometimes; the lemon bias is probably because of the prawns but I think it could have done to be toned down a bit. Apart from that...delicious and a big thumbs up.

When we were there it was very busy with a steady turnover of tables. Despite this, the staff didn't come across as stressed and were attentive and friendly throughout. Their uniform is akin to a chef's outfit so I'm not sure if they all multi-task as front and back of house - would certainly make their jobs more varied and interesting! Someone at a table near us was having a very late breakfast of pancakes with berries, and I have to say they looked delicious - wheat, milk and eggs but I still have a feeling I will have to try them one day.

Dubai Restaurant Review: Noodle Factory, Marina Mall

In a nutshell: good food at reasonable prices

4/5

I had never heard of Noodle Factory until we ate at the Marina Mall branch and then the next day I saw another one at Dubai Mall, so they seem to be expanding. I liked the bright layout with white tables and purple chair coverings; they weren't very busy on the Friday lunchtime we visited but then Marina Mall itself doesn't seem to be terribly popular. They have copied the Noodle House idea of having a notepad to tick off the items you want, but they also have a proper menu so you can read a description of what each item is and see photos. The notepad seemed a bit pointless except to give the staff less to do! As a mall-based Chinese restaurant, I would choose PF Chang's over Noodle Factory since their food seemed healthier but not having that option, Noodle Factory is definitely worth a try.

We weren't overly hungry so decided to go for 2 starters (about AED 25 each) and then 1 main course (about AED 50 each). I asked the waiter if the duck rolls were duck pancakes and he said they were - what they actually turned out to be was duck spring rolls...fried. They tasted nice but for me it was too much pastry and not enough filling - I had one and left the rest to Simon. The steamed prawn dimsum were very good, no different to anywhere else though. I had loved the sound of the sweet & sour prawns with lycee and pineapple but when it arrived I was disappointed to see there were no lycees! I asked the waiter why they were missing and it turns out the chef had forgotten, so we were brought a separate bowl with the lycees cooked in the sweet & sour sauce. Very tasty although the prawns had been lightly battered before tossing in the sauce, I know that's the traditional way to do it but I do prefer the unbattered variety. My one gripe was that, yet again, only expensive imported Italian water was available - why do they do that??!!


A lot of my reviews recently have been Far Eastern restaurants so I think it's quite clear what my favourite cuisine is! I do need to move away to the food from other parts of the world though - next time...

Dubai Restaurant Review: Noodle House, DIFC

In a nutshell: Speedy service, tasty food and well-priced.
4/5

Noodle House has developed into quite a franchise for Jumeirah Group, although I have found mixed results across the restaurants. I've always enjoyed eating at the Emirates Towers branch but for some reason the Madinat Jumeirah one has tended to disappoint. Not having eaten at any Noodle House for a year or more and having a hankering for duck pancakes, my friend Louissa and I decided to give the one in Dubai International Financial Centre a go. DIFC has a great variety of restaurants both in the underground shopping boulevard next to the visitor car park and up one level on the ground floor under the offices. Noodle House is in the underground part but, similar to in the shopping malls, they have created 'inside' seating (next to the open kitchen which can apparently get very noisy) and 'outside' seating. There are a small number of tables and chairs but long tables with benches where you'll be sat with people you don't necessarily know is the main seating arrangement.

I was surprised that it wasn't very busy since I remember being turned away at Emirates Towers on numerous occasions because they had no more space. Turns out we had just been lucky to get there early and by 1pm the place was jammed. Top tip: arrive by 12:30 to have your choice of where to sit. We were able to sit at a table for 2 with nice comfortable chairs rather than a hard wooden bench. The menu is presented as a notepad where you tick the items that you want and this is then handed straight to the kitchen. We started with Japanese beans (steamed soya beans) although I asked for them to be sprinkled with salt instead of the pepper mentioned in the menu. Simple and healthy.

The duck in my crispy duck pancakes was not very crispy so I cut the soft fat off the meat before rolling up the pancakes. Part of the whole appeal of this dish is the crispy skin and the fact that it is not fatty so it was a shame but apart from that they were tasty and just what I was craving. Louissa's Singapore Noodles were really good but she had asked for extra spice and it wasn't particularly spicy. The meal didn't elicit any 'wows' but it was still very flavoursome and I would go back if I was in the area again. At Dhs 45 for the duck and Dhs 52 for the noodles, it does offer very good value and the speed of service means that you can actually sit and enjoy your food in your 1 hour lunch break.

P.S. I just went onto the Noodle House website to add the link above and found that if you sign up then you can avail of special offers. This month's offer is a voucher for a free main course when you buy 2 other mains. Not a bad deal so I'm likely to be going back before my voucher expires at the end of next month!

Dubai Restaurant Review: Tribes, Mall of the Emirates

In a nutshell: Original African concept restaurant with great food and friendly staff

4/5

Mall of the Emirates recently opened its new extension, in the place where the jumping fountains used to be - Prada, Chanel and other designer labels are clearly better money spinners than a fancy fountain especially after the Dubai Fountain opened at Dubai Mall. In addition to a slew of shops that I will never be able to buy anything from, there are a slew of new restaurants, some of which are refreshingly new concepts. Old names include Biella (although my last experience of Biella Times Square was a disaster) and More Cafe, with new names including a French bistro with Dhs 30 coffees (!!!), a Chinese restaurant which is where I'll try next and Tribes which is where I ate lunch.

Tribes is an African restaurant and the African theme encompasses the interiors with sheepskin-covered chairs, drums and shields on the walls; the staff who are all from various African countries and are dressed in ethnic uniforms with facial designs painted on; and the menu which offers lots of grills with African-inspired marinades and sauces. In some restaurants it can be hard to choose because nothing really takes your fancy, here it was hard to choose because it all sounded so interesting. There are numerous salads, sandwiches and burgers as well as grilled meats and fish plus desserts of course. Our waitress greeted us in her language of Shona, from Zimbabwe, and offered to take us through anything on the menu. Halfway through our meal a group of staff gathered at the entrance to the restaurant to sing and play the drums - great atmosphere!

Whilst my Dad went for the burger, I opted for grilled red snapper with spicy tomato and courgette and my Mum ordered the watermelon, parmesan and rocket salad. Side orders included sweet potato fries, since sweet potato is meant to be better for you than regular potato as it's full of antioxidants (although the deep frying part may negate all that), I ordered a side of those. At a nearby table I saw sandwiches being delivered which were grilled panini-style and the chips served were tiny julienne'd potatoes that reminded me of these fabulous salt & vinegar crisps you used to be able to get that looked similar - not Chipsticks which are big and made of corn, these were tiny slithers of potato, does anyone know the name and if they still make them?? Hmmm.

My snapper was perfectly grilled so that it retained its moisture but was also firm and the accompanying spicy tomato and courgette was delicious. Fish can be a bit bland sometimes, but this sauce had the perfect level of piquant to give it a great taste without burning your tastebuds off. The sweet potato fries were also excellent, although because sweet potato goes so soft when it's cooked they had been very very lightly battered to keep them together. I liked them, but will order those tiny little potato chips next time. The watermelon salad was saved from potentially being a bit tasteless by the deep fried parmesan cigars that came with it and the burger was juicy and fulfilling. Prices are similar to other mall restaurants although some of the grills were well over Dhs 100 which is quite a lot to pay when you can't have a glass of wine with your meal. Tribes is the only African restaurant that I know of and I will certainly go back: a great new restaurant concept that breaks from the usual mould.

Dubai Restaurant Review: The Boardwalk

In a nutshell: extensive menu, good food and reasonably priced.

4/5

The Boardwalk at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club (in the yacht club) has always been a favourite of mine because you can sit out over the water of the Dubai Creek, watch seagulls strutting their stuff on the balustrades and soak in the view of the water with the greenery of the Creekside Park on the opposite bank. At this time of year, sitting outside at lunchtime is just not an option unless you want to melt into your food and we found that the outside decking area is currently closed for structural repairs in any case. We sat inside where we could still have the great view, but in a nice cool environment. We were surprised that it was so quiet considering that it was a Saturday lunchtime and wondered if they nightmare Deira traffic is what keeps people away. Arriving just before midday, cars were almost at a standstill but when we left just after 1 o'clock there was no traffic at all - no idea why but we certainly weren't complaining.

The menu is themed around different continents (Asian, Far Eastern, European etc) which means that there is a very wide choice to suit all tastes including appetisers, soups, main course salads, curries, noodles, sandwiches, grilled meats and more. We were both in the mood for a substantial lunch and steak & chips was just what we had in mind. Both steaks were cooked just as we'd requested (medium-well done) and the chips were nice and crispy. I realise that in order to expedite things, frozen packeted chips are easier for restaurants but I wish more of them would make their own. Deep fat fried chips are never going to rate as a healthy food, but at least if they were 100% potato they would be a little less bad for you! We were tempted by the mouth-watering desserts but as most of them had dairy in them we decided to resist temptation since we're both off dairy at the moment. Prices at The Boardwalk are similar to other hotel-style restaurants so it's not a cheap lunch but there's nowhere else in Dubai where you have the views you find here so that makes it worth it.

Dubai Restaurant Review: Summer Place, Metropolitan Hotel

In a nutshell: decent Chinese food but wouldn't race back.

4/5

Summer Place was one of our favourite restaurants growing up, although in those days it was called Summer Palace - when the chef moved on then the name was altered to Summer Place. The decor is the traditional red and black style favoured by Chinese restaurants. We were given a table by the window looking out onto the Metro, as there were 5 of us we had a round table with a lazy susan - vital to easily share dishes although leaving the spoon handles sticking out meant we had a couple of casualties as the susan was turned around.

I wasn't blown away by the food, although my parents and brother Struan thought it was amazing. Struan thought my score should reflect a group vote, but the point of my scores is to compare the various restaurants that I've eaten at so the 5/5 they all wanted is not what I've given. I'm torn between a 3/5 and a 4/5 but will go with 4 since the food itself was good but just lacked the wow factor. My starter of iceburg lettuce leaves with minced chicken, waterchestnuts, vegetables and plum sauce were really nice - a totally wheat-free pancake. The soups (hot & sour and chicken & sweetcorn) were both as would be expected. The appetiser platter with 8 different starters was as Simon and I expected: full of breaded and fried foods. Prawn toast, breaded prawns, spring rolls, crispy chicken wings, crispy dim sum and more. A basket of steamed dim sum was also part of the platter, but these are again a wheat dumpling. We also ordered a quarter crispy duck to share but the pancakes were more like tiny Iranian breads and were not rice paper pancakes, the duck itself was tasty but a bit dried out and tough.

We had a variety of mains including beef with cashews and oyster sauce (not on the menu but I requested it), shredded chilli beef, salt & pepper prawns, lamb with a black bean sauce and sweet & sour chicken. All the dishes were well presented and flavoursome but I've realised that Chinese restaurants must really add a lot of corn flour to their sauces since I found they were all quite gelatinous. Summer Place used to serve fantastic baby BBQ pork ribs but they lost / gave up their pork licence so no pork is now available; a real shame. There was a limited choice of desserts, none of which appealed to me, but others had deep fried ice-cream and toffee bananas/pineapple (fruit caramelised with the toffee and then set hard) which were a bit different although quite rich and so a little sickly.

I was disappointed with the service. Although our waiter was very friendly and was able to explain the menu items really well, my drink arrived a good 10 minutes after everyone elses', my Mum wasn't given a wine glass and had to ask for it, we were given hot plates but then no food arrived until the plates had gone cold and the food was delivered to the table in dribs and drabs rather than all at the same time. A bit more work on the service delivery is needed I would say. Nevertheless, as always, a meal is made by the company you eat it with so it was a great evening despite the fact my review may not sound like it!

In terms of cost, a meal for 5 with a bottle of wine was just AED 1,200 so just AED 240 a head - not bad considering we each had 3 or 4 courses (including the duck). We actually only paid AED 1,080 since we had 2 free main courses thanks to The Entertainer vouchers. There are 'banquet' options with set menus ranging from AED 220-270 per head which are also good value if you like everything on the set menu. Overall, I would eat here again if invited but I wouldn't choose to visit Summer Place again - sadly the memories are better than the current reality.

Dubai Restaurant Review: Sports Cafe, Jebel Ali Golf Resort

In a nutshell: good food and great views onto the marina.

4/5

The Sports Cafe at Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa (it used to be plain old Jebel Ali Hotel when we used to go there as children but they've gone a bit more upmarket now) is located within the Club Joumana complex. Club Joumana is the clubhouse for both the marina and the golf and also offers squash, table tennis, air hockey and table football. In keeping with the sporty, casual theme the furniture inside and outside at Sports Cafe is all rattan, there are sofas all round the walls and bean bags on the floor. Everywhere you looked there were TV screens - the quintessential sports bar.

The staff were very friendly and the manager seemed to know many of the diners personally. The menu is quite limited and included the usual array of salads and sandwiches with some hot dishes. I always find restaurant salads are 90% lettuce which drives me crazy so seeing they had a ceasar salad with grilled prawns and a grilled hammour with steamed vegetables and rice, I asked if I could have grilled prawns with steamed vegetables and rice. No problem! The dish was simple, but exactly what I wanted and it tasted great. Simon's bangers and mash were also really good, but could you really go wrong with such a straight-forward dish?

It is quite a drive to get to the hotel but it does mean you feel that you've really got away from Dubai. The restaurant looks out onto the marina and in cooler weather it would have been nice to have a wander round. Club Joumana offers annual memberships which include access to the hotel's beaches and pools, I could be tempted...

Dubai Restaurant Review: Flavours on Two, Towers Rotana

In a nutshell: cheap and cheerful, good food but not great alcohol.
4/5



Flavours on Two is the sort of place to go to with a group of friends when you want a relaxed dinner with a few drinks at a reasonable price. It is not the place to go for a romantic meal or with people you want to impress! As the name suggests, Flavours is on the 2nd floor of the Towers Rotana Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road. Every night the 'all you can eat buffet' has a different theme; Thursday is Italian night.



When you enter the restaurant from the lifts you are straight into the buffet area as all the tables are around the outside near the windows. It felt very small because having the bar and buffet area in the middle doesn't seem to have left much room for tables. We were a group of 7 and were seated at a c-shaped sofa (5 of us on there - pity the person stuck in the middle, Simon in this case!) with individual chairs filling the sofa-free section. It was comfortable but we realised that the shape of the sofa seemed to catch sounds so it was quite noisy - although the wooden floors and seriously wasted group sat next to us helped with that!




The starters included soup and various salad items. I nearly had the cream of courgette soup until my friend pointed out that it would be full of dairy - she can't eat dairy and yeast either (although hopefully I'm only off them for a few more weeks) so was able to give me some great pointers and ideas. Simon did have the soup (actually the bowl that I had taken for myself) and said it was fantastic - he actually went back for more before he got his dessert! The salads included cold roasted vegetables, melon with bresaola plus the usual suspects. The live cooking station was all pasta so sadly I had to avoid that - the effect pasta has on my stomach doesn't even make me crave it. There was a great variety of foods in the serving dishes though, including chicken, beef, fish and lamb. The fish and chicken I had were both very tender and the potatoes and vegetables were luckily not presented covered in black pepper. Dessert-wise, I settled for fresh fruit although the chocolate fountain and sticky toffee pudding were extremely tempting! Whilst the food didn't blow me away, it was all very tasty and fresh which is exactly what you want from a buffet.





The only disappointment of the evening was some of the drinks - cheap vodka and cheap wine. For AED 169 per person for unlimited food and drink, you can be sure that you aren't going to be served top quality brands but there should still be some sort of minimal standard. My brother, Struan, was on gin and said that was fine so maybe stick to that. The staff were friendly but we had minimal interaction since it was a buffet and I pity them having to work there with some of the seriously drunk people they need to deal with. One good thing was that they automatically served water (local) - I remember going for a buffet years ago where alcohol was free but water had to be paid for!!

Dubai Restaurant Reviews: Arabian Ranches Golf Club

In a nutshell: great club community feel, excellent food but staff not all up to par
4/5

The Arabian Ranches Golf Club comprises not only an 18-hole golf course with golf academy, pro shop and restaurant/bar but also a hotel (just 11 rooms) although there's no pool or spa so it really is just aimed at those wanting to play some serious golf. The clubhouse is designed to look 'Spanish colonial' from the outside but the inside has very high ceilings, marble everywhere and is just a little too '5 star' looking to match my idea of a golf clubhouse. The restaurant itself has maintained that 'club' feeling though with dark woods throughout, carpeted floors, a bar stretching almost the whole length of the room and an outside terrace area. On the night we visited it was packed with golfers, families and other diners - it was a weekend so I don't know if it's so buzzing during the week.

We learned that every night has a different theme and Saturday night is Roast Night. The men all decided to go for the buffet which at Dhs 65 per person for 3 courses is excellent value. There were three salads - two were full of raw onions (shudder!) and the other was just lettuce leaves - plus a carvery of roast beef with yorkshire pudding, potatoes and veg with a choice of fruit salad or a shot glass of lemon mousse for dessert. So not very inspiring but still good value.

I opted for the coconut-crusted kingfish for my meal and was told by the waiter that it came with nothing, prompting me to order a side of steamed vegetables. When it finally arrived (I had to chase it up when the rest of my table were getting close to starting their dessert!) I was surprised to see that the fish was actually served on a bed of bok choy and spinach. So no points for the waiter's knowledge of the menu. Despite the confusion, the fish was fabulous. I have now learned what to use instead of breadcrumbs (which I now can't have) - dessicated coconut. Devine. The spinach and bok choy complimented it wonderfully but there wasn't a huge amount given so I was glad to have the extra steamed vegetables.

I kept the receipt because I jotted my notes on it and have just realised we were charged for 4 buffets plus my fish!! So the 4 of us were charged for 5 meals. That will teach me to check the bill properly next time. Another example of the less than stunning service though! Kingfish is quite a filling fish so I couldn't have managed a starter or dessert with it which meant that my one course at Dhs 72 was not too much more expensive than the others' 3 course buffet. Overall good value, a friendly atmosphere and great food - just need to train those staff.

Dubai Restaurant Review: Cucina, Courtyard Marriott

In a nutshell: Fantastic food and varied menu

4/5

Simon and I live within walking distance of the Courtyard Marriot and have eaten there countless times. Cucina, as the name suggests, is an Italian restaurant (another one!) designed to resemble a family kitchen. The tables are wooden, the chairs are wrought iron & wicker and huge wine barrels are used as serving stations. The kitchen opens out onto the restaurant and there is outside seating looking out onto the Green Community lake. It succeeds in creating a family-friendly, unstuffy atmosphere - children are given colouring books and crayons when they come. Up a spiral staircase is the popular bar area with an outside seating area as well. When the hotel first opened 5 years or so ago they offered free tapas in the bar, but that was quickly stopped and now all bar snacks have to be paid for!

In the past Cucina has been plagued by incredibly slow and disorganised service as well as mediocre food. You may wonder why we keep going back but the fact that it's on our doorstep means that we have been willing to put up with its shortcomings for the convenience of being able to walk there, have a few drinks with dinner and walk home again. The Marriott hosts a comedy night every month and we decided to have dinner before The Laughter Factory. We gave ourselves 2 hours for dinner, expecting the usual painfully drawn out and frustrating service. How things have changed!! Not only was the service slick but the food was fabulous. We could not believe it and Cucina is now on our list of places we will look forward to eating at, as opposed to eating at out of necessity.

My starter of melon and parma ham with a balsamic sauce was well-presented and flavoursome, although you can't really go wrong with something so simple. Simon's caprese salad looked exactly how it should - unlike my Biella disaster! It was served with an avocado mousse, lending it that little difference to raise it above what you could make yourself at home. Simon had a ham & mushroom pizza for his main course; they have a real pizza oven so it came out lovely and fresh. My red snapper was absolutely amazing. It was served with potatoes and scallops with a saffron sauce - saffron sauces seem very popular in Italian restaurants! The entire dish was cooked to perfection with the scallops melting in my mouth and the fish not tasting 'fishy' at all. I ordered grilled vegetables on the side as well which were very thinly sliced Meditarranean veg, slightly crispy on the outside but tender inside. We were stunned.

The dessert menu was presented in a very original fashion: an old hotel registration card box had been filled with laminated cards describing each dessert. Unfortunately the raspberry & strawberry delight (cheesecake by any other name) we ordered to share didn't match up to the rest of the meal and I only had 1 mouthful and left the rest to Simon. The base was very dry and the top part quite sour. It didn't detract from the whole experience though - I'll just try something else next time.

The only real negative point at Cucina is the lack of recognition from the staff. After having been there so many times, greeting us with a 'Welcome back' or 'Nice to see you again' would really create that wow factor that is lacking in the service. It's fair enough if they can't remember our names, but I could tell that the staff recognised us and yet they didn't voice that in any way. We ate once at Dante's at the Grand Millennium and when we went back we were recognised as repeat guests - it just makes you feel that little bit special and lifts a restaurant up from 4/5 to 5/5.