EATING OUT TONIGHT
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Scroll down this page to read brief editorial about Restaurants Reviews. All the reviews are based on my own experience of visiting and eating at the places themselves. The photos are genuine pictures I have taken at the restaurants as well. The collection of reviews encompasses a range of cuisines and prices, the one thing is common is food is good. We hope these reviews enable you to make an informed choice about where to eat out. Do let the restaurants you go to know that you heard about them from Monica at www.doindubai.com Thanks and Happy Eating in Dubai !
SUSHI IN DUBAI
Chez Sushi
Sushi fans will be familiar will the iconic Sho Cho’s in Dubai Marine Beach Club but a couple of weeks ago an elegant branch opened on Al Wasl road, I found it by accident having got lost on the way to a friend’s place last Friday. A modern enclave with brand new flats and a spate of new bright, convenient eateries near Safa Park on Al Wasl road. Do you remember what it was like to drive up to a restaurant, eat and leave without ever having to go to a Mall? READ MORE
AUTHENTIC GOAN RESTAURANT IN KARAMA
NEW CAFÉ IN MARINA WALK DUBAI
October 1st 2012
Hearty soups, crisp salads and fresh juices make up most of the menu at a fabulous new café in the Jumeira Beach Residence/Marina Walk area of Dubai. Lunch with the family at Cafe Baroque last Saturday comprised of Thai Chicken and Pumpkin Soup, Beetroot, Carrot and Ginger soup followed by an avocado, chicken and spinach salad and a special hot chicken sandwich. We washed our food down with a Morning Sunshine juice that had a combination of apple, carrot, lemon, celery, cucumber and ginger. Sounds too healthy to be tasty ? Think again, this was one of the most delicious lunches we have had in Dubai in a long time and we ate feeling completely guilt free as all the ingredients are fresh, just cooked or squeezed and brought to you right away. Furthermore the café owners husbad and wife team Michele and Mushin are head chef and maître d combined so you don’t go through layers of staff between your food being ordered, cooked and brought to you.
But wait there is icing on this cake, the prices are extremely reasonable for Dubai and especially for this area. A generous bowl of fresh vegetable soup is only Dhs 15 with a just baked wholeweat brown roll. The large glasses of juice are all Dhs 20.00 (the beetroot/berry comination in the picture was just a taster shot) And if you’re feeling ultra health conscious after your lunch try their 3 day Juice Cleanse Programme, 4 flasks of either just blended smoothies or juice are delivered to your office or home for Dhs 100 per day. Ranches residents please don’t get excited just yet as delivery doesn’t stretch to us at the moment. Fresh ingredients, generous portions READ MORE
RESTAURANT REVIEW : ICHO
May 23rd 2012
Let there be Light! There are a number of reasons to eat at the Japanese restaurant Icho but before you even put a morsel of food in your mouth, taste the light. Being based on the 49th floor with literally sky high windows, the natural light that floods this restaurant is a refreshing change from many of Dubai’s under or over artificially lit indoor eating venues. The clean light combined with the pale, fresh wooden furniture and sensibly spaced out tables for large and small groups ticked all of my ambience boxes for a Saturday lunch with the family. While the lunch on Saturday is actually a Brunch, in reality your meal is a combination of items from the authentic and accessible Japanese buffet (the head chef is Japanese) and anything you’d like to order from the generous a la carte lunch menu…Read More
HUKAMA : Chinese Restaurant in Dubai
April 24th 2012
I think they know a thing or two about Chinese food at this restaurant, located on the 6th floor of the Address hotel, Downtown Dubai. Faced with a dilemma of where to dine with friends who wanted good, Chinese vegetarian food we were assured Hukama would fit the bill. We didn’t restrict ourselves to only vegetarian food, I succumbed to some Wasabi Prawns with Chilli Mango. Everything was excellent on all fronts as far as food was concerned, with an added bonus of one of the best outdoor terraces to dine at in the deliciously pleasant evenings we’re so lucky to still have.
Added to this the exquisite and intricate blue and white embroidery worn by the serving staff (no shiny red dresses in sight) and a very sensibly priced bill (included 2 small flasks of Sake, and a glass of white wine) we were all happy and stayed….Read More
THE FARM AL BARARI
April 17th 2012
Lunch at the Farm was as far removed from Farm Like as you can imagine, think Zen/Buddhist garden complete with water features, wooden horse made from twisted twigs and cool white fabrics with speakers discretely disguised as friendly rocks.
The farm is as far as I know the only eaterie in the uber lush Al Barari but the restaurant is not exclusively for residents (yet) so lunch with the family on Friday was a welcome break from GCSE revision, and for once not too far from us in the Arabian Ranches..Read More.
THE IVY DUBAI
March 27th 2012
I’m not a Friday brunch person at all and really don’t like buffets for small numbers of people, no one seems to be sitting down at the table at the same time together, but as my birthday fell on a Friday, we decided to try the Ivy, their brunch offering is not a buffet but there is more than adequate choice. The restaurant is based on the ground floor of the Jumeirah Emirates Towers hotel opposite the new Alfies Cigar Bar/lounge. The ambience is just what I expected, clean and simple lines with elegant artwork on the walls and soft white linen table cloths with a couple of plump rose buds in a tiny purple glass vase. The set brunch at Dhs 275.00 is good value as it includes an aperitif and 3 courses with tea or coffee to finish. I had a zingy Bellini, the children substituted fizzy water for the alcohol in their Bellinis and we also ordered a Virgin Mohito which turned out in fact to be a very good but unexpected Virgin Mary ! While starters and puddings are very good, I was slightly surprised at the burger and chips and fish and chips options available, similarly the fish pie and fishcakes type options would fit more comfortably on a gastropub menu (at least in the UK) than at the Ivy.
But the elderflower jelly studded…Read More
JONES THE GROCER
October 8th 2011
Jones the Grocer started out in the UAE in November 2009 in Abu Dhabi, and opened here in Dubai this summer, 2011. It’s easy to miss located on the Sheikh Zayed Road in a modular box like brown building but despite that there have been queues for tables for this new Dubai cafe. I’ve been three times, once in early August just to check out the grocery provisions in the shop, the restaurant wasn’t open as it was Ramadan and then again recently for lunch on Sunday and an early dinner with family on a Friday.
By far the best options are any of the authentic international cheeses straight from their mini fromagerie, you are permitted to taste and then select what you like. Have your cheese with some of their fresh brown bread and excellent coffee. But if you prefer crackers or biscuits to bread you may be disappointed. At least we were when we politely asked if we could have something other than ice cream mini wafers with our cheese plate, there was no alternative…Read More
CHINESE RESTAURANT - Little Fat Sheep
January 18th 2012
It’s Chinese New Year on the 23rd of January, bring in the Year of the Dragon with a meal at the fabulously authentic (all staff speak Mandarin) family restaurant Xiao Fei Yang or Little Fat Sheep near Dubai’s Dragon Mart. A friend and I shared a hot pot style lunch there and while this is a no frills restaurant, it is spacious, very clean and serves yummy food. You choose your broth base first, we selected fresh herbs based broth which has a chicken stock base floating with plump garlic, slices of fresh ginger, a few mint leaves and a generous handful of goji berries.
Try the base stock at this point, it comes to you in a huge bowl for sharing that sits neatly on your electric hotplate embedded in your table and you control the level of simmer. Next order the ingredients… Read More
ROYAL CHINA in DUBAI
July 1st 2011
Royal China restaurant has finally arrived in Dubai ! For those of you who know it from London, Singapore or China, Royal China’s dimsum are a regular feature of many weekend family lunches whatever the weather. And now Dubai can sample the very same dishes in the ever swish DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) an obvious choice for the location of yet another in crowd (Zuma, La Petite Maison) restaurant. The setting is definitely more lavish (think red and more red) than it’s understated China Club in Baker Street but then it is Dubai, and by 1pm on a Monday a few weeks after opening, it was entirely full.
They opt for large glass mugs rather than delicate Chinese cups for tea, but the blossoming flower wouldn’t work in those small cups so a sensible choice…Read More
A M A L A – RESTAURANT REVIEW FINE DINING at the Zabeel Saray
April 15th 2011
Amala means pure in Hindi and is the name of the Indian Restaurant in the recently opened Zabeel Saray Hotel on the West Crescent of the Palm Jumeirah. (turn left when you exit the tunnel at Atlantis) The Zabeel Saray is the second of three hotels on the Crescent and unlike some newish hotels already has a buzz about it with a very crowded lobby at midnight on a Thursday.
I was expecting Amala, it’s Indian fine dining restaurant to be fairly quiet, but while it was by no means full, it had a few people eating at tables inside but the brightly lit terrace area was quite busy. The large menu is deceptive, how will I choose you think, but don’t worry, as there are 17 pages dedicated to beverages (both alcoholic and non alcoholic) and 4 to food ! The interesting thing about this menu is not in it’s choice of Northern Indian regional cuisine (fairly standard) but in it’s pricing. For Dhs 225 per head you can order whatever you want from the menu as many times as you’d like ! And the system seems to work quite well. Read More
NOT QUITE FINE DINING BUT FINE FOOD IN DUBAI ANYWAY
May 27th 2011
Emirates Mall, like it or not, we all end up in Malls from time to time and there are a couple of places I would recommend. Best place for lunch in Emirates Mall is definitely the Armani Café on the first floor hidden among the designer alcove, excellent stoneground pizza, rocket salad and coffees for around Dhs 100 for two people if you share. Much less noisy than the ground floor.
Best spot for Food Court Dining in Emirates Mall : Ban Khan Mae Thai Kitchen, great food, shame about plastic cutlery, plates etc and the noise, but it is a food court.
Best casual Indian eatery in Dubai – Vegetarian: is definitely Kamat’s in Bur Dubai, it’s actually on Kuwait Street off Mankool Road, the long road between Satwa roundabout (Rydges Plaza hotel is at this roundabout) and the road just past Burjuman, look for the Sharaf DG building halfway down Mankhool Road, turn here, avoid Saturday lunch, you’ll have to queue for ages! The best dosas, idlis and chaat, clean, tasty and very reasonable, treat your friends, around Dhs 30 per head for a 3 course meal. Check timings on Fridays www.kamat.com Décor is not on the menu ! And if you have time, check out Fab India 5 mins away by car on Mankhool road, homespun cottons, silks …Read More
