EATING OUT
Amika Lounge
A taste of things to come
Does modern Italian cuisine, late night drinks and an enthusiastic DJ make for Dubai’s most anticipated new opening? A transparent baby grand piano was being delivered to Amika as we walked through the door. Casual, it ain’t. Still in the soft opening phase, the Monarch’s latest resident has taken over a dark space, with raised dining area, cream and onyx lounge, VIP booths and bar. It’s glam, with chandeliers and luxurious fabrics, so it’s no surprise that Amika is billing itself as something of a late dining spot, batting against the likes of Cavalli to nab that loyal crowd of late starters – no mean feat. With this in mind, taking a table at 8.30pm was perhaps a little on the early side, but there were a few other people having some drinks and flicking through the menu, looking as though they couldn’t quite figure out how they had ended up there. The strangeness subsided as the night went on and hoards of people arrived for ladies’ night, but one more bit of the bizarre awaited before we settled down for dinner: there are no tables for two. At all. We were seated overlooking the bar (perfect for assessing the clientele), with two spare spots on the table. Spacious? Yes. Slightly awkward and effective at making us look like we’d been stood up? Certainly. Waiter Neo swooped in with menus to distract us, proffering pages of Italian food split by course, then into ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’, all listing impressive ingredients and introduced by a charming letter from chef Maurizio, previously of Frankie’s. It seems Amika is his baby, the place where he’s free to blend gold leaf with vanilla oil and baby spinach. And experiment he does, playing with conventional Italian flavours, and adding in a touch of the Blumenthals. We
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started with organic breaded baby buffalo mozzarella with lavender and candied tomato, and warm sea scallops with truffle polenta and enoki mushrooms from the modern antipasti menu, and threw in the beef bresaola from the traditional side. The presentation was well done, and some flavours, such as the polenta and a goats’ cheese mousse that came with the beef, shone through, but the temperatures seemed off, as though the dishes had been sitting under a halogen light before serving. Luckily, the two generous veal dishes we ordered for mains saved the day – including a Milanese name-checked by the chef in his intro. It came with flawless fondant potatoes and lip-smacking garlic spinach, then a hunk of ossobuco on saffron risotto, dripping with a bone marrow sauce that tasted so home-made we wouldn’t have been surprised to see Chef Maurizio’s mamma peeking around the kitchen door to see how we liked it. Very good, indeed. By the time dessert came around, the music had changed from jazzy to jumping, with micro-skirted girls trotting through the door at an impressive rate. The jovial atmosphere felt a little forced, as
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did the concept tiramisu we were presented with; four narrow test tubes set in a hefty brick, each containing a flavour; in theory a true fusion of the modern and traditional, but we generally prefer to eat dessert with a spoon instead of a straw. Come 11.30pm, Amika’s bar was jammed, while the dining area was a little neglected. There’s no doubt that this will be a popular spot, with promises of a grand opening (Lady Gaga kicked off the London outpost) and a 1980s night on Sundays, the staff are already up to speed, and the punters are already proclaiming it the newest hot spot, but the restaurant needs a little more time. One to watch.
Need to know Location: The Monarch, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai. Tel: (04) 3544005 Web: www.amikalounge.com Open: Daily 8pm to 3am (last food serving at midnight) Cuisine type: Italian Must eat: veal ossobuco Bill for two: Dhs600
In tweet form… A sultry bar spot that should play to its strengths until the kitchen is up to speed, but it could be a real contender in time. Follow us at WhatsOnDubai and WhatsOnAbuDhabi
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JUNE 2011 WHAT’S ON 57