Starters Eating out
î Six new restaurants at La Mer, Dubai At the newly opened La Mer beachfront development, Restaurant Secrets Inc. is set to launch six new restaurants by the end of the year. The new concepts include the second branch of Roti Rollers, an East meets West Indian street food brand that opened its first location at Dar Wasl this summer, plus The Duchess, Backyard, Maison de Juliette, Levee and O’Doner. Roti Rollers offers a healthier take on Indian fare with less oil, healthier ingredients and a DIY perspective. While The Duchess, the ‘darling brand’ with monochrome interiors and provocative splashes of brass and turquoise, offers indulgent, homemade cakes, along with an all-day menu of salads, sandwiches, pastas, and fresh meals. Backyard is where families and friends will come together to dine on Jospergrilled BBQ meats in a setting termed ‘bare-foot luxury’. Maison de Juliette’s game changer is cuisine du soleil – sundrenched foods – fresh and passionately made with a romantic Provençal touch. O’Doner offers authentic street food from the five corners of Turkey. Levee is waterfront dining at its best in a social lounge atmosphere with an expansive outdoor al fresco space. For more information see restaurantsecretsinc.com.
î Soul Restaurant, Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach Up until November 20 this month, delight in Soul’s latest promotion, ‘Bistronomie’, which is set to add a creative twist to the French bistro experience. Inspired by young chefs in the 1990s, who started looking for a way to transform French haute cuisine into a more convivial kind of indulgence. Without compromising on quality, classical dishes were reinterpreted in an unpretentious way and served in a bistrostyle atmosphere. In the early days, the movement was looked down upon by old-school chefs, but today’s bistronomy stands for premium French cuisine at unbeatable prices. Expect to find dishes including the likes of ‘Plateau de Fruits de Mer’ and ‘Cordon-Bleu au Comté’. Call 04-4498888.
î Renaissance Downtown Hotel Boston-born David Myers has made his Dubai debut at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, where he’ll be the brains behind two of the hotel’s outlets. Fusing the food and feel of a Roman trattoria, Florentine steakhouse and Neapolitan pizzeria into one buzzing venue, ‘BASTA! By David Myers’ serves up full-flavoured Italian cuisine in a seriously stylish space in front of the Dubai Water Canal. While, ‘Bleu Blanc By David Myers’ offers refined southern French farmhouse flair. A wood-fired grill takes centre stage while the bar is a meeting point to socialise and enjoy an aperitif, accompanied by eclectic beats. Call 04-5125555.
16 BBC Good Food Middle East November 2017