Have you been to the Radisson Blu branch in Business Bay? I was meeting a friend over lunch, and ended up driving to their all too familiar Deira branch. I wasn’t even aware they had a branch in Business Bay! Talk about being unobservant… especially considering I blog about food!

Radisson Blu’s Business Bay branch is located on Al Asayal Street, just a stone throw away from Downtown Dubai and Dubai Mall itself. It is the only international hotel chain in this corner of Dubai. The Business Bay branch looks and feels more brighter and airy than its older Deira counterpart. The lobby features fun and funky shades of lime green, and has a good deal of natural light streaming in.

We were having lunch at Radisson Blu’s Lemon Pepper restaurant. They have an impressive spread for as low as AED 89 per head.

The tables were filled with executive types, forking up the delicious fare with serious, furrowed expressions reserved for business brunching. As a table of two friends catching up for lunch, we ate our lunch at a more leisurely pace while taking in views of the concrete maze of Business Bay traffic.

The menu at Lemon Pepper changes on a daily basis, and the staff here are very accommodating indeed. The Chef insisted on creating a special seafood platter for our table.

My friend is originally from the Philippines, and when she showed her dismay at not having any Adobo on the buffet, the Chef went out of his way to make her a special special serving. The Adobo was exceptionally good, and what is more impressive is that the Chef is of Indian origin. This is Dubai for you, so multicultural! We bond over food!

The buffet has a live barbeque counter. You can have your red meats, poultry and seafood done up just the way you like it, with condiments of your choice. I asked for salmon, spiked up with chili.

I often worry when I order salmon. I am a salmon snob, and hate it over-cooked. However, at Radisson Blu, my salmon was pink and perfect! The skin was crunchy crisp, and the fillet steamy hot and moist with just the right amount of spice. If you are a salmon fiend, head to the barbeque grill and have this first!

The buffet itself is an intercontinental mix. It offers Arabic, Indian and Far Eastern dishes. The number of dishes is not overly vast, but just right for a lunch buffet. The fact that the menu changes on a daily basis means diners have something new to look forward to every time.

I am not sure why Lemon Pepper has such a low overall rating on Zomato. I really enjoyed the food here, and where else do you find a Chef who is willing to whip up your requests even if it is not on the menu of the day? The ambiance is chic, spacious and tastefully simple. Given it is under 5 minutes by car from Dubai Mall, you might consider brunching here next time you go for a shopathon!

Lemon Pepper is located on the Mezzanine floor of Radisson Blu, Business Bay. Call 04 4502000 for more details, and table reservations.