Category Archive: Restaurants

Restaurant Launch: Pharaoh Cafe & Restaurant, Arabian Courtyard

We were invited to the launch of Pharaoh Cafe & Restaurant last Wednesday 5th August. The name gave away the predominant cuisine on offer; Egyptian ofcourse! However, the actual look and feel of the restaurant far exceeded my expectations.Pharaoh Cafe and restaurant launch arabian courtyard egyptian fine dining dubai review (4)

Located on the Mezzanine floor of Arabian Courtyard Hotel & Spa (the award-winning hotel located in the heart of Bur Dubai) Pharaoh Cafe & Restaurant is the latest addition to their culinary offerings and recreates Egyptian classics as well as Mediterranean favorites in a suave fusion of style and hospitality.

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Lunch at Sophie’s: Deliciously Organic Food at The Palm, Jumeirah

I’ve always associated fine-dining with The Palm Jumeirah. Driving through on a busy work day, I made a pit-stop at Sophie’s Cafe Dubai and was highly impressed with this casual chic gem of a restaurant tucked away inside the Riva Beach Club.

sophies the palm jumeirah dubai review organic restaurant cafe (10)

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Ashiana by Vineet: Indian Fine Dining by a Michelin Star Chef

Sheraton Dubai Creek is one of the city’s oldest hotels, located by the picturesque creek, Deira – Dubai. It’s Indian restaurant has been reinvented with a touch of stardom in the past year; Michelin stars that is!

Ashiana restaurant’s menu has been recreated by Chef Vineet Bhatia who happens to be the only Indian chef to have acquired a 3 Michelin Star rating, and our dinner at Ashiana by Vineet was a wonderful journey into sampling the magic of this culinary maestro.

Ashiana by vineet review dubai indian michelin star chef (12)

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Iftar at Bertin Bistro and Restaurant

bertin bistro and restaurant review iftar (9)

Bertin Bistro & Restaurant is the latest addition to the string of cafes on Al Manara Street (Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai). Modeled with the look and feel of an airy villa from the 1920’s, it is the fictional story behind Bertin that makes this newbie so unique.

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Kerala Castle: a hidden gem for authentic Malayalee cuisine

According to Wikipedia, 42% of the UAE population is made up of Indian nationals. Out of this big majority, a major chunk of UAE’s Indian population hails from the South Indian state of Kerala.

With Malayalee tea-shops and restaurants in every nook and corner of the country, you’d be hard pressed finding a UAE resident who hasn’t had Kerala cuisine some time or another.

I’ve had my fair share of dosas, chicken chukkas, and appam with chicken stew.  Yet my friend Hema, a native of Kerala, kept insisting truly authentic cuisine from her state was far more diverse than that. So last Thursday, she took us to Kerala Castle; a casual family-style joint in the heart of the residential area in Al Nahda-2, Dubai.

Kerala Castle review (15)

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Iftars 2015: Tried & Tested by Tezzy!

I’ve been fortunate to have attended a number of Iftars this Ramadan, and it’s been pretty challenging keeping the weighing-scale in check!

Living in Dubai, foodies are truly blessed with the plethora of dining options and today’s post is a round-up of some of the scrumptious Iftars I’ve had the pleasure of trying this past few weeks.

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Iftar at Panorama Restaurant, Emirates Grand Hotel

On Tuesday evening, we had a media invite for Iftar at Panorama Restaurant, Emirates Grand Hotel. Centrally located on Sheikh Zayed Road, the restaurant boasts of great views from the 43rd floor.

Image taken from the restaurant's website.
Image taken from the restaurant’s website.

This was my first time at Emirates Grand Hotel, and I was therefore unsure of what to expect. I read a review on Zomato where a contributor had given Panorama Restaurant a scoring of 4.5 out of 5 for being the perfect choice for an intimate, undisturbed date. However, as a media event, our Iftar was far from ‘intimate’ and every table was packed!

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Celebrating Tanabata at Toko!

Tanabata (七夕, meaning “Evening of the seventh”), also known as the Star Festival, is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. – Wikipedia.

Legend has it that on this day, two besotted lovers, Altair and Vega, reunite on the cosmic plane. In Japan, Tanabata is a National holiday. Streets are decorated with colorful paper mache, and special wishes are written on tanzaku paper and hung on trees for good fortune.

Toko, the multi-award winning contemporary Japanese restaurant hailing from Sydney (Australia), offers modern ‘izakaya’ style dining in an impeccably designed setting. We were there last night, and yes! We even got to place our wishes on the wishing tree!

toko dubai review (17)

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Iftar at ‘The Eatery’ – Four Points by Sheraton

Still unsure on where to take your troop for an Iftar treat? ‘The Eatery’ restaurant at Four Points by Sheraton (on Sheikh Zayed Road) might be your answer.

Priced at AED 130 per person, The Eatery offers special discounts for big groups. For every 10 guests, 2 people dine for free, and children under 12 can enjoy the extensive buffet at no cost.The Eatery Four Points by Sheraton Iftar review (16)

We were invited for Iftar at ‘The Eatery’ last evening, and really enjoyed the variety of dishes on offer.

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Iftar at Reem Al Bawadi

Reem Al Bawadi is a bit of an institution in the UAE. Having bagged a celebrity following and a list of prestigious awards, the Arabic themed restaurant is a great choice for a traditional Iftar.

Reem Al Bawadi Iftar Review (6)

We visited the branch on Mohamed Bin Rashid Boulevard (next to Burj Khalifa, Downtown Dubai) last night. I’m glad we reserved a table, as there was a long queue just to get in!

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