Kix

Anyone eaten there?

The comment from the Milanese owner/chef on FooDiva has to be seen to be believed!

Another overpriced and under-performing restaurant in Dubai.

Sadly so.

He makes that scottish bloke who says **** a lot seem almost restrained....

This line for example....

The arrogance, even for Dubai, is astounding!

Qataruser

NO surprise.

Same thing here in Doha Hotel restaurants all over priced and pretty terrible quality.

One thing puzzles me though about the places here, many people think they are all really good, for example the Spice Market at the W. Here I had easily the worst meal of my life, yet many people swear by it.

Now I KNOW my meal was terrible by any standards and I am no food snob, my feeling is people particularly us ex-pats are so wowed by being in a 5* Hotel that they tend to accept any old shit that is served up.

And conversely the hotels know that many people eating in the hotels are on expenses or just passing through and therefore don't need to make much of an effort.

I felt this in Dubai too, I ate at the Westin Steak place is was nice but ridiculously overpriced.

I suppose the other thing in Doha is there very few supply chains so you are basically eating frozen imported meals or meat you could buy in Carrefour.

shiva

I love it when people dont get the internet.

Seriously I do, it makes my day when someone in a customer service business has a pop at someone online, with absolutely no idea of the consequences.

Really how hard would it have been to say, "i'm sorry please come back, let us spoil you and show you an amazing time"
Impossible to refuse or you look like an ass and deflates the whole issue.

But no instead people come out all guns blazing and dive off the cliff like ****ing lemmings......brilliant stuff

shiva

i have had some great meals here but on the whole feel the UAE food scene is a bit of a joke, yes its great to see some local producers and some artisinal stuff and i hope that continues to grow but i am a bit tired of endless positive reviews especially online of frankly shite restaurants.

i love food and as an amateur cook am pretty ****ing good so if i go to your overpriced place and with all honesty believe i could, as an amateur, have cooked the dish better then i sorry but **** off and pull the other one.

time and again you hear, read and see reviews and wonder if these people actually went to the same place or if they just have no taste buds or sense.

frankly it typical Dubai, all talk and no ****ing idea

Alexa

And that's why I cook my own food.

scrubbedexpat141

Agree.

Took the mrs to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

250 quid for two coronas, a glass of red, two steaks and two sides.

Steaks were alright, but at the end of the day I don't believe anyone not in the food industry can tell the difference between steaks further than;

Shit
Alright
Really tasty
**** me that's incredible (probably the same as really tasty)

It's so easy to pay a fortune for average here. I'd rather eat at home.

goonerseba

Are you talking GBP or Dhms ?? if you're quoting GBP, wtf did you get for the other 200 ???

Like Shiva, being a bit of an ametuer chef (have cooked in friends' restaurant kitchens') some of the best tasting food i have ever eaten costs relatively peanuts from the back streets of Alicante tapas bars and bistros.

You were blinded by the grandeur methinks - and paid the price.

Kix

£250? That seems a lot, steaks are 400Dhs, few sides, couple of drinks, actually yeah, can see how it got to that price.

The steaks are bloody gorgeous though, as is the creamed spinach and mash!

scrubbedexpat141

250 of my 'hard' earned English Pounds.

Anniversary so had to go somewhere nice. Won't go back in a hurry.

Would like to try the Ivy but I know I'll be disappointed with it all.

Miss Anne Thrope

I don't understand why people eat steak out so much - it is one of the easiest things to cook at home and you always get it just the way you want it! You can invest in the quality of the meat - relatively expensive in Dubai, sure, but not as much as the restaurant mark-up - and even get a poncy Dhs300 grill pan from Crate & Barrel, bottle of lovely Argentinian Malbec from Barracuda, simple salad (I like thinly sliced onion, cherry tomatoes and habanero chilli dressed with salt and lime juice plus a big handful of rocket), big dollop of good Dijon mustard is all the sauce required. Salt and pepper the steak (after letting it come to room temp) and rub with a bit of olive oil if it's very lean, blast the grill pan to super hot, couple of minutes on each side (and the edges if you like) depending on how you like it. Rest it for 5 or 10 minutes on the heated plate (to catch all the juices). No restaurant can match it and a fraction of the cost! I think grilled fish is similar - so easy to do at home, so often a big disappointment when eaten out (and hard to find simple grilled fish anyway).

When I eat out I always try to order things I wouldn't attempt at home. Like schwarma!

Patsy Stoned

The Ivy is really good now, they have got it spot on, they also have live jazz on some nights.
If you like steaks then go to Mj's at Al Qasr, their steaks are fabulous.

goonerseba

Fair-do's for making the effort mate. I always feel slightly uncomfortable recommending places to eat - even my my own friends' restaurants - becasue peoples tastse and opinions are so diverse on what is good, bad, value for money, worth paying for etc etc.

I think eating at places like the Ivy and perhaps other 'celeb' joints is not entirely about the food experience is it ?

If its a real food experience you want, rather than an ego-massage, try researching more Michelin rated places.

Heston's Fat Duck ???

Kix

Thought the Ivy was nothing special, went back in May though, maybe it's better now.

Not on my list of places to return.

scrubbedexpat141

I will give it a go, having been a few times to the one in London, I hope it's got some of the atmosphere...


I agree wholeheartedly. I cook a fair bit of steak at home, normally accompanied by garlic+mustard mash and a rocket salad. Tidy.


Yeah, nothing worse than you say somewhere is great and the other person comes back hating it.

Those sort of places are for the food+. Michelin star places seems to be just the food, which I like. I've never been lucky enough to go to one that I know of, but would be nervous about leaving still hungry!

Theseus

I have had a couple of steaks out in Doha, i do love a steak but then i've also bought relatively cheap rib eye and tenderloin from carrefore or spinney's cooked it at home and its just as good. So like Mis Anne Thrope - i now try and order things i wouldnt make at home. Sushi, loads of seafood, curries etc. Ohhh I'm hungry!