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Dubai Any recommendations?
#2
omnivorette 
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Posted 18 April 2005 - 02:13 AM
Bring a lot of money? 
"It seems a positively Quixotic quest to defend food from being used as any kind of social signifier, as if it could avoid the fate of each other component of our everyday lives." -Wilfrid
#4
Rail Paul
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Posted 03 September 2008 - 01:34 AM
Bloomberg has an extensive article about restaurants in Dubai.
Ramsay has a place there already (Verre), Marco Pierre White is there, and Vongerichten is planning a restaurant for 2010. The abundance of wealth, and an interest in western cuisine has attracted a lot of cash to the dining table.
Bloomberg
Ramsay has a place there already (Verre), Marco Pierre White is there, and Vongerichten is planning a restaurant for 2010. The abundance of wealth, and an interest in western cuisine has attracted a lot of cash to the dining table.
QUOTE
Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Pierre Gagnaire's Dubai restaurant, the Middle East outpost of the French chef's dining empire, is taking its last orders of the day.
A waiter, reflected in floor-to-ceiling mirrors, carries a bottle of 1969 Glenlivet single malt to a table of Japanese businessmen seated under lilac chandeliers. Across the fuchsia carpet, Gagnaire director Etienne Haro escorts a Lebanese couple to the terrace, where they sip wine overlooking the Dubai Creek.
Near the gold souk in an older part of town, Gordon Ramsay's Verre, one of the first fine-dining experiences to embrace the Dubai desert and his first restaurant outside the U.K., attracts crowds even in Dubai's quietest months as residents depart to cooler climates and tourists balk at the 50 degree-plus heat.
Other chefs such as Marco Pierre White, who also held Michelin stars, and restaurant chains including Nobu and Zuma are following investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc., billionaire hotelier Kirk Kerkorian and oil company Halliburton Co. into Dubai. The emirate's economy is growing by 7 percent a year as it emerges as a financial and tourist hub for the Middle East, on the wave of a petrodollar boom.
``Business-wise, the energy is amazing,'' Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten said in a telephone interview from New York. ``It's similar to New York in terms of diversity.''
Trump's Hotel
Vongerichten spoke after visiting Donald Trump's International Hotel and Residential Tower being built on Dubai's luxurious man-made island in the shape of a palm, in which he may open a restaurant in 2010. The 62-story glass development, overlooking the Persian Gulf, has access to a beachfront health club and a yacht club.
More than 90 percent of Dubai's 1.5 million residents are expatriates, attracted by tax-free salaries and year-round sun in a region that craves foreign labor and skills while the world's largest economies such as the U.S. and U.K. slow. The emirate's government estimates the population will reach 2 million by 2010.
``We go out all the time in the U.A.E. for dinner, but the food gets repetitive,'' said Sultan al Qassemi, a member of the Sharjah ruling family, from north of Dubai. He would welcome more choice, though has some reservations about famous names. ``Verre hasn't changed its decor since it opened. It wouldn't be able to get away with it in Europe.''
Gagnaire's Horizons
``The idea of a new world, 50 nationalities, people with completely different horizons -- it's impressive,'' Gagnaire said of Dubai in an interview from Paris. He opened Reflets Par Pierre in Dubai's Intercontinental this May. ``It's also a bit unsettling -- it's growing quickly and shouldn't lose its identity.''
Western restaurateurs have to decide whether to stick to international menus. Reflets doesn't offer local dishes: varying a Middle Eastern dish is disrespectful to local cooking, Haro thinks. Still, hummus is among the amuse-bouches and all dishes can be served without alcohol and without pork.
Dubai is more liberal than its neighbors. Alcohol is available in hotels and ``free zones.'' Westerners dominate public spaces including malls and beaches. Restaurants and bars provide major pastimes in the sheikhdom, which depends on imports for most of its food.
``It's a bit stressful, getting products in a new city,'' Gagnaire said. ``The logistics are bound to be difficult. It's difficult to transport food at 50 degrees.''
Ramsay's Verre
Wild sea bass, the most expensive fish at Reflets, is imported from the French Atlantic coast for 120 euros ($191) a kilo, while blue lobster costs up to 110 euros a kilo. Ramsay's Verre also imports fish: halibut from the U.K., monkfish from Scotland and sea bass from the Mediterranean.
Fish will also be imported for sushi restaurant Nobu, which opens at the end of this month in Sol Kerzner's palm island-based Atlantis resort. This is the sister of the original Bahamas hotel and includes a dolphin bay and a water park.
Nobu Managing Partner Richard Notar had been told by friends who visited Dubai that it was ``Las Vegas on steroids.'' Once he had seen the city, Notar ``was enchanted by it. I could feel the power of the growth. I love that they're not afraid to do anything.''
Alcohol is expensive in Dubai because of import tariffs. Staff members are also imported, because no locals work in Dubai's service industry.
Zuma, the London-based Japanese restaurant, will just beat Nobu's opening, after the initial date was delayed four months. Zuma plans a soft opening this month, with an official start in October after Ramadan, the Muslim period of fasting.
Zuma's Chef
``Dubai's growth is so fast it causes lots of delays,'' said Rainer Becker, Zuma's head chef. ``Permits to approve the restaurant's layout took ages.''
Zuma, covering 13,000 square feet over two floors, is located in Dubai International Financial Centre, which Becker hopes will become a dinner destination as it attracts Dubai's equivalent of the ``city'' crowd.
Caprice Holdings Ltd., which owns the Ivy and Caprice restaurants in London, has sold its brand to Tatweer, a leisure developer owned by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al- Maktoum. Caprice will foot the bill for a six-person office in Dubai, ``to ensure the integrity of the brand is maintained,'' said Chief Executive Officer Des McDonald.
Vongerichten, whose flagship restaurant overlooks New York's Central Park, plans to use local flavors if he opens a restaurant in Dubai.
``I would do the best of what I did elsewhere, such as sauces, and use some local fish for example,'' he said. ``I saw some wonderful mezze when I was there. Every chef has his own style, but I also like to please, to pamper people. I would add Asian flavors, and local flavors.''
Frankie's Waitresses
White's restaurant Frankie's opened last year. It is a venture with jockey Frankie Dettori, who races the Dubai ruler's horses. On a sunny day, children create a lively atmosphere at the dimly lit venue across the street from the beach. Waitresses in short skirts serve hearty pastas and pizzas alongside fine wines at the Italian family restaurant.
Michelin & Cie., publisher of restaurant guides, is perhaps the remaining piece that would complete Dubai as a gastronomic hub. It isn't yet joining the uber-chefs.
``It's true that gastronomy is evolving a lot in Dubai,'' spokeswoman Marie-Benedicte Chevet said. ``That could be interesting for Michelin in the future. For now, we will continue to expand our guides in the U.S. and Asia.''
A waiter, reflected in floor-to-ceiling mirrors, carries a bottle of 1969 Glenlivet single malt to a table of Japanese businessmen seated under lilac chandeliers. Across the fuchsia carpet, Gagnaire director Etienne Haro escorts a Lebanese couple to the terrace, where they sip wine overlooking the Dubai Creek.
Near the gold souk in an older part of town, Gordon Ramsay's Verre, one of the first fine-dining experiences to embrace the Dubai desert and his first restaurant outside the U.K., attracts crowds even in Dubai's quietest months as residents depart to cooler climates and tourists balk at the 50 degree-plus heat.
Other chefs such as Marco Pierre White, who also held Michelin stars, and restaurant chains including Nobu and Zuma are following investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc., billionaire hotelier Kirk Kerkorian and oil company Halliburton Co. into Dubai. The emirate's economy is growing by 7 percent a year as it emerges as a financial and tourist hub for the Middle East, on the wave of a petrodollar boom.
``Business-wise, the energy is amazing,'' Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten said in a telephone interview from New York. ``It's similar to New York in terms of diversity.''
Trump's Hotel
Vongerichten spoke after visiting Donald Trump's International Hotel and Residential Tower being built on Dubai's luxurious man-made island in the shape of a palm, in which he may open a restaurant in 2010. The 62-story glass development, overlooking the Persian Gulf, has access to a beachfront health club and a yacht club.
More than 90 percent of Dubai's 1.5 million residents are expatriates, attracted by tax-free salaries and year-round sun in a region that craves foreign labor and skills while the world's largest economies such as the U.S. and U.K. slow. The emirate's government estimates the population will reach 2 million by 2010.
``We go out all the time in the U.A.E. for dinner, but the food gets repetitive,'' said Sultan al Qassemi, a member of the Sharjah ruling family, from north of Dubai. He would welcome more choice, though has some reservations about famous names. ``Verre hasn't changed its decor since it opened. It wouldn't be able to get away with it in Europe.''
Gagnaire's Horizons
``The idea of a new world, 50 nationalities, people with completely different horizons -- it's impressive,'' Gagnaire said of Dubai in an interview from Paris. He opened Reflets Par Pierre in Dubai's Intercontinental this May. ``It's also a bit unsettling -- it's growing quickly and shouldn't lose its identity.''
Western restaurateurs have to decide whether to stick to international menus. Reflets doesn't offer local dishes: varying a Middle Eastern dish is disrespectful to local cooking, Haro thinks. Still, hummus is among the amuse-bouches and all dishes can be served without alcohol and without pork.
Dubai is more liberal than its neighbors. Alcohol is available in hotels and ``free zones.'' Westerners dominate public spaces including malls and beaches. Restaurants and bars provide major pastimes in the sheikhdom, which depends on imports for most of its food.
``It's a bit stressful, getting products in a new city,'' Gagnaire said. ``The logistics are bound to be difficult. It's difficult to transport food at 50 degrees.''
Ramsay's Verre
Wild sea bass, the most expensive fish at Reflets, is imported from the French Atlantic coast for 120 euros ($191) a kilo, while blue lobster costs up to 110 euros a kilo. Ramsay's Verre also imports fish: halibut from the U.K., monkfish from Scotland and sea bass from the Mediterranean.
Fish will also be imported for sushi restaurant Nobu, which opens at the end of this month in Sol Kerzner's palm island-based Atlantis resort. This is the sister of the original Bahamas hotel and includes a dolphin bay and a water park.
Nobu Managing Partner Richard Notar had been told by friends who visited Dubai that it was ``Las Vegas on steroids.'' Once he had seen the city, Notar ``was enchanted by it. I could feel the power of the growth. I love that they're not afraid to do anything.''
Alcohol is expensive in Dubai because of import tariffs. Staff members are also imported, because no locals work in Dubai's service industry.
Zuma, the London-based Japanese restaurant, will just beat Nobu's opening, after the initial date was delayed four months. Zuma plans a soft opening this month, with an official start in October after Ramadan, the Muslim period of fasting.
Zuma's Chef
``Dubai's growth is so fast it causes lots of delays,'' said Rainer Becker, Zuma's head chef. ``Permits to approve the restaurant's layout took ages.''
Zuma, covering 13,000 square feet over two floors, is located in Dubai International Financial Centre, which Becker hopes will become a dinner destination as it attracts Dubai's equivalent of the ``city'' crowd.
Caprice Holdings Ltd., which owns the Ivy and Caprice restaurants in London, has sold its brand to Tatweer, a leisure developer owned by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al- Maktoum. Caprice will foot the bill for a six-person office in Dubai, ``to ensure the integrity of the brand is maintained,'' said Chief Executive Officer Des McDonald.
Vongerichten, whose flagship restaurant overlooks New York's Central Park, plans to use local flavors if he opens a restaurant in Dubai.
``I would do the best of what I did elsewhere, such as sauces, and use some local fish for example,'' he said. ``I saw some wonderful mezze when I was there. Every chef has his own style, but I also like to please, to pamper people. I would add Asian flavors, and local flavors.''
Frankie's Waitresses
White's restaurant Frankie's opened last year. It is a venture with jockey Frankie Dettori, who races the Dubai ruler's horses. On a sunny day, children create a lively atmosphere at the dimly lit venue across the street from the beach. Waitresses in short skirts serve hearty pastas and pizzas alongside fine wines at the Italian family restaurant.
Michelin & Cie., publisher of restaurant guides, is perhaps the remaining piece that would complete Dubai as a gastronomic hub. It isn't yet joining the uber-chefs.
``It's true that gastronomy is evolving a lot in Dubai,'' spokeswoman Marie-Benedicte Chevet said. ``That could be interesting for Michelin in the future. For now, we will continue to expand our guides in the U.S. and Asia.''
Bloomberg
My only complaint was that if they need to charge me $30 because they're robbing the duck to pay the boar they might as well give me a more substantial portion of flour, water, and bits of meat.
Orik, on the pasta price at Hearth in NYC
Orik, on the pasta price at Hearth in NYC
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