Burj al Arab, Dubai

[wgallois]

The Burj al Arab is one of the landmarks of modern Dubai; a spectacular multi-starred hotel situated on an artificial island off Jumeirah Beach. Its 'signature restaurant' Al Muntaha is situated in a space-age pod suspended from the body of the building, overlooking the Arabian Gulf and the city. The views are spectacular and everything about the restaurant is to do with looking, style, surface, image, glamour; with those qualities also applying to the food served in the Al Muntaha.

In some ways Al Muntaha is no different from the many other generic Mediterranean 'signature restaurants' in Gulf hotels, offering spectacular locations, showy menus and hefty price tags. If you go to such places then you should know what to expect - Gordon Ramsay's Verre in the Dubai Creekside Hilton most definitely and honourably excepted - but what annoyed me about Al Muntaha was just how great the gap had become between the glitz and cost of the place on the one hand, and the quality of the food on your plate on the other.

We began with cocktails at the bar (too small for the number of patrons they are willing to accomodate), which were served with vegetable crisps and curried cashew nuts and almonds. The drinks and the nuts were fine though the service was rather slow and perhaps directed at those who seemed to have a bit more glitz and clout than we had.

We were seated at a rather poor table in the middle of the floor, though since we had booked late in the day that was no fault of the restaurant. No amuses or other freebies were offered in spite of the considerable cost of the meal. We began with basil-scented goat's cheese with peporonata and tomato and a wild mushroom and potato ravioli with leek fondue. The former was fine, if unexciting, whilst the potato-stuffing in the ravioli seemed to be somewhat of a mistake. Though the dishes were not bad they lacked flavour and one characteristic of the whole meal was a failure to provide any complexity of flavour through sauces or by other means.

Choosing the vegetable gateau with a sharp gherkin salad was a mistake that I was aware of when I ordered the dish, but I opted for the gateau, over tasty-sounding pastas on the basis that if I am going to ask a professional chef to cook me dinner he ought to be able to do better than a tasty pasta which I should be able to knock up at home. The tower was a fairly dull set of layers of vegetables inadequately seasoned, the gherkin salad was small and tasty, and there were some soggy and not very charming vegetable crisps of some sort by the side. The bread served with the meal ranged from some good tomato and olive bread to some really tasteless Viennese/French bread.

The puddings - Bakewell tart with cherry compote (absent when plated) and vanilla ice cream, caramelized lemon tart with blackberry and oatmeal parfait - were good, though they should have been at 50dhs apiece (about ten pounds sterling for rather small portions). No coffees, no digestifs and a bill of 617 dhs before service. Speaking of which, much of the service was lazy - in a city where service is often superlatively good - and while the restaurant has the pretensions of fine dining, it fails on the delivery and execution of the touches that you expect in really good restaurants. It is somewhat frustrating to be seated at your table watching your food grow cold on a serving station metres away from the table, after the food had been dumped there by a waiter.

Having said all this, the people there seemed to be having a good time and it is a pretty flashy experience. Just don't go there for the food. Instead try somewhere like the Lebanese Village which we enjoyed the night before - a maginificent buffet of perfectly cooked and prepared Levantine food, with drinks and all courses included for 33dhs (less than the cost of a single glass of house wine in Al Muntaha).

[nightscotsman]

Thanks for the review wgallois. A couple months ago I saw a special about this hotel on the Travel Channel here in the US, and was very currious if the experience could live up to the spectacular architecture and setting (situated about a quarter mile out in the ocean on its own man-made island). I thought the building itself was so beautiful that it was hard to believe it wasn't just a model or 3D rendering in photographs. The food they showed on TV looked quite pretty, but nothing that wouldn't be familiar to anyone used to dining at high-end restaurantes anywhere in the world.

Sorry it was dissapointing

Do you think you could translate the 617 dhs price into either dollars or pounds? I'm not familiar with the Dubai currency.

[boaziko]

The rate should be 3.67 Dhs = $1 which makes it something like 175$

You may find this site usefull:

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi

[Miguel Gierbolini]

WGallois- Great and interesting review. I think I saw this restaurant in some TV show recently. Please continue posting. We would all benefit if you post more Dubai reviews or just expound on local food-related information. Thanks.

[wgallois]

Thanks nightscotsman, boaziko and Miguel. More reviews from the Gulf coming soon.

[fresh_a]

I visted the Burj al Arab a couple of months ago, and thought it was going to be too extravagant and kitch, but ended up be VERY impressed with the architecture, an amazing project...

[Jon Tseng]

I visted  the Burj al Arab a couple of months ago, and thought it was going to be too extravagant and kitch, but ended up be VERY impressed with the architecture, an amazing project...

Has anyone been to the Grand Hyatt in Shanghai

Goes from about floor 50 to 90 of the Jin Mao tower.

Again, architecturally staggering, especially the main atrium - but home to what looks a rather dull wannabe-posh-italian-fine-dining-joint...

J

[wgallois]

Fresh_a, I really agree with you about the architecture of the Burj, and I think I had the same apprehensions as you before going there. Other good architecture/food combinations in the region include:

1. The Royal Mirage (just down the road from the Burj), which is designed as an Arabian palace/Alhambralike. I have never eaten in the 'signature' restaurant, but the Mediterranean place there is good value and they do a nice goat's cheese and chilli pizza. They have amazing gardens to walk in before and after a meal.

2. Vu's Bar on the 51st floor of the Emirates Tower Hotel - very swanky, good drinks and super views (and a very exciting lift ride to get there).

3. The Al Bustan Palace Hotel in Muscat, Oman. In some ways I found the interior of this building even more amazing than the Burj. The lobby is the most colossal dome you have ever seen in a hotel and the air is thick with frankinscence. The food there is not so great, though there is a French restaurant which was not open when we went there in the cheaper season.

[seawakim]

Thanks for the review wgallois. A couple months ago I saw a special about this hotel on the Travel Channel here in the US, and was very currious if the experience could live up to the spectacular architecture and setting (situated about a quarter mile out in the ocean on its own man-made island). I thought the building itself was so beautiful that it was hard to believe it wasn't just a model or 3D rendering in photographs. The food they showed on TV looked quite pretty, but nothing that wouldn't be familiar to anyone used to dining at high-end restaurantes anywhere in the world.

Sorry it was dissapointing 

Do you think you could translate the 617 dhs price into either dollars or pounds? I'm not familiar with the Dubai currency.

Thanks for the informative review.

I too saw the special on the Travel Channel and came to doubt that a building of this unique quality and grandeur could present suitably ambitious cuisine. I'm not surprised to hear my suspicions confirmed.

Now, it may just be the best food available when stranded on an island.

Perhaps the best bet would be to enjoy a more reasonably priced and better tasting meal from somewhere along the beach and enjoy the beautiful view and spectacular lights of the Burj al Arab.

More on the hotel:

http://www.burj-al-arab.com/baa/a.htm

Edited February 8, 2003 by seawakim (log)

[Deacon]

A couple months ago I saw a special about this hotel on the Travel Channel here in the US, . . .

I saw the Travel Channel show as well. It gave the Burj al-Arab seven stars out of five (?). They've obviously spent a lot of money on the place--it was filled with every possible gimmick. As far as the interior design went, every wall, every surface seemed to be decorated with a different pattern for the eye to adapt to. There didn't seem to be a single place for a visitor to look to rest the eye, not a single undecorated space. (Although I suppose it's the Arab cultural theory that the desert itself represents the "undecorated space," and therefore everything else must be ornately decorated.) I'm more used to seeing the minimalist desert architecture of the American West in resorts, so to my untrained eye the place looked gaudily overdecorated.

Edited February 13, 2003 by Deacon (log)

[fresh_a]

That elevator to the Vu's bar in the Emirates Tower scared the shit out of me!