abu Dhabi Situated on Saadiyat Island here, the Monte Carlo Beach Club is a symbol of fine living, culture and health. Built on a 39,500 square-metre site, this is the first beach club to open on the island and it’s a hotspot for tourists visiting the capital.
With well-spaced personal cabanas and loungers alongside a shore that borders a protected habitat for hawksbill turtles, and an outdoor pool surrounded by the sea, it is an ideal getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city centre and an ideal setting for a long lazy Friday brunch.
At Le Deck, the open kitchen restaurant, al fresco dining is a unique experience. However, last Friday we had to settle indoors because of strong, dusty winds and an unexpected drizzle.
But even indoors there was nothing much we could complain about as the view from there was equally fabulous.
The brunch is a chic and classy affair. It is not your usual ‘All you can eat’ jamboree.
The buffet is limited to salads, cheese and seafoods. And I must say it is a treat for seafood lovers with some of the best oysters, shrimp, crab legs, mussels, blue crab and clams on the menu. Smoked salmon, salmon gravalax and tuna carpaccio are equally delectable.
Cold cuts
There is also a decent selection of cold meats and terrine – a French forcemeat loaf made with coarse ingredients.
Honestly, it was not tempting to see large chunks of uncut or sliced items such as rolled foie gras, chicken pate, rabbit terrine, turkey and quail on the buffet table. But egged on by the chef, we took a slice of foie gras. It was soft and tasted good.
Another odd feature was that salad bowls were not easily accessible on the buffet table. It was given to you based on your salad preference. My favourite on the salad table was the crunchy apple and celeriac salad and the grilled asparagus with artichoke and olive.
We were done with the salads and cold meat in no time as the selections were not very extensive. Maybe the service staff misread the timing, and we felt the main course arriving a bit too late. What was served on our table was a tad disappointing. First off all, they did not ask us our dietary preference.
Olive oil fried sardines with santorini sauce, parsley and lemon seemed an unlikely choice as not everyone has a liking for sardines, including my companion and my dining partner.
The second item, a lamp, mushroom, green pea and carrot pie, tasted fine. But the only good thing about the Greek yoghurt-marinated chicken with lemon was the cucumber couscous salad. The meat was quite dry and difficult to get through.
The vegetarian options were few and came down to a Buccatini with roasted cherry potato and eggplant, potato tower with basil pesto. Other than the delectable selection of desserts, and some great salads and seafood, Monte Carlo otherwise there’s not much to complement the fantastic ambience with delicious food.
If the food were as irresistible as its beach, one would find excuses to return to the place.
