Macrobiotic, at home
Breathe easy, my yoga pants-wearing friends. If you can’t make it to Comptoir 102 for a leisurely lunch, just pick it up before heading to work. The French-run cafe is now doing takeaway for its delicious healthy dishes and juice. The menu changes daily to make the most of organic produce, but regular highlights include salmon tartare, seaweed and avocado tartare, and the vegan choco pot. The cafe and boutique are on Jumeirah Beach Road, opposite Beach Centre. Takeaway available 8.30am-6pm; call 04-3854555.
PizzaExpress heads to Abu Dhabi
The capital is fast catching up with some of Dubai’s favourite restaurants making their way there this year. The latest is the Jazz@PizzaExpress concept (the original is in Dubai’s Jumeirah Lakes Towers). TheJazzRoom@PizzaExpress is due to open in quarter four of 2014 in a 700sqm space at World Trade Centre Mall just off the Corniche, with both indoor and outdoor seating. As with the Dubai version, expect local and international musicians performing in the licensed restaurant, which will be the eighth PizzaExpress outlet in the UAE.
High tea in a buffet
If those dainty cake towers never quite fill you up at traditional afternoon teas, it’s time to try the new afternoon tea buffet at The Palace. There are hot and cold dishes and desserts and more than 25 varieties of tea, which you can select with the help of a ‘tea sommelier’. It’s Dh180, every Wednesday and Saturday from 2-6pm.
Lucky “ate” at Fairmont
As part of their Afterglow promotions this month (featuring offers around the hotel in the early evening), the Fairmont The Palm is giving 28 per cent off dishes before 8pm at Ba, the hotel’s Chinese restaurant. (Ba means 8, a lucky number in Chinese culture, we are told.) Hong Kong-born chef Lau Pak is in the kitchen cooking up dishes from several regions in China. The discount on the total bill is available daily, 7-8pm; call 04-4573457.
New menu at Sapore di Bice
Offering up a mix of the indulgent (burrata pizza, anyone) and the intriguing, this Citywalk Italian restaurant has added a number of new dishes to its menu. There’s a foie gras-stuffed hamburger topped with spinach and black grapes; or how about a prawn cocktail in burger format, served with truffled chips? We especially like the sound of the pollo alla diavola — a chicken marinated for 12 hours and then grilled with chilli, lime and mustard. Those looking for veggies should check out the green lentil salad in lime and coriander dressing, or the vegetarian lasagne. It’s open 8am-11.30pm; call 04-3442550.
