If you’ve got someone to impress, here’s an easy two-step process: Stop off at a big-name jeweller (preferably one that puts its wares in a distinguished red or perhaps turquoise box) before heading up to the top of Burj Khalifa with your beloved for a lunch to dazzle the eyes and the tastebuds at At.Mosphere on the 122nd floor.
At least that’s what the man at a table next to me had done at a recent lunch there, and from the gasp of his guest as she opened the pretty box at the table, it had the desired effect.
Eating here is like something from a movie — proposals, birthdays — but since it’s inside the world’s highest fine dining restaurant, it’s not surprising it’s a spot for occasions. And do go for lunch — not only is it lighter on the wallet, but this is when you can really enjoy the views. It’s also a pretty classy way to spend the middle of your day. Evenings are such a cliche, non?
Thankfully, the fact it’s in a tourist attraction doesn’t detract from the food, which has only improved since the restaurant first opened.
Now at the helm of the kitchen is Frenchman Jerome Lagarde, who hails from the southwest of the country, hence plenty of foie gras and Espelette pepper.
The tightly edited set menu (Dh450 for two courses, though I would recommend you go the whole nine yards and splash out the Dh600 for three) features a nice selection of seafood and meat dishes that are light to eat in a fine-dining way; you will not leave hungry, I promise. We nearly had to be rolled out, especially as neither I nor my dining partner could resist the extensive bread selection with seaweed butter and an adorable little tin can of sardine foam served as we gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows. (I know — loading up on bread is an amateur mistake, but do have some.)
An amuse-bouche of scrambled egg with truffle might appear unusual, but chef Lagarde wants to celebrate some of his exclusive ingredients, in this case organic Maran eggs. Also exclusive to the restaurant is organic guinea fowl France’s Vendee region, served roasted two ways in a meal for two.
The chef-recommended lobster and scallop carpaccio is a delicate exercise in a fresh seafood starter that’s a nice way to start if you’re going for a steak main. I chose the pithiviers, a game pie with veal, rabbit, duck and foie gras wrapped in puff pastry, a meat starter that I absolutely recommend if, as I did, you chose the light lobster for a main. The tender pastry hides one of the juiciest meat pies I’ve ever tasted; it comes with a jug of truffled gravy should you want to mop things up (go ahead — this place is fancy but certainly not stuffy).
At.Mosphere was formerly a steakhouse, and while the focus has shifted to a broader, modern French menu, there are still several steak options on the menu, cooked in a searing Josper charcoal oven; my dining partner had a juicy rib eye for main, with mashed potato and steak sauce. For my main, I went with the aforementioned lobster, warm poached and sourced from Brittany, with a tender sweetness that satisfied me, and I am usually underwhelmed by lobster. It comes with little parmesan gnocchi that were the sole disappointment of the entire meal, being rather claggy. The flavours of dried orange, sweet pea and a crisp piece of cured beef are an expected but pleasant combination, and the presentation is humorous without being gimmicky.
Desserts aim as high as the clouds you sit amongst, and consistenly reach even higher. The homemade Snickers recreates the exact flavours of my favourite chocolate bar ever, yet with a light crispness that takes it to fine-dining. The baba is heavenly, a light yet rich cake with a prune ice cream and jug of south western France’s finest tipple to douse it in — oh, and a bowl full of whipped cream. Talk about the high life.
