As a true-blue Dubai girl, my love for the older parts of the city is boundless.
With the rapid pace of development in New Dubai grabbing all the attention, the older area of Deira has lost a bit of its vitality. But I could barely notice from where I was seated at my table in the Vivaldi by Alfredo Russo Restaurant in the Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel and Towers.
The restaurant’s huge glass windows offered up a picture-perfect view of the Creek and the neon-lit abras ambling across the water — a scene that brought back wonderful memories of riding the traditional Emirati boats as a child. The grey and white marble interiors and baroque patterns are elegant but understated.
Once I managed to take my eyes off the beauty inside and out, the elaborate 7-course menu got me excited to be eating Italian food that was not pizza (who would have thought?).
The first three courses, all seafood, were visual masterpieces. A mixed fish carpaccio was served on a platter spewing a delicious orange-scented dry ice fog — dramatic, but it worked.
The two vegetarian dishes were unexpected but offered up a taste of some authentic Italian flavours. An adorable little dish of risotto “pizza margarita”, rice cooked in stock topped with mozzarella cream, cherry tomatoes and basil pesto, was both delicious and simple, with the pesto hitting you with an aromatic punch.
The dish that my carnivorous self was waiting for, the braised veal with horseradish mashed potato, was everything that I hoped for. Our server mentioned it had been braising for eight hours, and the rich, melt-in-your-mouth meat was a testament to that.
Six courses in, my friend (who has more than one sweet tooth) was raring to dig into the two desserts coming our way. Both surpassed our expectations, but the one that hit the spot was the chocolate fondant with salted caramel. After taking approximately 20 pictures of the thing, we both took a bite and were transported to chocolaty heaven.
Though pricey, the combination of ‘delizioso’ Italian fare, an opulent setting that would impress any date, and a location steeped with history, a visit to Vivaldi will leave you satisfied and introduce you to a little corner of Dubai you’ll come to cherish.
