Roberto's offers extensive and varied menu

Roberto’s

DIFC has confidently established itself as the city’s high-end dining hub, a place where financiers rub shoulders with artists over a glass of fine red and discuss both painting and profit over high-end ingredients that are cooked with care. The spot boasts formidable, always-packed imports like La Petite Maison, Zuma, Gaucho and Royal China (and Marco Pierre White’s Wheelers is next) – and thankfully is now home to a proudly Dubai-born concept that we think will give the others a run for their, erm, mozzarella.

The expansive space on the corner of Gate Village has not one, but two terraces, a lounge area and an elegant main dining room, and the man behind it all is Roberto Rella, who was at the helm of the Hilton Jumeirah’s wonderful Bice for over a decade, and he’s now hoping to create another gem that’s even closer to his heart.

Walking in, you’re first struck by the beautiful wooden terrace that’s dotted with the odd artfully lit tree, before moving through to a relaxed lounge bar (with a pianist and live singer), and then into the subtly decorated main dining room, which is where we decided to enjoy our inaugural night with Roberto (who loves to work the room in his well-cut suit and chat to his clientele about the food and more).

First things first, give yourself time to mull over the menus, as they are extensive and varied. To start with, Roberto has chosen 220 varieties of grape from 15 countries (even India!) and your selection is made even more tricky thanks to a refreshing amount of them coming in under the Dh200-per-bottle mark. Then, when it comes to the food, seafood lovers will want to head straight to the I Crudi seafood menu, which serves up a range of raw seafood market specialities. There’s the Pounded scampi with shallot jelly and fresh pine nuts, the piquant Tuna carpaccio, tartar or tataki (borrowing from other cultures, we see), as well as Citrus-infused sea scallop carpaccio.

Meat lovers, however, will find themselves ogling the La Griglia (or grill) menu, which offers up four types of steaks with grilled vegetables, mustards and fine salts – simple but succulent, and isn’t that just the way Italian food should be?

Sorry, sidetracked by the menu – you will be too! – getting back to our meal, our starter of Melanzane tasted how the cheesy eggplant dish should and was bursting with basil. Our pasta course, Fettucine Roberto’s (yes, the signature pasta), took the humble carb classic and made it high-end with homemade fettucine and beautifully succulent pieces of poached Canadian lobster. Meanwhile, our Carne course of Tagliata Angus beef sirloin with garlic rosemary oil and sautéed oyster mushrooms was herby and simple, but with meat of that quality we think sometimes the less you do to it the better.

Dessert was the most experimental experience – the Frozen after-dinner mints surprised our taste buds and provided a refreshing burst of flavour, while the signature dessert, which was simply called Cioccolato, was a rich dish that would suit a palate that prefers their cocoa to be of the 70 per cent variety – we loved the textural pop the cocoa nibs gave it.

Roberto’s fine-dining menu won us over, but next time we’re going to mix things up and book on La Terraza for an affordable bottle of vino and a pizza. Which flavour will we order? Well the “Roberto” of course, which boasts toppings including Angus beef carpaccio, rocket, parmesan and black truffle shavings. Sold.
Location  Building No. 1,  Gate Village, DIFC
Timing 12pm-3pm, 7pm-11.30 (bar from 12pm-2am)
Contact 04 386 0066

Tasty trio: DICF's Gate Village

Gaucho
This elegant two-storey spot has reinvented the steakhouse. The decor is modern, the food fresh and not always heavy and the bar genuinely hip. We love the classic Gaucho burger, which is given an extra tang thanks to chipotle chutney – ask for the Gaucho burger 95.
Location Building No. 5, Gate Village
Timing 11.30am-11.30pm
Tel 04 422 7898

Le Petite Maison
Step into this Nicoise restaurant and you could genuinely be in a classic bistro on the French coast. The sharing style of the dishes means you can sample plenty of flavours, and the desserts are second-to-none; we love the vanilla-scented crème brûlée.
Location Building No. 8, Gate Village
Timing 12pm-3.30pm, daily and 7pm-11.30pm, daily
Tel 04 439 0505

Zuma
This high-end Japanese spot serves up inventive, fresh food that will wow. We still think about the lobster dish we had there that was smothered in shiso-ponzu butter. The bar is also always bustling – even on a school night.
Location Building No. 6, Gate Village
Timing 12.30pm-3pm (3.30pm on Fridays) daily, 7pm-midnight, Sat-Weds and 7pm-1am Thu-Fri
Tel 04 425 5660