Restaurant review: Marks and Spencer Cafe

For the Brits out there, the Marks and Sparks (Spencer to other readers) Café is something of an institution.

Winning hand over fist up against the usual high street coffee giants (you know who you are), breaking for morning ‘elevenses’, a lunch pit-stop or even dinner with the family, the no-fuss option is always a popular choice.

Don’t be put off by the “school café” type layout — it means things are quicker and more efficient, shaving vital minutes off the stop — after all, the shopping was your priority. Focus shoppers, focus.

Dubai Festival City boasts a wide range of restaurants from sushi to seafood and if it’s high end, five star dining you’re after then granted, this isn’t the stop for you.

But if fresh food at reasonable prices, friendly service and the best hot chocolate — I challenge anyone who says otherwise — in Dubai are what tick the boxes then M&S café at the DFC hits the spot.

Being a dessert girl, my eyes were wandering from the bubbling-cheese lasagna and salmon and spinach bake to the sticky toffee cake, warm chocolate pudding, fresh muffins, cookies, carrot cake. Decisions had to be made.

After some deliberation, my sister and I plumped for the traditional fish and chips and the fresh bake mentioned above. Place your order, pay your dirhams and voila — in less than 10 minutes your food is whisked by staff from kitchen to table. Drinks are all M&S approved. From the water to the fresh juices they are always hand-picked from the top-notch options which line the shelves of the M&S Foodcourt — handily located just next door.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t 100 per cent sure how I felt about the food being frozen and flown out from the UK, before being cooked and served on site — but the taste soon cleared up any initial red flags. Flavours are clean, simple and fresh and the cakes and baked goods are as close to something which was baked in the bakery just hours ago.

Everything down to the creamy vanilla ice-cream served in a generous portion on the side of the gooey-indulgence in the shape of the sticky toffee cake — so good — is M&S branded. In fact, if they run out in the kitchen they whip a new tub from the shop floor freezer!

It sounds predictable a hot chocolate would be chocolate-y but it is. Admittedly, the whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles and mini marshmallows add to the luxury of it but the hot chocolate is worth a try even if you’re not hungry for food.

It’s the perfect pit stop. Park, hit the shops for round one and then head for a break to help you find that second wind and set off for the final furlong.

The M&S doesn’t claim to be anything fancy but there’s something quite nice about an unpretentious, less commercial lunch option. Enjoy.

Where: Marks and Spencer Café, Dubai Festival City

Ambience: café-style. Open and airy. Simple.

Must-have dish: Warm chocolate cake, it just melts in your mouth.

Bowls: three

Phone: 04-2066466