This week’s yummiest food news
We’ve got the details of a delicious new Spanish restaurant, and which Los Angeles steakhouse is due to open in Abu Dhabi
Tapas at Dubai Creek Yacht Club
If it’s sports and Spanish food you’re after, check out Casa De Tapas, the latest opening on the Creek, modelled on a Madrid-style tapas bar and due to open on April 2. The menu goes beyond little tapas, also offering dishes from across the Iberian peninsula, from Andalucia to Galicia (we’re told all the chefs are from Spain). Tapas menu must-tries: cold cuts, gazpacho, the ultra-refreshing Andalusian chilled tomato and vegetable soup, patatas bravas (fried potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce), and clams cooked in garlic. Mains include a seafood paella, paella de fideua — made with angel hair pasta, shrimp and squid ink and a nine-hour slow-roasted milk fed baby lamb shoulder. It’s run by the same folks behind Okku and Claw BBQ. Call 04-4161800.
New places to eat in Abu Dhabi
The freshly opened Novotel Abu Dhabi Al Bustan has six F&B spots that may be worth checking out. Waves Lounge is, as the name suggests, an outdoor lounge, perfect for sundowners on the pool deck to the sound of Balearic beats. Choice Cut Steakhouse grills up meat and seafood, should you want to incorporate veggies, there is a help-yourself salad bar (open 6.30-11.30pm). Finally, there’s the Amber gastro-pub, all-day dining Pepper and global food spot Recharge. Call 02-5016444.
An LA steakhouse landing in Abu Dhabi
The Eastern Mangroves Promenade is getting a taste of Santa Monica, with the announcement that BOA Steakhouse is opening there this month. It’s the restaurant’s first venture outside the US, where it’s famous for its 40-day dry-aged Angus steaks. We’ll bring you more news on an opening date once it’s available.
Amalfi reopens at Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi
The revamped Italian restaurant at the central capital hotel reopened its doors on Tuesday, serving, among other things, homemade pasta and wood-oven pizza and bread, as well as rustic dishes from the southern Italian region from which it takes its name. New additions are the outdoor terrace and the antipasti. There’s also a chef’s table, where diners can watch chef de cuisine Pascal Sfara at work. Open for lunch (noon-4pm), dinner (7-11pm) and Friday brunch (1-4pm); call 800-101101.
Alfredo Russo lends his name to Vivaldi
The longtime Italian restaurant at Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers is getting a twist on its name. With Italian chef Alfredo Russo taking over menu duties at Vivaldi, they’ve renamed the romantic creekside spot Vivaldi by Alfredo Russo. It’s due to open on April 9 after a refurbishment (that extends to the entire hotel, by the way) serving pan-Italian cuisine in both a casual traditional trattoria and a lounge menu. Turin-born Russo got his first Michelin star in 1993 for his restaurant Dolce Stil Novo. Visit sheratondubaicreek.com to make a booking.
