Frances Cottrell visited Dubai to report back on the city’s restaurants. Here she starts with the Dubai outpost of London’s famed restaurant, The Ivy.

I go to The Ivy in London to unashamedly people watch and I love every second of it. That The Ivy makes you feel very show-biz is, for me, its beauty, and I so hoped this would translate to Dubai.

When in Dubai you have to accept that tucked-away streets, hidden entrances and charming doormen as old as the establishments themselves aren’t an option, so with this in mind it’s almost not worth mentioning that

The Ivy sits in a shopping mall. A very nice mall, in the Jumeirah Emirates Towers, yes, but something is lost in the context.

The restaurant is a huge room which has carefully been crafted using The Ivy’s iconic panelling, and harlequin-style stained-glass. The room is easily too big, and although I’d be thrilled to see it full, I can’t imagine it ever offers the addictive elusiveness of not being able to get a table.

We began at the bar with brambles, twinkles and martinis, and the memory of the shopping mall entrance soon melted away. The nibbles at the bar are deliciously salty, indulgent and served in art deco inspired silverware and really set the tone for a fabulous supper.

Led to our table by Dubai’s answer to George Clooney, we were in awe of the restaurant instantaneously. Table settings were familiar with silver cutlery and crisp linens and all the finesse you want from an Ivy experience.

Starters of charcuterie and potato and parmesan gnocchi were very good but there was a clear margin and it was the mains which shone.

Dover Sole was an impressive plate of food and a caramelised butter coating was deliciously, richly indulgent. The Fish Pie was very decent with generous hunks of seafood in a creamy and rich, glossy sauce.

Accompaniments of chips, spinach and a green salad were classics, but again, very good.

Desserts weren’t so good, with a plate of frozen berries with chocolate sauce a clangy, flavourless dish. Chocolate pudding was a deep, satisfying, gooey mound, but it’s tricky not to pull that off reasonably well.

The staff were some of the most attentive I found in the city, and really added something special to the occasion. Dubai’s Ivy actually does manage to replicate a lot of the charm and seductiveness of its big sister, and is a charismatic restaurant for those looking for familiarity, class and style in a city where big, new and shiny still rules the roost.

Address: The Boulevard, Ground Level, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +971 4 3198767

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