Say what you want about the 007-themed ‘068 Brunch’ at Prime68 at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, it’s a great way to get you and your friends talking about the important things in life, such as which Bond was best — Daniel Craig or Sean Connery, “I am sure Timothy Dalton was English, not Welsh” and “why didn't the villains ever learn and just shoot Bond in the head rather than strapping him to an elaborate ‘Heath Robinson-style’ killing machine?”. When the Bond trivia inevitably runs dry, unlike your glasses (attentively replenished as smoothly as you see in the films, when James himself is at a roulette table) you can talk about the puns, all over the brunch’s à la carte menu (my personal favourite being the surf-and-turf main courses being dubbed ‘The World Is Not All Boeuf’) and when that gets old… well you’re at Prime68, a steakhouse on the 68th floor, with views as far as the eye can see over a springtime Dubai, hazy in the afternoon’s heat.
Classy and clandestine, Prime68 is the perfect location for a James Bond brunch. Many of the tables are secluded in alcoves; walls behind and in front of you, the expansive window on the left. You feel tucked away, and can appreciate the live singer belting out a mixture of Bond theme covers and swing songs. You nestle into the cream armchairs and feel perfectly attended to, as the team here don't miss a beat, but leave you well alone when you don't need them to be there. The chefs can be seen through a large bay window at the end of the dining room. They’re busy, but make eye contact with them and they’ll drop what they are doing and wave back. They’ll gesture to you with thumbs up and thumbs down, an unsubtle code for “what do you think of the food?”. Trust me when I say you’ll be gesturing a thumbs up in return.
The brunch menu takes you on a tour of the American steeakhouse-y offerings that are standard fare at Prime68. An amuse-bouche of beef tartare, served in a rocket and parmesan cone, set the stage for what would be a damn good feast. The chefs then start you off with Italian cold-cuts and cheeses which are perfect accompaniment to the slab of breads and home-made chips that were awaiting you when you sat down. Bread and cheese gets you full, so a selection of greens is up next; Waldorf Salad, Wedge Salad and tomatoes with mozzarella. You can breathe a sign of relief, like when the laser pauses in ‘Goldfinger’, and use the respite to settle into drinking like a secret agent.
We had started to do this long before the food arrived. Alongside the standard beer, wine and house spirits selection, for a shade under five hundred dirhams you have access to some of the finest cocktails I have ever seen on a brunch menu… and the servers took pride in making sure we tried them all. ‘Mayday’ was created with bourbon, ginger ale and apple juice, nice enough until our waitress trumped it, by bringing out a bottle of the ‘Bond Blend’ and four expectant glasses. This is essentially a bottle of bourbon, cranberry juice and coffee liqueur and oiled the entire brunch; not just the desserts as you might expect. I was enamoured with such a new, wonderful taste in my mouth. When this was gone, we were swiftly presented with a round of ‘Solitaires’; a G&T punched with elderflower, cucumber and rose petals, which was the antithesis to the deep and dark Bond Blend, but equally spectacular in its crafting and consequence on the palate. When it came to the main courses, the team were ready and waiting with the red wine. A fully-equipped martini trolley does the rounds. I was served a spot-on Vesper, because by this stage I pretty much felt like Daniel Craig. Cue table-talk about Eva Green being possibly one of the best Bond Girls of all time.
Feeling unstoppable and smooth, we carried on into the menu. Tuna tartare is prepared and served to you from a table-side trolley, served alongside foie gras presented three ways; a terrine on brioche with persimmon, as a terrine with port wine jelly and onion, and finally on a lollipop with blueberry cotton candy. It was demolished by all us. These were followed by pre-main course nibbles called ‘Quantum of Satisfaction’. These included Prime68’s smashing Wagyu Meatballs, a mushroom martini, crab cakes and ‘pretzel bites’. Those pretzel bites. I could survive alone on them and bottles of Bond Blend. They were mini-pretzel rolls stuffed with short-rib, veal bacon and gorgonzola. We ate them while purring with pleasure. The servers brought more.
Such is the volume of food, the mains courses only arrive now. It’s what every part of us has been waiting for, maybe except for our stretching stomachs. A plater of medium-cooked rib eye and filet is tender and juicy, and is served with addictive bowls of short-ribs and polenta. You’re also given a generous plate of marinated shrimps and sea bass (which I am ashamed to say I totally spurned in favour of the beef), not to mention a selection of side orders more numerous then the functions on an Omega watch issued by Q-Branch. As we sat looking at the parade of asparagus, green beans, mashed potato and potato wedges, it transpires the servers have forgotten the mac ’n’ cheese. Because we need mac ’n’ cheese right now. The best thing about an à la carte brunch is that the food is cooked fresh and to order — we were in heaven, everything was exactly as it should be, and then some.
By the time dessert arrived were beaten down, giving up on anything else solid. Plates of bite-size cakes are presented alongside bowls of puddings and cake pops, including a trolley of peach eclairs curated to your taste (which in my case was M&M sprinkles and nothing else, for fear of popping). A little after-party at Vault bar a few floors above was perfect for us to gain composure over our protesting tummies.
The 068 Brunch is brand new, and compliments an already strong brunch offering at the Marquis, including the indoor-outdoor Wanderlust brunch on the fifth floor of the hotel, which is fast becoming a Dubai institution. When we visited Prime68, Wanderlust was full, with over four hundred people heading there, and 068 was firmly in its shadow, catering to a far more, shall we say, ‘exclusive’ clientele. So my advice to you — especially now as Dubai careers towards the summer, becoming unbearably hotter and hotter — is to seek shade by going ‘undercover’ at the 068 brunch, enjoying some fine food, drinks and a more than bit of glam for good measure. Extremely highly recommended.
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