In the beginning of the week itself, I gravely look forward for Friday to arrive. Reason being, brunches! I absolutely love Friday brunches, especially, the themed ones. They help me unwind, and are so congenial. I have been a part of many themed brunches, such as, Indian, International, Seafood, Arabic, etc, but a recent experience introduced me to a kind of a theme I had never heard of before; The Best Dressed Brunch. Happening every Friday at the Great British Restaurant, this themed brunch assures you a pleasing afternoon, which will help you uplift your mood and de-stress. Situated in the luxurious Dukes Dubai, Palm Jumeirah, I was invited by the marketing manager, Mona, to enjoy a promising afternoon with them.
The idea of the theme follows a certain dress code, and the best dressed person wins a two night stay, with breakfast, at Dukes Dubai. Quite innovative, this theme is certainly interesting. The atmosphere was lavish and gorgeous. The restaurant was well – lit, and its opulent ornamentation was definitely noteworthy. With furniture and fixtures neatly set out, the restaurant was spacious. As we entered, a bar right in the middle welcomed us with some cocktails and mocktails. On our left, were some starters, Indian food and desserts. On our right, International food (Seafood, Arabic, British) awaited us, along with an assortment of breads and cheese. Not to forget, two beautiful ladies sang for us, which made our afternoon even more pleasurable.
We started off with some drinks. Orange Juice, Watermelon Juice and Passion Fruit Juice. Made with some freshly squeezed oranges, this juice was quite refreshing and acceptably sweet. The watermelon juice was fresh, sweet and lovely. The passion fruit juice was a perfect thirst quencher; it was served chilled, was reinvigorating, had a slight tartness of passion fruit and was satisfactorily sweet. It was topped with fresh mint leaves, and the drink had a subtle flavour of the mentioned ingredient.
Coming to food, I tried out their vegetarian delights. Starting with some starters, I had the French Fries and Onion Rings. The French Fries were thick cut, non – oily, soft, crispy and perfectly fried. The Onion Rings were crispy, and the outer, golden brown shell had just the right thickness. For the Indian delicacies, I tried out the Paneer Tikka, Dal Makhani, and Indian Breads. The Paneer Tikka was very delicious, as the thick, square chunks of paneer were so tender and appetizing. The even spread of marination was flavourful and mildly spicy. We paired it with some green mint chutney, which was thin in consistency, and these tikkas turned out to be really enjoyable. The Dal Makhani was just right in consistency and was creamy, however, the taste turned out to be displeasing, as there was an overpowering taste of tomatoes. The Indian Breads (Naan), were soft, freshly prepared and yummy.
From the International section, I tried out the breads, (plain and cheese), hummus, roasted vegetables, roasted potatoes, broccoli, salads and pasta. The plain bread was soft and fresh, and went very well with the hummus. The cheese bread was quite hard, dry, and didn’t really seem fresh. The hummus had a smooth texture, was full of flavours and it was very well made. It served as a great dip for the bread and the salads. The roasted vegetables and roasted potatoes were very well roasted, fresh, adequately seasoned with salt, perfectly sauteed, crunchy and soft. Broccoli and salads were very fresh. They had a live pasta section, and we opted for the pasta in red sauce. The pasta was soft, but the sauce was on the dissatisfying end. The capsicum and mushrooms added were not enough, and the taste and flavours were quite bland.
Reaching the climax, they had a variety of desserts, so many, that it was actually very difficult to choose. I picked up the chocolate croissant, chocolate muffin, and chocolate swiss roll. The chocolate croissant was fresh, soft, crispy and flaky. There was a reasonable amount of chocolate in it, and the croissant was quite delectable and fairly sweet. The chocolate muffin was also very tasty, moderately sweet, was soft, and had an amazing flavour of chocolate. The chocolate swiss roll looked very mouth – watering, and had a rich texture. It was a little too chocolaty and was palatable taste wise.
Thank you for the invite GBR and Dukes Dubai team. There is always room for improvement, and I will surely come back again.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes