‪zest‬

Best small kept secret in town. Chefs there are a very high level , French , menu is constantly changing and execution is under their direct observation . Love it , quite place , beautiful location and ambient.

This is going to be a long review but it'll contain everything that is needed to be known before visiting the resort/the restaurant so please bear with me.

I'm rating it 3.5 in Zomato but I'd have liked to rate it 3.8.

I was wowed everytime I went to any palm jumeirah resorts in that semicircle outlining the 'palm'. I had been to three other resorts before I went to 'The one and only palm' and I have mixed feelings about it.

The first thing I noticed was that this resort was the smallest among the four that I've been to. The other three are namely Atlantis, Zabeel Saray and Anantara. It was missing the grandeur I was expecting from a resort located in that location.

Decor & Service: The decor of the restaurant was good.The slow jazz music and less clattering of the curtlaries served the purpose of a quiet and romantic friday brunch. The indoor seating arrangement includes couches instead of chairs which I loved the most.
The service was excellent!

I'll get down to the food part now.

Entrée: Rating 2.5

The worst part of the buffet was the entrée. The selection was very limited. The beacon of light for me was the shrimp salad and the beef salad and that's where it ended.

Main Course: Rating 4.5

The main course options were also limited BUT....the selection of main courses were premium and  uncommon. I felt that due to the lack of overwhelming variety I didn't feel the urge to taste everything and rather could try the the dishes I loved more than once.

Some highlights were sushis with Salmon roe, beef wellington, grilled jumbo tiger shrimps and shrimp green curry. The best of them all was the beef steak. All the steaks were premium cut rib eye or tenderloin grilled to absolute perfection. The charcoal burn outside and moist, juicy texture inside of that steak got me a tour of heaven.

The buffet includes unlimited fresh juices, tea and coffee.

Although it helped me savour the flavours of the curries better but I feel it's not quite fair to have steamed rice as the only rice option in a buffet!!!

Dessert: Rating 4.5

Again the dessert counter served 'not usually seen' selection of puddings, cakes and what not! They were glamorous and succulent.

Will I give them a second chance.....Probably Not (Reason explained in podscript).

P.S. I'm used to exploring resorts after a meal and usually settle by the beach and order some drink to enjoy a lazy afternoon. None of the other three resorts had an issue with that. But the staffs outside the restaurant of The One and Only Palm seemed more like police on petrol and their behaviors encouraged me to ditch my usual routine and head back to my favourite beach lounge in Zabeel Saray.

One of our favourite hotels in Dubai is the One & Only, The Palm, with its two exceptional restaurants STAY and 101 Lounge. Knowing the standards the hotel aspires to, we were very excited to try out the breakfast buffet at Zest.

The restaurant is located on the lobby level, and has both indoor and outdoor seating. It is not a large space, keeping in line with the boutique feel of the hotel, but is more than enough to accommodate all guests and visitors comfortably. We had to wait a few minutes for our reserved table to be ready, during which time we were seated in the lounge and offered coffee and drinks – a nice touch!

The breakfast buffet has separate sections for hot items, cold cuts, cheeses, breads, pastries and fruit. Although the amount of food ‘on display’ is not as extensive as what you might see at a larger hotel, worry not! The unique essence of this buffet is to combine the buffet stations with an ala carte selection, so you get the best of both worlds! They call these ala carte options the ‘Made to Order’ and ‘Zest Creations’ on the menu card.

For our ala carte options we ordered 4 items - the pancakes, french toast, omelet with all toppings, and the eggs benedict. Now in other breakfast buffets, these are items which you may pick up from the buffet stations. However, at Zest, these are all individual dishes, and made to order with all the attention to detail, flair and flavour you would expect from a top-quality restaurant. The quality of each dish was exemplary, the flavors impeccable, and the presentation classically beautiful. We were very impressed!

As for the rest of the buffet stations, they serve as a strong accompaniment to the main event. The cold cuts and cheese selection is especially extensive, the hot items such as sausages, potatoes, hash browns, foul moudamas etc. would satisfy any palette, and you have more breads and pastries than you can put onto 3 plates! Coupled with the very good coffee, juices and fruit selection, there is literally nothing to complain about!

Overall, well done to the staff at Zest for delivering a high-quality breakfast buffet experience. With Zest added to STAY and 101, the One & Only Palm is bound to remain a foodie favourite