Food, Middle East, Restaurant Reviews, Travel

Friday Brunch in Dubai at The St Regis

Brunch is my favourite meal, hands down, and when I found out Friday brunch was a huge deal in Dubai, I knew I had to try it for myself. Why do they brunch on Fridays, I hear you wondering? Because in Dubai, the weekend falls on Friday and Saturday (Fridays are holy days in the Islamic world so all offices are closed).

We visited the opulent St Regis Hotel that had opened several days prior and it has to be one of the most incredible hotels I’ve laid my eyes on. Their steakhouse has 17 cuts of meat, they have dedicate cigar and champagne rooms, and every hotels room comes with a personal butler! Inspired by the Beaux-Arts architecture from New York’s Gilded Age, this is luxury at its finest.

For brunch, we head to Brasserie Quartier which offers modern interpretations of French cuisine. Its patisserie offers a huge range of fresh pastries, handmade chocolates and coffee.

Their signature pastry is the raspberry croissant, which is as beautiful as it is delicious. The light and buttery flakes of pastry were complimented perfectly with the oozy fresh pureed raspberries. It’s possibly one of the best croissants I’ve ever had in my life!

Posing in the dining room of the Brasserie Quartier.

Unlike most Friday brunches in Dubai where the meal is served buffet-style, St Regis offers an à la carte menu of shared and plated classic dishes. To start we had:

Steak tartare – beef tenderloin, cornichons, radish and breadcrumbs

Salade Nicoise – slow cooked tuna, Provençal olives, confit potatoes, quail egg, anchovies, green beans and butter lettuce

Asperges blanches – warm white asparagus, herbal vinaigrette and lemon crumbs

And our mains:

Cotelettes d’Agneau aux Epices – grilled spiced lamb chops, roasted zucchini, tomatoes, lemon puree and bell pepper vinaigrette

Risotto aux Champignons – carnaroli grain, ceps, morels and parmesan foam

And for dessert? Well, we couldn’t make up our minds, so we tried ALL OF THEM!

From left to right – apple tarte tatin, creme brulee with strawberry foam, ile flottante with vanilla creme anglaise, chocolate pot de creme and an apricot and almond tart.

The small servings were the perfect amount to sample each gorgeous dessert.

By now we were stuffed beyond belief, but there was more sugar to come (seriously, this place is like my idea of heaven). The pastry chef came out and presented us with his finest French pastries including a pistachio cake, mille-feuille and strawberry tart. Each dessert was flawlessly presented and was up to the standard of those I’ve sampled in Paris.

As I returned to my hotel, I couldn’t help but feel brunch was ruined forever. Would I ever be able to match that heavenly meal at St. Regis? Time will only tell.