There’s a new restaurant in town at Le Meridien Abu Dhabi. Latest Recipe opened on the 2nd December, 2014 replacing their previous restaurant, La Brasserie after five months of renovations. And of course, in the UAE, where there’s a new restaurant, it generally means that there’s also a new Friday brunch so I was only too happy to go along and test it out… 🙂
The restaurant is light and airy and has a classic but modern feel to it. It’s long in length and shape and has eating areas at slightly different levels throughout and often separated by glass windows which helps to add a feeling of privacy for diners.
As we all know, brunch in the city is big business and a hugely popular way to while away your Friday afternoon with friends. Even on first glance as we were led through the restaurant to our table I thought the buffet spread looked impressive, and I hadn’t even seen half of it yet!
Salad bar
I don’t think I’ve ever seen quite such a colourful salad bar!
And many of you will be pleased to see that next to the salads and cold cuts, there’s also a naughty pork section where you can feast to your heart’s content on hams and salamis galore. Next to the non pork cold cuts you’ll also find a range of dips all served in the cutest little pots – of course there’s the obligatory hummus, but over and above that do make sure you try some of their other surprises. Mr. Arabian Notes and myself found the Beetroot moutable and the carrot hummus to be really impressive and to make a very nice change – especially good with their range of freshly baked breads on offer!
Carvery
Of course no brunch is complete without a carvery – and this one serves Wagyu beef no less, along with all your usual veggies and some delicious cheesy and creamy dauphinoise potatoes (there was also lamb to choose from).
Local tastes are not forgotten with an Arabic specialties selection. I’d quite often go past this section myself I have to admit, though I tried the stuffed baby marrow and the Musakhan chicken wrap and both were delicious. I’d never have thought that a baby marrow could be so tasty, but stuffed and served with yoghurt, I’d recommend you give it a go – it really is far, far better than it may sound and well worth a try!
Arabic selection
Making Musakhan chicken wraps
As far as the food selection goes, you can be assured that you won’t go hungry. In fact, quite the opposite I’m sure as it’s hard to find room to fit in everything you want to taste from their wide selection!
There’s the most beautiful and fresh looking sushi and sashimi along with seafood including oysters, crabs, prawns and clams…
Oysters
Seafood selection
Asian noodles, dim sum and meats, Indian choices with curries, dhal and amazing fresh tandoori bread made right in front of your very eyes all with a variety of chutneys, spices and pickles to accompany…
Asian and Indian
And even an indoor charcoal barbecue station for meats and fish. You just choose which cut you’d like and how you’d like it done and the chef will prepare it and have it sent over for you as soon as it’s ready.
I managed to remember to take a picture of one of my courses before getting too over excited and devouring the lot… the roast with the Wagyu beef and those unbelievable potatoes and yummy fresh veggies!
Of course there’s also a wide range of desserts to pick from and all kept beautifully fresh and cool behind glass cabinets, so you will need to ask for what you’d like. I quite liked this though, as I often find by the time I get to the desserts at brunches they’ve been massacred by unruly slicing techniques or prodded a few too many times by little (and big) pokey fingers! There’s also a chocolate fountain with fruits and marshmallows to dip as you choose if that’s your (or your kids) thing. Speaking of kids, the buffet also has a separate kids area set up with their own dedicated buffet and entertainment including clowns, drawing and arts and crafts. When I was there, one of the chefs was even entertaining one of the brunches medium-sized guests by baking and decorating cookies together so there really is something to keep everyone happy.
As well as all this food, there’s a bar in the middle of the restaurant to keep the Friday fun flowing and cocktail drinkers will also be pleased to note the numerous cocktail stations that are also set up around the restaurant offering different cocktails of the day.
Cheese
And finally – there’s also cheese. Who doesn’t love cheese? I certainly love my cheese, the only problem I have is where to find the space to fit some in after all the other indulgences!
We found the food selection to be not only extensive but happily, also fresh and delicious and the restaurant staff and chefs were only too happy to help with whatever we needed – explaining how things were made or what exactly they were and contained etc. It’s a great, bright and fresh feeling space that caters to both small and larger parties – we enjoyed our time as just the two of us but I can also say that it would be a perfect place to go with a big group of friends to enjoy together. There’s even the pub outside in the Le Meridien Village to roll on into afterwards, enjoying the atmosphere and keeping the party going there. What else could you ask for in a Friday brunch?!
The Latest Recipe ‘Latest Friday Brunch’ is held every Friday from 1pm to 4pm and is priced at:
Dhs450 per person for the bubbly brunch
Dhs370 per person including wines and cocktails
Dhs290 per person including soft drinks
Dhs135 per child.
For more information visit their website by clicking here.
RSS – Posts
Great Review of Brunch at the Le Meridien
Thanks!
Thanks Rashed!