During my travels to other countries, I only occasionally
dine at hotel restaurants, preferring places that are (hopefully) more local or
not teeming with tourists. In Dubai, this preference goes out the window. That’s
because, it’s mostly in hotels where I’m able to have an alcoholic drink with
my meal. And a glass of chilled white wine simply makes the experience of
dining al fresco so much better. After all, if you’re going to view the Burj Al
Arab closely, why not do it from a sunny patio with a glass of vino?
So, this is how we found ourselves at Dhow and Anchor, a
British restaurant located inside the famed Jumeirah Beach Hotel. It seems
strange to go to Dubai to have British food, but with the number of expats in
the country, they make good British eats – way better than the Chinese options
we tasted.
The British coast fisherman’s pie (AED130) was fantastic
incorporating big chunks of salmon, cod, and prawns, in a lovely leek gravy and
covered with rich mashed potatoes that is more buttery than what you’d normally
find on Shepard’s pie. Topped with a bit of cheese gratin, it makes for a
heavenly pie that’s simply intoxicating, in taste and aroma.
So much so that it seemed to really draw in the flies. In
fact, any dish seemed to attract the pesky buggers. The fly situation at Dhow
and Anchor was horrendous with a huge pack of them descending upon the table as
soon as our food arrived. We had to constantly have one hand waving in front of
our plates, while eating quickly, and finally using our napkin to cover the
dishes before they could be whisked away.
The restaurant really needs to invest in table fans that
flitter around to help keep the flies away. As it stands, the fisherman’s pie
was tasty but actually ingesting the dish was frustrating and rushed. I felt
like I was having fast food when the meal should be savoured. Al fresco dining
can be great, but I guess that’s the perils of outdoor eating.
Overall mark - 7 out of 10
How To Find Them
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Address: Jumeirah Beach Hotel
Address: Jumeirah Beach Hotel
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
