Al Mahara

My wife and I visited on Feb 22nd taking our 2-year old daughter with us. We are experienced "fine diners", particularly in London and the UK. Our taxi trip to the hotel was uneventful, and the Burj had our names on "the list" so we we were dropped off at the front lobby. The reception was polite and although we were early we were taken to the restaurant immediately. Our daughter enjoyed the simulated submarine ride, although it's a bit gimmicky, and the reception areas reminded me of some of the scenes out of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. If what we saw was indeed gold leaf, then they could not have done more to make it look like slightly naff glittery gold paint. The restaurant itself was very pleasant with tables being set around the circumference of the centrally placed aquarium. However there could not have been more than half a dozen tables in use throughout the lunch sitting.

The a la carte menu was very expensive and seafood dominated - I fanced the cauliflower veloute with caviar, but at £35 for a starter and then £100 for my mains I felt it was OTT and the 350Dh business lunch looked just as good so we both went for that. Our starters of crab canneloni (wife) and ? that's not good, I've forgotten what I had! Anyway, the starters were very good and perfectly seasoned. My mains of fillet of beef was OK but the meat lacked flavour as it has not been hung for long enough. In addition, the jus wasn't sufficiently concentrated to add significantly to the flavour. My wife's scallops were very good as were both our desserts - my mixed berry and cream dessert served in a chocolate half-shell with hazelut ice cream was really excellent, and the coffee and petit fours were also better than average.

The total bill (inc tip) and two bottles of outrageously overpriced sparkling mineral water came to 900Dh (ca. £150). The service was slightly amateurish but polite at all times. In summary, the quality of food (my mains excepted) and service was about single michelin star standard. At £150, given where we were, I think was acceptable, but I doubt I would have felt the same paying four times that for the al la carte. It was also amusing trying to convince my daughter that the groupers were not in fact going to eat her (despite my threats to the contrary).
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Gareth Rees
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Friday, March 05, 2010

i stayed here 2 weeks ago and i hated the stay it was horrible the catering was terrible the restaurant was horrible and i prefered the restaurants outside of the hotel thanks for the horrible stay.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Thursday, February 25, 2010

over priced & over rated.

whilst it is true that the premiere seafood restaurant at Dubai's seven star hotel does immediately conjure images of the sublime in your mind's eye, it seems that this restaurant falls short when trying to achieve the basics of what a restaurant in this price/status bracket should deliver.

After putting aside my own subjective views on the "kitsch-ness" of the initial faux submarine ride, the seemingly fake Versace interior and the theme park styling, an objective review for the food and service leaves Al Mahara lacking.

the meal was a five course fixed menu for valentines day. we were informed by our waiter that the menu was designed by the Chef to test us. yet no explanation of what exactly is was that he was trying to test.

the peach iced tea amuse bouche was an interesting start, the flavours were at once sweet and complex. the problem was the consistency and thickness of the liquid. the syrupy peah lingered on the tounge and mouth and conflicted majorly with the delicate flavours of the lobster dish that followed.

much of the meal followed in the same pattern. with the exception of one of the desserts and the petit fours, which were a terrible excess of sugar and unnessecary red, most of the courses in there own right were good, but not standout.

my main issue was with the conflicting flavors in each course and how the procession from dish to dish happened as no two dishes seemed to flow effortlessly into one onother

the service was very good, with only one incident occouring throughout the meal. a ten could have been acheived if not for the assistant manager coming to introduce himself mid course, when we both had our mouths full. it was off putting and embarassing for us both.

in summing up, was this good value for money? in no way at all. at AED950 per head just for the food, diners will come with a high expectation for flavour, creativity and culinary genius. Al Mahara failed to deliver this.

no amount of flashy gimmickery in the interior of the restaurant, nor superior service can substitute for failing to deliver what we as diners expect when we sit in a restaurant that prices itself in that calibre.

Al Mahara is not the most expensive eating experience in Dubai. Most discerning diners would be better off to pay more some place else and hae there expectations met and exceeded.

Would i go again? no. not even if someone else was paying.
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Dave
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Monday, February 15, 2010

Probably one of the best I have had the opportunity to dine in (no make that the best) whilst some may think this a little expensive boy was the food and service excellent.

The fusion of flavours were a true delight I had Japanese Scallops with a Wagyu Ravioli and Bourguignon sauce for starter my companions had Roasted King Prawns with Pomegranate, Hummous with Coriander and the other had French Green Pea Gazpatcho. All three of us could not believe the intense flavours and the presentation was excellent.

Mains were also excellent two of us had the signiture dish of Norwegian Halibut, Prawns, Gonocchi, Mussels a La Die'ppoise the tastes were behond belief each element adding to the next. Our other companion had Gold Risotto, Wild Mushrooms, Pumpkin, Parmesan which looked a picture on the plate and was a delight to taste.

Deserts were a further delight Crepes Suzette cook at the table, Violet Flower Infused Ice Parfait with Passion Fruit Marshmallow and Blackberry delight and the other was Vanilla Cre'me Brulee with a Compote of Berries.

The cost including 2 bottles of water and a fine bottle of red wine less than 4000 dhs. If you do nothing else in your life please visit the Al Muhara
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Ken Kavanagh
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, September 13, 2009

My boyfriend and I went to Al Mahara on Saturday to celebrate his birthday.

Atmospheare, food, service was simply top class.

It worth to go there for a very special occasion...
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Federica
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, July 14, 2009

My boyfriend brought me here on our first date and we go back every now and then but with all the other fine dining experiences that Dubai has to offer, there's nothing remarkable enough about this place to turn you into a regular.

A lot of people complain about the service but I've never had any troubles. They seem to pay a lot of attention to detail, especially the floor staff who remember our names. That's saying a lot, since we only visit once every few months or so.

The food isn't anything spectacular. There isn't a lot of experimentation with the flavours which is sort of disappointing. I think, overall, they rely a lot on the quality of the seafood moreso than anything else. It's the place to go for when you have a craving for a really nice, light seafood dinner. Don't expect some kind of gatronomical epiphany. You're better suited to try Tetsuya's in Sydney if that's what you're after. For Al Mahara, I recommend late Tuesday nights when it's relatively quiet.
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M
Sunday, August 24, 2008

Great aquarium! Otherwise, this restaurant is rather average.

Seriously, if you took away the aquarium, this restaurant wouldn't be worth more than 1/3 of what you have to pay. And if you considering factoring in the value of getting to visit the world famous Burj Al Arab, read on.

Service-wise, definitely just average (or maybe even slightly below) for a "real" five star hotel, let alone a "seven star." Foodwise, the restaurant is hit and miss. There were some dishes that pleasantly surprised us and some that were just room service standard.

Finally, you can't take photos in the restaurant and you are allowed on a very short leash on your visit around the hotel. They would not allow us in the sky bar and even an area of the lobby was off limits to those not being served. Considering that 3 of us paid Dh2000 just for lunch, I thought this was rather unreasonable.

The hotel itself is a big disappointment. Architecturally, it's fantastic. But after they erected the structure itself, almost everything else was done with bad taste. Very middle eastern (and not in a good way).

If you've got money to spare, and lower your expectations, it could be worth a visit.
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Henry
Saturday, January 12, 2008