Brunch with a view

Everyone knows how popular the Friday brunch concept is in the sunny Emirates. Come weekend, it’s almost become a time-honoured ritual of sorts to go put up your feet at your favourite eat out and watering hole, and for many, it’s a whole-day event too, with brunch extending to tea time and beyond.

Most restaurants worth their salt 
offer a decent brunch, but there are 
only a handful of places that can really beat the others hands down at this weekend meal.

The Address Downtown offers two Friday brunches that you can try out, at two of their stellar restaurants: Calabar and Fazaris. We sauntered in late to Calabar — even by Friday brunch standards — well past noon, for the Suave & Sophisticated Brunch. The vibrant, Latin-inspired, informal chic restaurant is laid out as an attractive lounge, curving attractively along your line of sight, but the real draw is outdoors, and how!

Step out of Calabar into a large, partially-raised and partially-sunk-in-places terrace that serves as an outdoor dining area, and you don’t want to go anywhere else for the foreseeable future. Against an unhindered view of the sky, the iconic Burj Khalifa completely commands the view, and you can do nothing but plonk on the rattan seating and soak in the one sight that gets Dubai precedence on the world map. And right now, the weather can’t get more perfect for daytime dining out of doors. There’s a two-member band playing live music, albeit softly enough to blend in with the relaxed ambience.

The outdoor lounge is also the best place to sample Calabar’s signature South American beverages and iced teas. You have the option of mixing your iced tea with your favourite beverage, for a great 
refresher, that will take you back to that sunny holiday you had (or wish you did) in South America or Barcelona. For acco-mpaniments, the ceviche, tacos and quesadillas are textbook Mexican, and we have to refrain from picking out the fillings to inspect them, in a bid to try and replicate them at home (as if!). My favourite is the gazpacho soup, while my friend can’t get enough of the burritos with minced beef. A tableful of meat cuts and cheeses — some good and some not so much — keep you going for a while, that is, until you feel you want to do real justice to food. What is Friday brunch, after all, if you don’t overeat?

Fazaris, right next door to Calabar, has a similar décor, yet is the antithesis of the former — large, lavish, busy and noisy. The music here is louder, commanding your attention. Termed the Vintage 
Friday Brunch, the spread at this multicuisine restaurant extends across a blend of Asian, Indian, Arabic and Mediterranean cuisine, with paired beverages. Keeping up to The Address’ standards, the place is the epitome of sophistication, with subtle yet grand interior.

The buffet counters and live cooking stations jostle for attention, and don’t blame yourself for being lost with all 
that choice. After a walk through, you can decide what you want, and a meal is what you make of it.

My friend, who’s decided she’d had enough of meat for starters, piles her plate with enough sushi to supply a 
seafood store, while I opt for duck and beef cuts from the live stations, cooked in delicious sauces. The Arabic and Ind-ian buffet have all the usual suspects — ranging from kebabs to lamb shanks 
and butter chicken to pulao. My pal also makes a particularly arty snack out of the Mediterranean baked shrimp.

The less we say about the ample desserts, the better. Some things are meant to be seen, not heard about, and we can tell you it’s a room full of chocolate and confectionery artwork — a visual and mouth-watering treat.

Whatever you do, just take your food and drinks back to the terrace outdoors and watch the evening descend and the sun set behind the Burj Khalifa, and 
later, when the Dubai Fountains start their graceful dance. If you’re going into food-induced coma post-Friday brunch, you at least get to pass out in front of the best view this side of the planet.-marypaulose@khaleejtimes.com

---

Quick Bite

• What we liked: The view, the live stations and desserts at Fazaris
• What we didn’t like: The meat cuts at Calabar

• Cost for 1: 
Dh290 brunch with soft drinks and juices; Dh425 brunch with beverages
• Contact: 
Calabar & Fazaris at The Address Downtown Dubai,
• Tel: 04-8883444
• Editor’s Rating ****

• Food and Dining