The Big Sell

Some restaurants, like Rococo at Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach, have so much going for them. So why the problem filling seats?

The question that sprung to mind mid-way through dining at Rococo was, “What more can the management do?”

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Maybe I should have been focusing more on what they were doing right, rather than what they were doing wrong, but something must have been wrong as the restaurant had gone 
quiet. It was in the doldrums. And it was just 10.30pm.

This concerned me, rattling my 
reviewing senses, prompting me to think long and hard. That’s not to say that my dinner companion wasn’t 
entertaining, but she’d already taken to burning innocent crostini in the 
centrepiece candle, which was either an indictment on our ability to communicate, her personal review on the crostini, or that the restaurant’s cocktails had been slightly over-enjoyed. I can assure you that the crostini was fresh and crunchy, so it’s unavoidably 
options one or three.

But back to the irksome question: “Why was the restaurant so quiet?” Rococo has so much going for it. It overlooks JBR’s The Walk, bang in 
the middle of the high-rise strip; a 
more prime piece of restaurant real estate you’d be hard pushed to find. Inside, the décor is slick, comfortable, stylish and arty, which is a challenging combo to pull off, but it does so with aplomb, giving one the feel of a restaurant that would be as comfortable dropped into London’s Soho or New York’s SoHo, as much as Dubai’s top beachside community.

Next up, add in a dollop of live 
music, sung by an extremely attractive duet from Finland, who sadly finished too early to be fully enjoyed, leaving us to enjoy piped in ‘chilled beats’ that fitted nicely with the relaxed décor of the restaurant, meaning we’re still ticking off positives.

‘There’s a ‘but’ coming up,’ I can hear you thinking.

Not yet.

The menu at Rococo is an unusual entity, reminiscent of the taster menu at Table 9, the signature restaurant in Hilton Dubai Creek, as you can choose from a selection of tapas-sized dishes, of which you’ll need 4-5 each to be fully sated. For starters go for the 
‘Soufle Al Caprino, Timo’ (goats cheese soufflé), which is hot, rich and full of vegetarian flavour. Also notable is the ‘Lasagneta Al Pomorodino Datterino, Burata D.O.P.’ (which is a mouthful to say), but is literally a divine veggie 
lasagne made with the chef’s personal style that is light, yet filling. Also try the Veal cheeks, which I’m not going to write in Italian as the page isn’t large enough, but be assured that its rich flavours are somewhat like a traditional British Sunday lunch shrunk into bite-size chunks. As a Brit reviewer, that is not an insult, I assure you.

So with that many positives, why the lack of business? The answer came 
after dining, as we weaved our way through the hotel to find the exit: 
it’s very hard to find. That’s a difficult one to solve so, short of building 
stairs directly to The Walk, some canny marketing is needed. With so much 
going for it though, Rococo should be an easy sell.

Now, to get there, take the main 
entrance, go through the…