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À la carte or buffet: which should you pick?
Two UAE food bloggers give us the answer
Dining out is probably the city's favourite recreational activity. For us, dining out is about more than just the food. Dining out encompasses an entire experience, ranging from ambience to service, all of which is artfully designed to complement the food. That's why most of us prefer to dine out on the weekends as a way to relax, have fun, and enjoy ourselves. With an à la carte menu, I just don't see that happening. Lucky for us, a lot of restaurants offer exclusive buffets on the weekends so that you can take your love for food to a whole new level.
The dining scene in the city includes some brilliant buffet options such as Kitchen 6, Coya, Minato, Barbeque Nation etc., that allow you to really experience all that a restaurant has to offer.
With an à la carte menu, most people simply reorder the same dishes over and over again when they visit a restaurant. This might be a great way to savour your all-time favourites, but it stops you from truly exploring all the culinary delights that the restaurant has to offer. A buffet gives you the option to try out something you haven't tried before and maybe end up with a new favorite.
You can eat an à la carte meal every day right at home or at a restaurant like Zuma, 3fils, or Slab. But if you are dining out, make it extra special by opting for a buffet instead, especially if you are sharing the experience with family and friends. With a buffet, every member of your group is sure to find at least one or two dishes that will appeal to their palate.
And the cherry on the top is that buffets are much more economical compared to ala carte. You get a magnificent spread of dishes at a price you would be lucky to get three or four dishes in an à la carte menu. And with the Entertainer, the BOGO offer makes dining out easier on the pocket!
Javeria Akhter
is the Dubai-based food blogger and the face behind www.DineoutDubai.net. You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook @DineOutDubai
Confusing buffet etiquette! With à la carte menus, you avoid the weird sit-down/stand-up conundrum. Why do we sit down only to immediately stand up? What is an acceptable sitting period? The waiter feels obliged to professionally sit you and delicately place a napkin on your lap which you both know is going to be discarded to allow for the initial buffet recce.
Secondly, less food done better. Sprawling Dubai buffets are indeed a sight to behold. However, once the early novelty of 20 metre cheeseboards and multi-cuisine glutinous options wear off, the realisation of the behind-the-scenes production line and wastage triumphs.
A carefully considered and fresh customisable (rare or medium, madame?) à la carte menu affords far more attention and respect to the individual diner.
The venue. By their sprawling nature, the intimacy of the dining experience is often lost in a buffet environment. The necessary but sporadic foraging expeditions also tend to splinter groups with the effect of further limiting collective discourse.
Cross contamination. Chicken jalfrezi and lasagne have no place cohabiting a plate at home so why allow such a sacrilege whilst dining out? They say variety is the spice of life but I counter that this decree is not applicable in all aspects of life. Allow cuisines to flourish centre stage rather than diluting their impact through haphazard assortments.
Ruins the vision of a restaurant. A restaurant works when a collective group is brought together to create culinary treats and deliver them to the diner in pre-considered portions in a courteous manner. Spare a thought for the chefs who witness the onslaught of hordes piling food well beyond reasonable human consumption and the waiting staff whose moment to shine is denied as they are left staring in wonderment at the frenzied feeding and resulting aftermath.
Give me a smaller intimate surrounding with attentive service any day.
Nicole Lovelock Mears
Is an influencer and the blogger behind www.shedinedinthesun.com. You can keep up with her on Instagram @nicole_lovelock_mears
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