Mirabel - Restaurant Review

Every now and then a restaurant that has been around for some time comes to my attention and I wonder why I've never ventured into it before. Mirabel has been attracting rave reviews from the likes of Time Out Abu Dhabi, but given my less than pleasant experience at the equally positively reviewed The One Cafe, I took their superlatives with a pinch of salt. A voucher opportunity came and went on Groupon, but when it was featured again on Cobone, I managed to convince my friends to join me on yet another culinary expedition. With four vouchers worth a total of AED 320 bought for AED 140, we headed to Fatouh Al Khair Center expecting a quiet weeknight dinner. Mirabel turned out to be the busiest spot in a generally deserted 'mall', and it made me wonder why they resorted to promoting their business on a group-discount site since it seemed to be doing quite well, not that I was complaining. A review on Time Out Abu Dhabi described the place as 'something out of the NY Upper East Side', and as an avid follower of the Gossip Girl TV series (I know, I know...), I was also looking forward to experiencing that ambiance. I have to say, the way it opened out into the mall spoiled the mood a little, so maybe a more enclosed area would've given it an air of exclusivity, but anyway, we were primarily there for the food.


We were promptly handed menus upon being seated, and I was glad to see that the dine-in menu was more extensive than the online version. We had picked our dishes beforehand so we did not take too much time to place our orders, although there were some last minute changes. My friend and I opted for the Norwegian Cod Fish & Chips with mashed peas, malt vinegar and chunky fries while my other two friends went with Chicken Milanese with mashed potato and Grilled Ribe-Eye Tagliata with roasted garlic and potatoes (the latter being my impromptu suggestion). Complementary bread and butter were placed on our table, but they couldn't hold a candle to Shaekspeare & Co's assorted bread basket and herbed butter (also complementary).

Maybe someday I will appreciate the intimacy of a two-party dinner date, but at the moment, I love dining in groups as the natural flow of conversation makes the wait between courses seem insignificant and a wider selection of items is available for sampling. The mains seemed to arrive in no time. The presentation of the dishes was, for the lack of a better word, appropriate for the standard of the restaurant but nothing extraordinary. I have to admit at this point that given the prices of the mains, I was almost expecting the serving size to be Chili's-esque, not that it was not filling. The Fish & Chips was good, with the batter crispy and the fish flaky and most importantly, not fishy. However, if not for the mashed peas and the malt vinegar, which I did not incorporate into my meal, the dish could've easily passed for something from 'London Fish & Chips', where cod fillets and chips go for AED 35 as opposed to Mirabel's AED 82.

Now on to the two extremes. The disappointment of the night was Chicken Milanese (AED 74). The chicken was ordinary at best, and it was accompanied by rocket leaves and mustard infused mashed potato. None of us are big fans of rocket leaves given its bitter taste, and on that particular night we were all the more reluctant to have fresh salad in any form with the recent outbreak of E.coli. The mashed potato was fluffy with a hint of mustard, but some more depth to its flavor - perhaps with some sprinkling of cheese - would've been appreciated. The star dish of the night was the Grilled Rib-Eye Tagliata (AED 78). The sliced steak arrived grilled just the way we wanted it - well done but not tough and chewy, and the meat tasted ever so slightly smoky. The side of roasted garlic and potatoes was everything I had hoped it would be. The garlic pods, roasted with its skin on, oozed out the most delicious natural paste of garlic, softened and sweetened in the roasting process. I almost wished I had ordered that instead, and I made a mental note to come back for it in the future.

The service was pretty prompt although it was a busy night. Our vouchers were accepted without a hint of disappointment on our server's face (something that I have encountered before much to my annoyance). Her presence of mind was also commendable as she issued four different invoices for each voucher and presented the exact balance that each of us had to pay as our dishes were of different values. Overall, Mirabel left a positive impression and I plan to go back with the Buy 1 Breakfast Get 1 Free next on my agenda.

Eric Kayser - Restaurant Review

I can't believe it has been almost three! years since my last update. I kept thinking I'd get around to doing a new post soon but that time never came, and before I knew it, three years had flown by. I am as passionate and picky about my food as ever. I have explored numerous restaurants around town and even outside town since the last time I posted here. Unfortunately, they have not been chronicled as I would've liked, and there were some unique experiences that I am now having a hard time recalling, but I'll try my best to pick up where I left off.

Ever since UAE became host to several group-discount sites in 2010, I have gone jet skiing, rode camels, beach buggies and went dune bashing while on a desert safari and just returned from a dhow dinner cruise all the way in Dubai. The group-discount sites have also opened up a world of (discounted) eating options. While most of the places featured are affordable anyway, I think it is the smarter option to pay half the bill amount with a simple online purchase.

Eric Kayser is one of several European style cafes that have popped up in the past few years. I was having second thoughts about trying out this cafe, but their promise of wood fire pizza tipped my decision in their favor. The cafe is located in Abu Dhabi Mall, just beside the more popular Mugg & Bean franchise. Soon after placing our order, we were given complementary bread bites with zaatar and labneh dips (sadly, not pictured). That was a little unexpected given the theme and feel of the place, but it was a tangy, light opening to our lunch.

The items I picked were the ones that appealed to me in the featured pictures in their menu. I can be a visual person when it comes to food, and although AED 40+ for a salad seemed a little hefty, I could not get the thought the Caesar Salad with Grilled Shrimps (AED 29+15) out of my mind. It arrived looking extremely inviting. The shrimps were perfectly grilled and ample (although my friend who later visited the outlet and ordered the same salad based on my recommendation complained about the few, scattered pieces of shrimp tossed in), the parmigiano-reggiano shavings was sharp (and generous - most places are careful with how much of that cheese they incorporate into their salads as its price is on the steep side in this part of the world) and the Caesar dressing tangy. The portion size was also generous and more than enough for two. I was pretty full by the time the mains and side order arrived , but the light nature of the salad allowed me tuck into them anyway.

For mains, I had ordered the Rucula and Bresaola Pizza (AED 48) and EK Club Sandwich (AED 39), with a side order of Sauteed Potatoes with Garlic and Coriander (AED 16). It may have been the lack of proper seasoning, but I found the much touted wood fire pizza rather boring. The club sandwich was also not much to write home about and nothing about it stood out. The accompanying fries like the store-bought frozen variety when most places of EK's projected standard make their own fresh fries. The side order was also forgettable. For drinks we had opted for Lemon Iced Tea (AED 15) and Fresh Watermelon Juice (AED 18). The iced tea could easily pass for Lipton's canned version which I am very fond of, and I was a little disappointed that they had again not gone through the effort of making their own.

A little word on the service - once our order had been taken, the servers were very hard to get hold of. We had to wait atleast 5-10 minutes before we got someone's attention to fetch our bill. Once we did receive the bill and presented our voucher for redemption, the server applied it to the wrong table and we had to wait a further 10 minutes before he returned with the right pending balance, which I paid after walking up to the cash register myself since no one was coming to collect it after a further 5 minute wait. For a restaurant that isn't too busy, this level of service was disappointing.

Would I go back? Probably not to dine in, but to takeaway a bowl of that lovely salad.