Go to Market Kitchen!

This is a part of a featured series highlighting businesses, events, services and products around the Capital that I love. They will be featured at the top of the blog. Please give these merchants a try. I did and I loved them! If I didn’t they won’t be featured. Promise!  🙂

I’m going to say it out loud right now, “I think you should go to Le Royal Meridien’s Friday brunch at Market Kitchen this weekend!”

First let me tell you, if you haven’t been to Le Royal Meridien lately you should go because the recent remodel is fantastic! It reminds me of California… yet infused with Italian design. It’s chic. It’s comfortable. It is unpretentiously suave. It lifts me to a higher standard without making me feel like I don’t belong.

As my 10 year-old son said, ‘Mom, I want to live in this restaurant.” The decor has that kind of welcoming balance.

Another reason why I love it so much. Because sometimes you want to have brunch without balloon art on your head, or someone spinning plates on a stick, or a petting zoo. (but if you got to have this type of thing it is located right down the hall complete with bubble machine and face painting for the kids or you I guess if you’re that sort of person).

Sometimes you want to sit with friends or business associates and have great food with fantastic cocktails and pleasant conversation — without the feeling of being in a mass horde of hungry wildebeests. If this is the case, then please visit The Market Kitchen because I did and I really enjoyed the change.

Did I mention the cocktails and the mocktails? If I didn’t shame on me! No lie. Hands down. And I am not joking you. Le Royal Meridien offers the best tasting cocktails in Abu Dhabi. If another hotel/restaurant/club wants to challenge this…bring it on, but I am here to say that the cock/mocktails are the freshiest and most inventive drinks I’ve tasted during my time here in Abu Dhabi. Cucumber martini, lychee raspberry,  bellinis, ginger margaritas…yum! yum!

Now onto the brunch. First, it is not a buffet style brunch. It is a seated, shared, farm-to-table menu which means it will change every week. The brunch is offered as a set 4 course menu. A little different for us here in the land of over-the-top competitive brunches. After the bread and the drinks, came the first course appetizers, and although I wasn’t a huge fan of the tartare, my husband is always in the mood for sushi and we all loved the calamari. It was light and fresh and perfectly fried with a fabulous little lemon rosemary dip.

On to the second course, which, by the way had my boys at Hello; Steak, burgers, pizza and for me a tomato soup. Need I say more? Nope, but I will. It was tasty and we gobbled it up. You can never go wrong with a mini cheese pizza. And tomato soup is always one of my favorites. The little steak and egg stack was a nice surprise and an interesting chef creation.  Yummy and interesting — definitely a good combination. And of course, every little person needs the option of resorting to a burger and fries if they want to go with something familiar; and so the Market Kitchen graciously obliged. (Please overlook strange expression on child)

For the main course, we were presented with a wooden serving board of meat dishes for sharing along with an array of dipping sauces for grilled fillet of beef, parmesan crusted chicken, and a side order of grilled fish; they all were delicious. The sides were the familiar staples that you find around your own dining table: mashed potatoes, broccoli, mac and cheese, except with a creative twist and the juicy fact that you will not have to cook it.  The truth is I felt like I was at home with friends or family passing around our family favorites. The good thing is if any of these dishes do not make your mouth water then you can order from a selection of others off of another preset menu. It’s that simple.

To finish our experience off we were served a trio of desserts. Warm chocolate cake with a fudge filling, a warm apple crumb cobbler, and the market cheesecake with a side of berries. We finished the feast with a couple of cappuccinos and determined that this definitely deserved a return visit with either friends or for a business lunch for my husband. What makes the Market Kitchen so special is the management and the staff who are there to make sure your experience is a good one. I cannot rave about this anymore. Please go for yourself. Go this weekend!

 

Market Kitchen Brunch Friday from 12.30pm to 4.00pm

Cost: 250 with Mocktails, 350 with signature cocktails/wine and 450 with champagne

Le Royal Méridien Hotel

02 695 0300

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Although this is a sponsored post I can assure you these views are my own. I am a fan of the Market Kitchen and Le Royal Meridien Hotel and love sharing experiences that I enjoy.

A big thank you to the staff and management for your kindness and hospitality.