United Arab Emirates

A well-deserved place on The World’s 50 Best Mena (No. 44): Restaurant Jun’s (26. March 2023)
I have tried visiting the Jun’s a few times already since it was nominated No. 44 of The World’s 50 Best MENA, but somehow something got in between. So, before flying out at 8.30pm, I decided to visit it at 6pm. Hence, I had, obviously, not too much time to eat, but they made sure […]

Decent shisha but not really a place with a lot of atmopshere: Hookah Bar Le Tube (25. March 2023)
It wasn’t all too easy to find a shisha place, which was still open, close to my hotel, but luckily, there was one right next to it. The Le Tube is basically a very simple place, which offers “double apple shisha” (75.00 AED). And it’s functional. I mean, the shisha is okay, the prices are […]

Overall a nice experience with overly caring service staff: Restaurant Tàn Chá (24. March 2023)
The Tàn Chá was recommended to me by a friend and the hotel concierge at the same time, so I decided to give it a try. The “Treasure of Two Rainbows (hibiscus infused Tito’s vodka, raspberry shrub, strawberry lemonade)” (65.00 AED) was quite a nice way to start into the evening. To be fair, though, […]

A very decent breakfast, but not a place I’d travel to: Restaurant Hayal @ The St. Regis Downtown Dubai (24. March 2023)
My stay at The St. Regis Downtown Dubai was just exquisite. They were super friendly and upgraded me to a Deluxe Suite, and even when I extended the stay by a night, they offered me to do it on the same rate. Frankly, quite amazing service, really! Hence, I was looking forward to breakfast at […]

An absolutely delicious experience, but on the rather pricey side: Restaurant TABŪ (23. March 2023)
The Tabu is conveniently located on the top of The St. Regis Downtown, Dubai – even though you cannot access it directly from there, but you have to walk around it. The place was relatively empty for a Thursday evening, which might have been largely related to the fact that it’s Ramadan and people tend […]

One of the best Executive Lounges I’ve seen in over 1’450 hotel nights @ Marriott: Level 5 Lounge @ Grosvenor House Dubai (19. March 2023)
Frankly, I was absolutely blown away when I entered the Level 5 Lounge in Tower 2 of the Grosvenor House Dubai. I mean, you are welcomed personally, brought to a table, and you’re asked straight away what you want to drink. That is something I have not experienced so far in any executive lounge. It’s […]

Amazing dishes, but non-satisfactory service performance: Restaurant 11 Woodfire (18. March 2023)
Since there are not too many restaurants of The World’s 50 Best MENA in Dubai, my ambition is to try basically all of them. Tonight, it was time for No. 35. Again, I had asked to have the starters timed, so I wouldn’t end up with all the dishes at the same time. Guess what. […]

Quite an outstanding shisha in a simple place: Marbaiya Café (18. March 2023)
Since the Grosvenor House doesn’t offer shisha on premise until like 7pm, I decided to look for a place which is close and found the Marbaiya Café, which offers “double apple shisha” (89.00 AED), which was exquisite. It’s smooth, doesn’t harm throat. Now, what could be better is the service, since you have to actively […]