5 Eating
The city’s sprawling beach resorts,
with their many top-end restaurants,
happening bars and popular nightclubs,
dominate new dubai� if you’re not staying
at a resort, spend an evening at one� They
are far from the chaos of inner dubai, and
you won’t have to hail a taxi until it’s time
to go home� This section also includes
several restaurants in the Mall of the
emirates�
orhodes
MeZZanine MoDern briTiSh $$$
Map p220 (%04-317 6000; Grosvenor house,
al-Sufouh rd, Dubai Marina; mains Dh180-240;
h7.30pm-11.30pm Mon-Sat) Celebrity chef
Gary Rhodes is famous for bringing Brit-
ish cuisine into the 21st century and has a
Michelin star to prove it. Here, the empha-
sis is squarely on quality ingredients pre-
pared in fresh, surprising ways. There’s fish
on the menu but it’s meat lovers who will
discover culinary nirvana in the finest fil-
let steak, rack of lamb or slow-roasted pork
belly. In August 2010 Rhodes opened his
second restaurant, a dedicated steakhouse:
rhodes Twenty 10 (Map p220; le royal Merid-
ien beach resort & Spa; cnr Murjan ave & Dhow St,
off al-Sufouh rd, al-Sufouh, Dubai Marina). Reser-
vations are essential for both restaurants.eauZone Fu Sion $$$
Map p220 (%04-399 9999; arabian Court,
one&only royal Mirage, al-Sufouh rd, al-Sufouh;
mains Dh115-225) This jewel of a restaurant
is an inspired port of call drawing friends,
romancing couples and fashionable fami-
lies. The poolside setting is sublime, with
decks jutting out over illuminated blue wa-
ter like little islands, while the menu is a
winning fusion of European cooking tech-
niques and Pacific Rim flavours. This is
smart cooking; you won’t be disappointed.
Reservations essential.indeGo i nDian $$$
Map p220 (%04-317 6000; Grosvenor house,
al-Sufouh rd, Dubai Marina; mains Dh110-
240; h7.30pm-midnight Sun-Fri, to 1am Thu)
Michelin-starred Vineet Bhatia is the con-
sulting chef at this gracious Indian res-
taurant with an intimate dining room,
lorded over by big brass Natraj sculptures.
Recommended dishes include the house-palM JuMeirah: piTfalls in paradiseEven in a city known for its outlandish megaprojects, the Palm Jumeirah stands out:
an artificial island in the shape of a palm tree made from 1 billion cubic metres of
dredged sand and stone� Built to increase Dubai’s beachfront, it consists of a 2km
trunk and 16-frond crown, which are kept in place by an 11km-long crescent-shaped
breakwater� An elevated driverless monorail whisks passengers from the Gateway
Towers station at the bottom of the trunk to the Atlantis – The Palm Hotel� Eventually,
it may be linked to the Dubai metro’s Red Line�
‘May’ seems to be the operative word when it comes to the Palm Jumeirah� When
construction began in 2001, developers envisioned the island to be a mix of five-star
hotels, luxurious beachfront villas, high-rise apartment buildings, marinas and malls�
But it soon became clear that not all was going according to plan� The completion
date kept getting pushed back, construction density was higher and building quality
lower than advertised� After innumerable delays, at least one more hotel has opened:
One&Only The Palm (p143)� However, others (including the Trump International Ho-
tel & Tower) have been officially cancelled (as of February 2011)� The QE2, which was
purchased by developers for use as a floating hotel, will now relocate to Cape Town�
Apparently, the amount of asbestos that was used in the original building of the
luxury liner was potentially hazardous and a major factor in this decision�
The environmental impact of the Palm Jumeirah has been significant� Dredging
had an adverse effect on local marine life and the breakwater inhibited tidal move-
ment, leading to stagnant water, excessive algae growth and smelly beaches� On a
more positive note, the problem has since been somewhat alleviated by cutting gaps
into the breakwater� Furthermore, well-publicised New York Times reports in 2009
stating that the Palm was sinking by a clip of 5mm per year, have been categorically
refuted by developers Nakheel who say that there have been no reports of any struc-
tural problems on any of the buildings�n
ewd
ubai(^) e
a
Tin
G