HONESTLY’S VERDICT

In a word: Dreamy.

Food: The fine art of seafood.

Service: Once seated, attentive and efficient.

Presentation: 5 star.

Ambience: Romantic, dreamy and relaxed vibe.

Location: Fabulous location on the end of a pier looking out to sea and over Dubai’s iconic Madinat Jumeirah resort.

Value for money: Food and the view make it a treat that’s worth it.

Worth a visit?: Oh yes.

Pier Chic has to be one of the most romantic spots in Dubai, as the name suggests, it’s set at the end of a pier on the beach in front of Al Qasr Hotel on the Madinat Jumeirah stretch of coast, overlooking the Arabian Sea and the rather fabulous looking Burj Al Arab, Dubai’s self proclaimed seven star hotel.

I was taken to Pier Chic on my first visit to Dubai for a romantic meal by my now husband, hence it holds a rather special place in my heart.  Hopefully this hasn’t spoilt my objectivity, I don’t think so as it was awarded a highly commended in the Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards for Best Romantic Restaurant in 2011 and 2012, and then crowned winner of the Best Seafood Restaurant category in 2012.

Pier Chic offers an extensive a la carte seafood menu, but for those who are on the look out for a bit of a bargain, Pier Chic’s ‘Lunch on the Pier’ degustation menu for AED175 per head, should rock your boat.  The menu changes weekly and is an excellent way to glimpse the style and quality of dishes on the a la carte; you can have a three-course mini-meal for the price of a main from the a la carte menu!

Please note, when I say mini-meals, I do mean mini, looking back at the pictures I remember just how small the servings were.  Initially, I was a little bit disappointed when our starters were served, however as the meal unfolded, and we’d eating the contents of the bread basket, I got into the flow of degustation as a rather fab way to eat high quality ingredients in artfully created signature dishes without the hefty price tag that I would associate with a meal at somewhere like Pier Chic.

Food:

We chose one of everything from the lunchtime menu to make sure we got a chance to savour the taste of everything!

Our starters were Tuna Carpaccio served with king crab pana cotta, asparagus, and soft quail egg, and Monk Fish and Grey Shrimps with pickled beet puree and asparagus salad.  The wafer thin slice of tuna was almost too delicate to taste, I felt that perhaps it was a little overwhelmed by the crabby pana cotta.

Intermediates were Truffle and cauliflower soup with balik salmon and toasted almond, together with Gratinated pumpkin polenta with beef short rib rilette.  The texture and flavour of the polenta against the rich shredded beef was beautiful.  I felt that the cauliflower’s delicate flavour in the soup was overwhelmed by truffle, possibly as truffle a flavour i’ve only just started to become accustomed to and hence more sensitive to.  It also felt rather odd that the salmon was sat in the middle of the bowl…didn’t stop it being tasty!

Our mains were two large Black tiger prawns served with garlic mashed potato, green beans, beurre noisette garlic chips, and Pan friend sea bass with braised savoy cabbage, veal bacon, and sweet corn puree.  I loved the pair of succulent meaty prawns on their bed of mash, a really simple and filling little dish that really made the meal for me.

And finally for desert we had Red fruits served in various forms; blackcurrant jelly, strawberry mouse, and raspberry sponge, together with Baked toffee banana pudding with vanilla icecream and banana mousseline.  The baked pudding wasn’t as good as it could have been, it didn’t really pack a punch in terms of flavours or texture.  The Red fruits on the other hand were a perfect combination of textures and berrilicious flavours, smooth and sharp at the same time.

We followed dessert with a couple of cocktails, just because we could!

The complimentary chocolates that appeared on our table were a very welcome way to round off our delicious meal, as were the table of dates and Arabic sweeties we discovered on the way out!

Presentation:

The location is romantic, the restaurant smart, elegantly laid out and clean.  The seat pads on the chairs are a little bit backgarden-bbq-style…that’s about the only criticism I can muster up.

The food is artfully presented; eye-catching combinations of colours, textures and lines almost make the dishes too good to eat, but I got over that!

Pricing:

The Lunchtime degustation menu is AED175 per head. 

Service:

On arrival, it took a few minutes for someone to attend and seat us as we turned up at the same time as another couple.  Throughout the rest of our lunch date, a super efficient waitress attended to us.

The duty manager came over to chat with us and enquire about our experience at Pier Chic.  I thought it was a nice touch for her to take the time and talk to us, it felt like the restaurant cared about our experience with them, which I find is all too often missing when you dine out.

Contact:

Tel: +971 4 366 6730

Email: MJrestaurants@jumeirah.com

Timings:

Lunch: 1300 to 1500

Dinner: 1900 to 2330

Smart casual dress code