Lunch at the Ritz
Posted on 06 July 2009 with no comments from readers
Chef Corrado Pani will always be fondly remembered in Dubai for his Bussola restaurant at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort.
But fans of this modern Italian chef should perhaps follow him on to the Ritz-Carlton where he is now in the process of transforming its Splendido Mediterranean restaurant, a New York inspired salon that spills out onto an attractive garden terrace in better weather.
Two-course menu
For a starter Chef Corrado has introduced a Dhs99 two-course lunch menu. His fulsome style of Italian cooking is a pleasant throw back to the early days of the Bussola, which some regulars did not enjoy so much after its conversion to a more minimalist nouvelle cuisine.
Choose from fresh scallops or finely sliced carpaccio for an appetizer. Then you can move onto delicious ravioli of several types garnished with wild mushrooms and a light balsamic reduction. Fresh breads and pizzas are also a specialty.
Guests in the hotel can also benefit from a 25 per cent across the board restaurant discount in the hot months. This helps to quench the cost of wine to go with the meal, and an excellent selection is available by the glass.
Desserts are Chef Corrado’s own take on the Italian classics and appropriately light at lunchtime.
As ever the service at the Ritz-Carlton is both faultless and personal with nobody forgetting to address you by name. This is a chance to enjoy the finest in Dubai hospitality at prices that are a bargain in this season.
Media haven
The Ritz-Carlton has always been popular with the media set in Dubai and is conveniently close to the Dubai Media City and the neighboring Internet City. But this is not the season to take a cigar and coffee on the terrace.
It is going to be intriguing to see how the new chef develops the menu at the Splendido overtime. But he seems determined to strike out in a new direction and create notable cuisine at prices more appropriate to current economic circumstances than at one or two local hotel chains that it would be impolite to mention.
Hopefully this is a part of a new trend, and the deserted restaurants of Dubai will once again soon be full with contented clients.
