Rydges Plaza Hotel: a nice place for a business lunch in Dubai

It is about 10 years since a friend first took me to Rydges and I have been going there for business lunches ever since. The location on the Satwa roundabout is easy for taxis if you fancy a glass from maitre d’ Gerrard’s ample cellar, although the parking is good for a dry lunch too.

The Italian fare on offer has changed little in a decade. There is a real pizza oven with a wide variety of options. The ante-pasta buffet looks inviting and I can seldom resist some of the parmesan cheese dug out of a huge wheel.

The attentive Filipina ladies will bring you steaming hot fresh bread with roasted garlic which is hard to ignore with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar ready on the table. If you are a regular like me you need to be quick to say if you will not be drinking, as your favorite wine will otherwise be waiting before you sit down.

For a light lunch we generally share a pizza and a main course. This is done for reasons of weight control but I suppose it does make the already very reasonable bill even lower. Rydges always has three specials at lunchtime and if you want something more substantial this is a good place to start, and there is usually a special lunch menu deal as well.

I think it is this combination of good service, good food and reasonable prices in an accessible location that attracts so many business people back again and again. Perhaps it just becomes such a habit that you ignore alternatives but I have often been disappointed on trying.

The formal businessman’s lunches for a party are also excellent. Indeed, this is where the chef likes to show off, and I have eaten some magnificent steaks and delicious deserts over such lunches, again for a very reasonable cost.

Rydges also knows how to finish a meal with proper Italian coffee and, if you require, a suitable digestif. Italians love the place which says it all really.