Anise "Taste the World" Brunch, The InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Brunch Reviews | In Unspecified on June 19th, 2018
3 Overall200-300 AED
Unspecified
Potential here for a new little gem of a place! The entrance meets you with what looks like a country fire with wooden logs underneath the first of 8 live cooking stations. The seating area is bright and spacious, although it did have the slightly clinical feeling of a cafeteria seating space. The view certainly makes you want to sit outside and the breeze from the water and shading area allows for this in the cooler months.
THE FOOD
The name of the restaurant also forms it's focal points, with 8 live cooking stations based around the 8 points of the star anise. The interactive chef-to-diner experience is a culinary shortcut around the world as it samples snippets of cuisines from different corners of the globe.
Variety is the spice of life with an exquisite selection of both cold seafood and a fish souk where you can select form a variety of fish and cooking styles. A particularly knowledgeable sous chef was able to explain the origins of both the dishes and the produce they are made from with his beef, salmon & asparagus roll a particular highlight of the day. We worked our way around the pasta, curry and eggs stations, as well as a meat carvery that featured a few stand out dishes for carnivores. The lamb saddle and the huge beef joint draw you in due to their sheer size, but it is the mini rib eye steaks, beef patties and crab cakes which can be cooked to your preference that give added substance to the show. All of the trimmings, from the Yorkshire puddings and green salads were fresh and replenished at regular intervals.
Desserts were available and presented very well in glass cabinets akin to a confectionary shop, with staff on hand to inform you of what is on offer.
THE DRINKS
Possibly the largest mojitos in town and certainly one of the tastiest. There is a live drinks station with some variety, however it is not as vast as other brunches in Dubai and for the most part we stuck to the regular house pours of house wine/ mojitos / beer. Service is free flowing and swift.
OVERALL
The brunch was particularly quiet on our visit, which suited our purpose and allowed us to consistently have our glasses filled up, however there wasn't any atmosphere as such to speak of. Entertainment was very much of our own making and if a "quiet one" is what you're after, then it ticks those boxes comfortably.
The breadth of food choice was impressive and the depth in the quality of the individual dishes was a pleasant surprise. The tables cards that are placed on each table with a pen allow you to indulge in a very "Dubai" way of brunching, whereby you simply write down what you would like to eat and the waiters go off and fetch hit for you. Part of the fun of a buffet is wandering around and taking little bits of this and little bits of that to make up our plates, plus we need the exercise to walk off all of the food and drink that we consume so this method wasn't for us, but as they say…each to their own! If you were to bring your own crowd and enjoy a leisurely afternoon of grazing, the Anise Brunch is perfect for those who like to get their weekends off to a slower start.
Every Friday from 1pm to 4pm
AED 245 (With Soft Beverages)
AED 395 (With House Beverages)
Kids 12 years and below dine with the restaurants compliments
Mr & Mrs Brunch were invited by the hotel and the review was conducted anonymously by guest reviewers.
THE FOOD
The name of the restaurant also forms it's focal points, with 8 live cooking stations based around the 8 points of the star anise. The interactive chef-to-diner experience is a culinary shortcut around the world as it samples snippets of cuisines from different corners of the globe.
Variety is the spice of life with an exquisite selection of both cold seafood and a fish souk where you can select form a variety of fish and cooking styles. A particularly knowledgeable sous chef was able to explain the origins of both the dishes and the produce they are made from with his beef, salmon & asparagus roll a particular highlight of the day. We worked our way around the pasta, curry and eggs stations, as well as a meat carvery that featured a few stand out dishes for carnivores. The lamb saddle and the huge beef joint draw you in due to their sheer size, but it is the mini rib eye steaks, beef patties and crab cakes which can be cooked to your preference that give added substance to the show. All of the trimmings, from the Yorkshire puddings and green salads were fresh and replenished at regular intervals.
Desserts were available and presented very well in glass cabinets akin to a confectionary shop, with staff on hand to inform you of what is on offer.
THE DRINKS
Possibly the largest mojitos in town and certainly one of the tastiest. There is a live drinks station with some variety, however it is not as vast as other brunches in Dubai and for the most part we stuck to the regular house pours of house wine/ mojitos / beer. Service is free flowing and swift.
OVERALL
The brunch was particularly quiet on our visit, which suited our purpose and allowed us to consistently have our glasses filled up, however there wasn't any atmosphere as such to speak of. Entertainment was very much of our own making and if a "quiet one" is what you're after, then it ticks those boxes comfortably.
The breadth of food choice was impressive and the depth in the quality of the individual dishes was a pleasant surprise. The tables cards that are placed on each table with a pen allow you to indulge in a very "Dubai" way of brunching, whereby you simply write down what you would like to eat and the waiters go off and fetch hit for you. Part of the fun of a buffet is wandering around and taking little bits of this and little bits of that to make up our plates, plus we need the exercise to walk off all of the food and drink that we consume so this method wasn't for us, but as they say…each to their own! If you were to bring your own crowd and enjoy a leisurely afternoon of grazing, the Anise Brunch is perfect for those who like to get their weekends off to a slower start.
Every Friday from 1pm to 4pm
AED 245 (With Soft Beverages)
AED 395 (With House Beverages)
Kids 12 years and below dine with the restaurants compliments
Mr & Mrs Brunch were invited by the hotel and the review was conducted anonymously by guest reviewers.
Food 
Drink
Atmosphere
