Longs Bar Brunch, Towers Rotana

Longs bar is a Dubai Institution…the kind of place to which stories that often start "Do you remember that one crazy night…"from years gone by are anchored to. From its catchy, yet simple and self-describing name, to the entrance which resembles the stairway down to the bowels of a medieval warship, the Longest Bar in the Middle East sets itself apart from Dubai's more noteworthy, headline grabbing, record holding institutions in that it is comfortable with its reputation, its regulars, and its…ridiculously long bar.

The Food

The buffet at Longs Bar Brunch was an unexpected smorgasbord of high quality international fayre which took us all by surprise. Mrs B started at the Egg Station with the Chef who was ready to serve up your preference of either Fried, Poached, Scrambled or an Omelet with a variety of trimmings, before moving onto the warming Seafood Chowder Soup. Meanwhile, I opted for the Salad section, which included a Greek Salad, A Waldorf Salad, a Mixed Seafood Salad, a Thai Glass Noodle Salad, as well as any number of other leaves, lettuces, peppers, olives, oils and dressings to take your fancy. We then both moved on in unison to the Pork Section to complete our "Breakfast" and enjoyed their selection of Sausages, Bacon, Ribs and Roast Pork, washed down with a Red Wine Sauce and Onion Gravy which complemented the selection superbly.

Following a short sojourn caused by bacon over-indulgence, the next series of hot plates we attacked were what could be classed as your "mains." Again, the wide ranging style and flavour profiles of the selection meant a little bit of everything on the plate, including Dim Sum, Butter Chicken, Halibut with a Dill Butter Sauce, Chicken Fricasee, Korean Style Kalbi Beef and Marinated Mussels. As you can probably tell I am not a huge carb-fan and whilst this style of "pic my favourite meats and delicately arrange them in mini portions on a plate to resemble a meal" is quite the norm for me, Mrs B is more traditional and went for your archetypical meat and 2 veg, including a trip to the live carvery where the chef prepared a Roast Rack of Veal and a Roasted Duck, with respective oregano or pepper sauces, Yorkshire Puddings, Roast Potatoes and Steamed Vegetables to complement.

Desserts are set out in a more refined manner and selection than one would anticipate from a seemingly no-frills venue, but again, it seems expectations are there to be exceeded. Sprawled out across the far side of the elongated brown counter top are Mango Mousse Cakes, Honey Almond Cakes and Brownies, a Bread n Butter Pudding, Meringue Pie, Trifle Fudge, Red Velvet, Black Forest Gateaux, Chocolate Bounty Cake, Chocolate and Vanilla Cream Cakes, Sticky Date Pudding, Chocolate Fudge Cake, Chocolate Swirls and depending on how naughty or nice you are still feeling after that gluttonous portfolio of sugary treats, a bowl of sugary sweeties, Fresh Fruit Salad or a selection of Cheeses.

The Drink

Longs Bar is as long as the Burj Khalifa is tall. OK so that's a slight exaggeration but the lengthy bar and ample beer taps and staff awaiting the orders of both the regulars propping up the bar and the seated brunchers meant the time waiting between rounds was never too inordinate. The packages available include a soft drinks package including 1 alcoholic beverage, a 185 AED package which includes your House Red and White Wine, Sparkling , Spirits (Finlandia Vodka, Bacardi Superior Rum, Bombay Sapphire gin and Dewars Whisky) Draught Beers (Heinekin and Bud) and Bottles (Heineken, Bud and Amstel). There is also a Premium 245 AED package available which includes all of the above, but adds Jack Daniels to the spirits, Birra Morreti to the bottled beers and any beer from the Longs bar selection to your available choices. For the gluttons and challenge hungry amongst you, Long's Bar also offers an after Brunch package For 149 AED where you can enjoy unlimited selected beverages from 4pm to 7pm every Friday.

The Atmosphere

When you enter the bar down that wooden railed staircase, you get the feeling of entering an alternate reality, hidden away from the glitz, the clean bright lights and prying eyes of the outside world. The dim yet warm yellow lighting and lack of natural sunlight contrasted against the dark wooden interior of the bar, the numerous screens showing live sport and the smoke from cigarettes ignited freely on tables around may be the epitome of a nightmare to more precious Brunchers, but to someone who has long dreamed of owning his own man-cave at home, this was just perfect.

The Conversations and playful histrionics grew louder amongst our table as the brunch progressed…almost too loud at one stage and our waiter did have to come over and placate our rather rowdy table on a few occasions. Due to the convivial atmosphere amongst our seated area, our table of 10 adopted a number of interested solo diners from other tables to become 16…such is the nature of the bar and the "let your hair down" carefree atiitude of the majority of brunchers. Here, solo business travelers, groups of friends and couples after a stress free lunch and drinks can mingle or be left happily alone at the bar in equal proportion.

Overall

The food offering at such an overtly non-pretentious, almost intentionally laddish brunch is surprisingly first rate! The variety of the international dishes, as well as the staples that will keep any expat happy i.e your Traditional Breakfasts and Roast Dinners are enough to keep any diner coming back, allied with the ultra-attractive price range and you can't really go wrong. Mrs B did note, however, that you could be in the same restaurant as a long lost friend or relative and due to the sheer length of the place, be at polar opposites and never even realise...just something to think about!

AED 165: - unlimited soft beverages - 1 alcoholic beverage (Selected Brands Only)

AED 185: - unlimited house wine and sparkling wine - unlimited of bottled beer (Heineken, Bud, Amstel) - unlimited draught beer (Heineken, Bud) - unlimited selected spirits AED 245: - unlimited house wine and sparkling wine - unlimited of bottled beer (Heineken, Bud, Amstel Light, Birra Moretti) - unlimited draught beer - unlimited selected spirits (Including Jack Daniels)

Book for a table of 10 persons and only pay for 8......

T: (+971) 4 312 2202, F: (+971) 4 312 220

Email: fb.towers@rotana.com