Market Kitchen, Le Royal Meridian (AUH)

Located at Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi, Market Kitchen is inspired by celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's concept of the "Hotel as a Home." The restaurant itself is styled as a casual family kitchen, a double height dining room adorned with vintage utensils and crockery set upon it's dark wooden bookshelves, supplemented by the odd comfy sofa, exposed white brick and even an olive tree as the rooms centre piece and you could easily think you were in an upscale bistro in the Chelsea Market or Meatpacking districts of New York. We were compelled by it's founding concept, consider a renowned French chef, with Asian influences from his similarly famous Korean wife, and a man who is also credited with having more influence on the way New Yorkers dine out - or on the way other chefs cook and other restaurants look than any other, and you certainly have enough of a triple threat in terms of bait to get us hooked and through the door (Fra-Amer-Asian to coin a new phrase, you heard it hear first!). As to how the Brunch actually shaped up…well let's see shall we?

The Food

In true family style, the Brunch is served in 4 distinctive courses; each in itself a mini showcase of the flair and assortment of the dishes on offer across the restaurant's Modern American Kitchen concept.

First to be brought to us was the Seafood Plateau served on a bed of ice, featuring Slighty Watery Oysters, Meaty Mussels, Sweet Clams, Scrumptious Scallops and somewhat firm Shrimp. These were nicely contrasted with a novel take on Sushi, where meaty slices of Salmon and Tuna sashimi were layered on top of Crispy Rice, a dollop of Chipotle Mayonnaise and a hint of Coriander.

Nicely warmed up, the next course involved 3 dishes which contrasted as much in flavour as they did texture. The Beetroot and Goats Cheese Salad could have been quite lackluster, if it were not for the clever inflections of Ginger, Pine Nuts, Balsamic and Coriander strewn across the mixed Rocket leaves. The Creamy Tomato Soup infused with Cumin Oil was warming and subtle, whilst the Black Truffle and Fontina Cheese Pizza packed a punchy, rich flavour that sat on the warm flour dough impeccably.

Our "Main" Course selection came served on an inventive Wooden chopping board, another nod to the design and feel of the "Market" and included flakey, almost Cod-like Roasted Hammour with Gingered Shiitakes and a sharp Soy Miso, BBQ Glazed Beef Shortribs which looked like they had just come out of a smoker in Texas, and a perfectly French trimmed and Roasted Rack of Lamb. The mains also come with a mini assortment of side dishes, including Asparagus, French Fries, an Apple-Jalapeno Puree with Rosemary Crumbs and a selection of Sauces.

Our dessert selection was an undeniable triumph in our eyes…and that comes as a weighty statement from people who usually only visit the dessert counter to take pictures or a token bite. All 3 dishes could stand up on their own as the star of any dessert station, but an amalgamation of all three parts take the sum to completely new heights with the recurrent melody of Vanilla running through all of them. First up was Market's Signature Vanilla infused Cheesecake with Raspberry Sorbet and Fig. Gorgeous. Next Came a Warm Apple Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream. Delicious. And completing the trio was a Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sundae with Popcorn which, described in the simplest of terms tasted like the splendors of the cinema.

Drinks

The drinks selection at Market Kitchen change regularly, but include a selection of 5 wines, 3 beers (Corona, Fosters, Becks) 6 Cocktails, 5 Mocktails and a Bubbly if you are feeling particularly partial. (Who wouldn't?) When presented with a menu, a list, a map even…we see a challenge and so we set off on a mission to work our way down as far as we could, starting as we always do with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc which paired well with the Seafood plateau (Winemaker Discovery, Lindemans S.Africa). For curiosity's sake, throughout various stages of the meal we tried the 4 other varieties of grape on offer: The other white was a Torrontes Bodega Norton from Argentina and the Rose was a Rioja Rosado, Bodega Navajas from Sapin. The two reds available were Colombelle L'Original Plaimont 2013 from South West France and a Cabernet/Shiraz Oxford Landing 2011 from Australia. Now onto the cocktail mission, I mean menu which we were informed had their fresh bases made daily. We worked through from top to bottom, starting with a delicately pink Lychee-Raspberry Bellini served in a champagne flute. We then moved onto the interestingly named Whiskey Passion Fizz which was quite acidic in comparison yet still fruity, robust and delicious, which lead nicely into an interesting twist on the Classic Margarita, this time served with a Ginger infusion and Salted Ginger around the rim of the glass. Fourth on the list was more Passion Fruit, but this time in the guise of an altogether more refreshing Passion Fruit Margarita served on ice in an oversized wine glass. The penultimate cocktail was a tall, cloudy Vodka Thyme Lemonade which came complete with its very own Thyme stick stirrer, a sugar rim and large chunks of Lemon. And last but by no means least was another variation on a classic theme, a Kumquat Mojito which was again zesty, refreshingly minty and surreptitiously strong.

Atmosphere

It could be argued that a restaurant that goes so far out of its way to mimic a market-kitchen-courtyard will never quite be warm and intimate. A full height fire pit wall connecting the lower level to the mezzanine bar, in a crowded setting could induce the warm connective feeling of being in an intimate football stadium, however with a combined guest count of less than the digits on my hands on our particular visit, it was difficult to envisage and only served to highlight the emptiness of the venue. Entertainment was provided by a talented Musician we later found out (due to the personal, almost private nature of his performances to us) was called Jacques, a lovely French speaking man from Madagascar who played acoustic guitar, saxophone and sang lovey classics such as "You were always on my mind, What a wonderful world and Sexual healing" with a soft Frank Sinatra-esq tone.

Overall

It could be argued that Market Kitchen achieves most of its goals without ever really breaking into a sweat. Certainly when it comes to the food and the booze, high marks can be awarded and if a top notch afternoon lunch with drinks is what you are after, Abu Dhabi has a winner. However, and I must say this with an heir of reluctance that I felt our overall "Brunch" experience fell slightly short of the mark. Perhaps it is just our exceedingly high standards for all of the criteria each Brunch must fulfil to be successful, but even though we could have fun in an empty shoe box (and we did have a great time) the lack of atmosphere, stemming from the lack of guests when we visited certainly left us with that awkward feeling you have nightmares about as a child, of being invited to a birthday party and only 2 of your classmates turning up. It felt like a soft opening of a restaurant, with all of the right ingredients in the mixing bowl, but no spoon to stir them all together. I would certainly like to see what this place has in its locker when full to the brim as it certainly has the potential.

**Post Brunch Tip - Head upstairs to STRATOS - a fully revolving bar for unlimited Bubbles from 4-6pm for just 99 AED.

Packages: 199 AED including Signature Mocktails and Soft Drinks

299 AED including Signature Cocktails, House Wine and Beer

399 Including Bubbly

Every Friday from 1pm to 4pm

For more information and reservation call 800 101 101 or email restaurants.lrmad@lemeridien.com.