Mint Leaf of London, DIFC - Friday Brunch

Mint Leaf of London, a swanky yet understated bar and restaurant which is perched on the 15th floor of the Emirates Financial Towers in the heart of DIFC, promises to unveil a fine selection of traditional Indian cuisine with an innovative contemporary twist which will give each diner a truly exceptional gastronomic experience. With a claim like that, and having recently dined at one of Dubai's Michelin Starred Indian restaurants…we arrived well dressed, ravenous, and extremely expectant.

 

The Food

 

The first thing that strikes you, is how well laid out everything is. From the impressive open plan layout of dark slate interiors, henna-carved wood, Paris "fashion-week" spot lights and floor to ceiling windows showcasing views of the Burj Khalifa, to the waiters who looked suitably dapper in their black shirt and waist coat combo, set off by bright purple inflictions on their elbow pads. The reason we thought it pertinent to mention now, is that this was equally reflective of every single dish that was to pass under our eagle eyes on a day where we could not help but feel as though the food was on parade as much as some of the guests.

 

This Brunch differs to the usual buffet style in that you are brought out a stylish slate menu, detailing the 6 course degustation menu which starts with Two perfectly spiced Street Food Bites of Papadi Sev Chaat (Gram Flour Crisp w/Vermicelli) and Masaala Chana Chaat (Spiced Chic Peas w/Tamarind Chutney), followed by Tandoori Grilled Broccoli with Cream Cheese and a Mixed Vegetable Kebab that had just the right balance between heat and sweetness.

 

Courses 3 and 4 were a meat and fish mixed grill respectively. Not presented bulkily as they usually would be, but on narrow and elegantly shaped dark plates with micro-greens placed to precision to accentuate the char from the tandoor which was just meters from our table. Our Meat Grill featured Murgh Ka Sule (Spiced, Corn Fed Chicken with Kashmiri Chili & Burnt Onion), Chicken Lahori Boti (Chicken on the bone with Garam Masala & Hung Curd) and a Lamb Seek Kebab (Skewered, Minced Lamb with Black Cumin). Our Fish Grill included Achari Hammour (Hammour with Garlic & Saffron Chutney), Mustard and Herb Marinated Tandoori Salmon, and Sigri Grilled Prawns with a sundried tomato marinade.

 

Course Number 5 (following 2 re-orders of the Chicken Lahori Boti and Tandoori Broccoli) was your more traditional Indian Curries, 5 of them in total!! Now by this point we would usually be reaching for the white flag rather than a potentially belly-busting curry, but we were suitably intrigued and impressed by what we had seen so far so we signaled our waiter and out they came. Thankfully, the traditionally comforting, stodgy XXL portion you are familiar with were nowhere to be seen (and there is nothing wrong with them let me tell you! Just not after the 10 delicacies we had just consumed). Instead, we were greeted by 5 cereal sized bowls of Mushroom Do Piaza (V), Subz Kali Mirch (Mixed Seasonal Veg), Punjabi Chicken Masala, Lamb Bhona and Dal Makhni, served with Saffron Rice, Raita and Naan Bread.

 

Again the variety and balance of flavours were lovely, although due to sheer quantitiy of what we had previously consumed, we don't feel we could do them justice and treated them more like tasting plates rather than a main meal. We then slumped onto the dessert platter which in perpetuation of the theme was artistically presented with thinly carved fresh strawberries, triangles of Chocolate Mousse Cake, White Raspberry Cheesecake, Blueberry Crumble and sticky Gulab Juman.

 

 

The Drink

 

Another nice touch is a very "Londonny" restaurant characteristic whereby we were invited to have a drink at the bar as soon as we entered, as well as the choice to go straight to our table in the restaurant. We chose to go straight to our table, although next time we will definitely take up the bar option, especially with the relaxed timings of 1-4.30pm on the Saturday arrived. Nontheless, our table was right by the side of the window and even though we have been in the emirate 6+ years, we immediately found ourselves taking the obligatory "tourist-selie" with our glasses of Sparkling Wine (Nederburg Cuvee Premier Brut) in front of the Burj.

 

We were then taken through the selection of available cocktails for the day which were either a Bloody Mary, a Passion Fruit Mojito or a Blighty (Gin, Mint, Cucumber & Tonic). There are also a wide selection of top shelf spirits, Beers (Cobra/Heineken) and Red and White Wine (Antares Cabernet Sauvignon/Sauvignon Blanc) on offer which our fleet footed, fashionista waiters were only too happy to obligingly top up or refresh.

 

 

The Atmosphere

 

As we have mentioned previously the smartly dressed waiters, dark tones and soft lighting contrasted against the swanky setting of upmarket DIFC set the scene perfectly for a sophisticated, cultural, contemporary Indian afternoon which was set to the background of modern and energetic beats of the DJ. It is a place to see and be seen, with a mixture of fashionistas, families, couples and groups in attendance on our particular Saturday. We could easily imagine a party for people who embody everything about quintessential modern Indian celebrity culture such as Sonam Kapoor or Amitabh Bachchan behind held here.

 

Overall

 

A delicious and appreciative tasting of various delicacies which takes you on a journey of the senses through the various regions of India. A great feature is being able to slowly graze your way through the menu, tasting dishes that you may never venture to order if you were at your local curry house, and re-order your individual favourites as many times as you wish. One note to observe and was previously highlighted is that although the quality of everything we received was to a very high standard in terms of both flavour profile and variety, the sum of all 19 dishes was a total that was just a little too much for our stomachs to take and in the end we felt that our enjoyment of the currries and dessert in particular felt the effects of our preceding gluttony… a casualty of our own greed. (Word of Warning: Pace yourselves…Brunchers of our experience really should have known better)

 

On a day where we could not help but hark back to favorable comparisons between the likes of of Atul Kochar, Vineet Bhatia and Alfred Prasad, who are three of the most celebrated Indian Michelin Star holding chefs in the world. We must also doth our hats to the unsung heroes of the day. The aforementioned superstars may take all of the plaudits when it comes to extolling the delights of Indian Gastronomy, however the chefs working and weaving their magic across the stoves and tandoors in Mint Leaf's open kitchen showcase their dynamic culinary talent in presenting mouthwatering dishes infused with contemporary signature elements in a Michelin-like style, but without the accompanying Michelin-like price tag.

 

Every Friday and Saturday

1.00pm - 4.30pm

 

AED 195 Non-alcoholic package

AED 370 House beverages package

AED 420 Bubbly package

To Book

t: +971 4 706 0900
e: reservations@mintleafdubai.com

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