Zero Gravity Friday Brunch - One BIG Friday
Brunch Reviews | In Unspecified on September 25th, 2017
300-400 AED
Unspecified
Our analysis of the Zero Gravity Friday brunch is of the Brunch as a standalone offering.. This feedback is, however, slightly tempered by a large back catalogue of personal experiences we can recall on, of the venue in its various guises. These include Tuesday's Lost Angels, Thursday's Social Club, the recently launched Saturday Supernatural Brunch, and the previous incarnation of their (in our opinion not-so-well conceived) Friday Brunch, the Onshore Social.
Onto the new concept, and the large "ONE BIG FRIDAY" sun lounger display that greats you at the entrance reminds you of the day to night concept that is looming large for those that can stay the pace. Rather than purely focussing on the brunch as it's main draw at 1pm on a Friday, the beach & pool provide an equal, if not greater focus for most of the other guests arriving at the same time as we did, and the line at the payment desk is a little stagnant with the 2 members of staff trying their best to keep things moving but having to explain the multitude of offerings a number of times.
THE FOOD
The food at "party venues" is often tarnished fairly with the same brush. We thought we were in for an altogether different experience here with the arrival of a rustic tear and share chilli bread, followed swiftly by a piece of Michelin-styled theatre. A chef arrived at our table holding a glass cloche, which upon lifting, emitted a wondrous waft of smoke, leaving behind an elegant and precisely plated steak tartar that was complete with edible flowers and raw egg yolk. The effect of the Smoke brings beautiful nuances and complexity to the dish while adding that "wow" factor often reserved for fine dining establishments. Not usually one for everyone's palette but the dish was passed around our table and demolished in no time at all. A great start!
That is where the fine dining elements ended and the rest of the selection is more standard outdoor buffet fare. A cold seafood bar of Oysters, King Crabs Legs and Calamari, a little on the bland side and relied heavily on the accompanying sauces and vinaigrettes to lift their flavour.
A tasty mixture of Mushrooms, Asparagus and Artichoke, Quinoa and Greek Salads sat beside two small Sushi Platters and a small dessert section of mini cupcakes, mousses, crumbles, ice cream and a pop corn maker. The Hot food selection consisted of dishes such as of Salmon and Broccoli, Butter Chicken, Onion Rings, Spring Rolls, a live pasta chef, and Braised Beef Ribs served with Yorkshire Puddings and Vegetables. All very tasty for single plates, without drawing anyone back for that "must have" dish...our table summarised it as "adequate but not outstanding."
THE DRINK
The Red Velvet cocktail we received on entry to the outdoor seating area and the Boozy Watermelon Lemonade we received as we sat down were a sign of things to come. With an oversized bottle of Rose Wine (Lapostelle - Chile) soon following suit in its own impressive huge vat of ice. Unfortunately, the striking resemblance to Whispering Angel Rose ended with the colour, and the mellow, dry, grapefruity flavour was replaced on our tongues with something altogether more bitter. A real shame but unanimous around the table, and we soon asked for the giant bottle to be replaced with the house white (chardonnay - santa Julia ) before going off to visit the booze cabins as we affectionaltely namerd them around the table.
The first cabin focussed on Sailor Jerry's Rum, and seved either a Passionate Mojito or a Carribean Sprittz. The next cabin along focussed on Gin, serving either a Berry Bramble or the Gravity G&T, with the final cabin a more general purpose bar with Gin, Vodka, Rum, Whisky, and a healthy 4 types of Hops on offer (Corona, Fosters, Stella, Becks). Beverages are readily available form the helpful wait staff, the bar, or the aforementioned cabins, and frequency of top ups never seemed like an issue.
THE OTHER STUFF
As a venue, Zero Gravity has always played upon its aesthetics as one of it's strong points. With it's stunning interiors, postcard-worthy backdrops and every instagrammers best friend, the brand new infinity pool such prominent features of the venue. It is the more subtle environment of the Garden, however, that plays host to this casual Brunch, picnic benches and all.
The casual, convivial nature of the day is characterised by the inclusion of 3 Beer-Pong tables and 2 Basketball shooting challenges which are free of charge to patrons and as the afternoon (and testosterone) levels ramp up, get livelier and livelier. A nice addition which also encourages interactivity between tables and groups.
The buzz of the competition and backdrop of the excellent DJ means that the time simply flies by, even with the addition of an extra hour taking you through to a snazzy finish time of 5pm. Following that, there is a 2-4-1 happy hour running from 5-7pm (Sip the Sunset) but we found that even after that, the real night time crowd did not start to arrive until much later into the evening and the large vacuous expanse of the dancefloor remained empty. With the previous brunch incarnation starting at a leisurely 3pm, the gap between post brunch and club was more of a seamless transition, although I don't think that anymore can be done to fill the void in between brunch ending and the night starting, no matter how BIG your Friday is.
Every Friday 1pm - 5pm
AED 395 - Standard Package
AED 666 - Premium Package
To book, call +971 4 399 0009 or +971 55 500 9111 info@0-gravity.ae
THE FOOD
The food at "party venues" is often tarnished fairly with the same brush. We thought we were in for an altogether different experience here with the arrival of a rustic tear and share chilli bread, followed swiftly by a piece of Michelin-styled theatre. A chef arrived at our table holding a glass cloche, which upon lifting, emitted a wondrous waft of smoke, leaving behind an elegant and precisely plated steak tartar that was complete with edible flowers and raw egg yolk. The effect of the Smoke brings beautiful nuances and complexity to the dish while adding that "wow" factor often reserved for fine dining establishments. Not usually one for everyone's palette but the dish was passed around our table and demolished in no time at all. A great start!
That is where the fine dining elements ended and the rest of the selection is more standard outdoor buffet fare. A cold seafood bar of Oysters, King Crabs Legs and Calamari, a little on the bland side and relied heavily on the accompanying sauces and vinaigrettes to lift their flavour.
A tasty mixture of Mushrooms, Asparagus and Artichoke, Quinoa and Greek Salads sat beside two small Sushi Platters and a small dessert section of mini cupcakes, mousses, crumbles, ice cream and a pop corn maker. The Hot food selection consisted of dishes such as of Salmon and Broccoli, Butter Chicken, Onion Rings, Spring Rolls, a live pasta chef, and Braised Beef Ribs served with Yorkshire Puddings and Vegetables. All very tasty for single plates, without drawing anyone back for that "must have" dish...our table summarised it as "adequate but not outstanding."
THE DRINK
The Red Velvet cocktail we received on entry to the outdoor seating area and the Boozy Watermelon Lemonade we received as we sat down were a sign of things to come. With an oversized bottle of Rose Wine (Lapostelle - Chile) soon following suit in its own impressive huge vat of ice. Unfortunately, the striking resemblance to Whispering Angel Rose ended with the colour, and the mellow, dry, grapefruity flavour was replaced on our tongues with something altogether more bitter. A real shame but unanimous around the table, and we soon asked for the giant bottle to be replaced with the house white (chardonnay - santa Julia ) before going off to visit the booze cabins as we affectionaltely namerd them around the table.
The first cabin focussed on Sailor Jerry's Rum, and seved either a Passionate Mojito or a Carribean Sprittz. The next cabin along focussed on Gin, serving either a Berry Bramble or the Gravity G&T, with the final cabin a more general purpose bar with Gin, Vodka, Rum, Whisky, and a healthy 4 types of Hops on offer (Corona, Fosters, Stella, Becks). Beverages are readily available form the helpful wait staff, the bar, or the aforementioned cabins, and frequency of top ups never seemed like an issue.
THE OTHER STUFF
As a venue, Zero Gravity has always played upon its aesthetics as one of it's strong points. With it's stunning interiors, postcard-worthy backdrops and every instagrammers best friend, the brand new infinity pool such prominent features of the venue. It is the more subtle environment of the Garden, however, that plays host to this casual Brunch, picnic benches and all.
The casual, convivial nature of the day is characterised by the inclusion of 3 Beer-Pong tables and 2 Basketball shooting challenges which are free of charge to patrons and as the afternoon (and testosterone) levels ramp up, get livelier and livelier. A nice addition which also encourages interactivity between tables and groups.
The buzz of the competition and backdrop of the excellent DJ means that the time simply flies by, even with the addition of an extra hour taking you through to a snazzy finish time of 5pm. Following that, there is a 2-4-1 happy hour running from 5-7pm (Sip the Sunset) but we found that even after that, the real night time crowd did not start to arrive until much later into the evening and the large vacuous expanse of the dancefloor remained empty. With the previous brunch incarnation starting at a leisurely 3pm, the gap between post brunch and club was more of a seamless transition, although I don't think that anymore can be done to fill the void in between brunch ending and the night starting, no matter how BIG your Friday is.
Every Friday 1pm - 5pm
AED 395 - Standard Package
AED 666 - Premium Package
To book, call +971 4 399 0009 or +971 55 500 9111 info@0-gravity.ae
