This place just opened in the new Fairmont so I visited over the weekend. It's Brazilian churrascaria concept - the servers walk around from table to table with big hunks of meat and slice off your portion right at the table.It's set menu (AED 250 wo bev) and also includes bread, soup, appetizer, salad and some side dishes.They had a huge meat selection (7 beef cuts, 2 chicken and 2 lamb plus grilled pineapple) so I left stuffed. There was nothing to really set it apart from other places that do this style, though they did have live music.Worth a try.

Had lunch here yon Sat.Nice location near Riva but too bad there is no outdoor seating.I've previously tried many salads and a couple of the breakfast items, all of which were great.This time I tried the poached salmon (AED 72! with 2 salads).We were turned off by the fact that the main meals are premade, sitting in the display case and microwaved when you order.The fish was dry and came with that hard around the edges thing you get when you nuke something too long.I'll be back for the pumpkin salad but will not be ordering the 'leftovers' again.

Scafe is adorable inside–a very cute little café with artwork on display. The food was amazing. The menu is small and nothing jumped out at me when I read it so I wasn’t very optimistic. Ended up settling on a mustard-crusted roast beef sandwich with some magic horseradish sauce (AED 45) that was so delicious I considered ordering another one to take home and cuddle.

Went to The Ivy for dinner as part of a large-ish group.The location is crap but otherwise this place is fantastic.I ended up making the booking for 11 on short notice but the service couldn’t have been better. Food-wise, I can recommend the shepherd’s pie and steak since I sampled them off my friends’ plates but would steer clear of the “fish of the day” (cod on our visit) unless you are dieting. It was delish but miniscule. I would normally say it’s overpriced but it’s in the entertainer this year. Most had 2 courses and beer/wine and with the coupons we split the bill at AED 260pp. Not too shabby…

I hate IHOP-always have. When my friends wanted to go here, my reaction was: if you really want to eat there I can just not order anything. So we went. They seemed to like it but IMHO they waited a long time to order, the waitress took the drink and food order at the same time, the omelets from the “healthy” menu looked seriously greasy and we had a very strange encounter with a lingering manager. Anyway, I guess it’s not terrible if you like this kind of place but I would not recommend it to anyone for any reason, ever.

Stopped in Barca for a drink late on a Friday afternoon. This is a Spanish place (“Barca”-lona) and the food is mostly tapas style. Seems they have a pretty good weekend deal that lasts until 7pm: 4 drinks and a food item off a special menu for 99Ds (same at Cabana and Bidi Bondi FYI).We split the combo between two which was, surprisingly, not a problem. They had some live music–unfortunately I couldn’t tell if it was karaoke or an actual act but it was not good and way too loud. Wasn’t that busy but the food was fine, the drinks were strong and the deal was great. Would def pop in again on the wknd but wouldn’t go out of my way to visit otherwise.

It's the perfect time of year to sit on the patio at Bussola. The pizza place upstairs is casual and great for parties and groups and downstairs is full-menu Italian and a bit more $. I ate downstairs and enjoyed it as always.There is a lot of pork on the menu and if you like it, you should def try the parma ham starter. Ran into a friend there who said that they’ve recently swapped chefs–not sure if that’s true but I do think it was a new menu vs my last visit. Anyway, for two with drinks it was around AED 700. You def pay for the view as the food is good, not amazing (except the pork), but I’d still recommend it while the weather is nice.

Stopped in to Bidi Bondi for a few drinks on Thursday night. While it wasn’t very busy, the live music was excellent. Very smoky and an older crowd but I thought it was a nice place to sit and have a drink and a chat. We weren’t there at the right time, but they also have a great Fri/Sat deal – 4 drinks and a food item for 99Ds from 1-7p.

Love this place for regular dining but vegetarians beware - went to the Grand Grill brunch over the weekend and I think for a “cheaper” brunch at 290Dhs it’s OK. There was a small buffet that had mainly starches and some meat like BBQ chx, roast beef and ox and then you order your cow at the table. There was a serious shortage of salad or green vegetables of any kind (actually, the closest thing was butternut, which they ran out of in an hour and replaced with mashed pots) so I found it to be too heavy, though the boys seemed happy to plow through the meat. I think with so many places going overboard and creeping toward and even over the AED 500 mark this is relatively reasonably priced, though for the equivalent of 80 USD a head I don’t think it would kill them to throw some broccoli on the table.

I decided to get a head start on my New Year's resolution to stop wasting money and go to a dentist that accepts my insurance. I picked the fanciest sounding one and schlepped over to DHCC for an appt at this place.I am happy with my choice. The Dr. was good. She really explained what she was doing, offered advice in a friendly manner and even called the next day to ensure everything un-numbed OK and to ask me about the fit of the work I had done. Only complaints-the appt took a lot longer than I'm used to and they aren't really open in the evening.