My Review of One Michelin Star Restaurant Dinner By Heston Blumenthal
During our last full day in Dubai, just before our flight back home, we decided to check out and dine at one more Michelin Star restaurant. Our last portion of our trip in Dubai we stayed at the Atlantis, The Royal hotel which has the one Michelin Star restaurant called Dinner by Heston Blumenthal – an elegant and contemporary fine dining restaurant with a menu inspired by British culinary history. This post is about our Dinner by Heston Blumenthal Restaurant Review.
If you’re staying at the hotel itself, you can make reservations a few days in advance by heading to the service desk area on the right side facing the entrance (the left side is the area you would check into the hotel) – basically as you’re heading to the downstairs restrooms. We actually didn’t have a difficult time making a reservation here, It seems as though they have plenty of accommodations. So you should be find with even a day in advance reservation.
This restaurant is located on the second floor of the Atlantis The Royal’s grand foyer. And the only way to get to the entrance is by a waterfall elevator. It’s essentially a cylinder glass elevator shaft and there’s pouring water all around you. You can sort of make out the foyer area as you ascend upwards. It’s a pretty neat experience on your way up.
Then once we made it onto the second floor, we got taken aback a little because we couldn’t make out the entrance to the restaurant. It’s clever because it’s hidden and the door is meant to be part of the wall. But once you find it and get near the door (hint: it’s near the restaurant’s logo on the wall), it automatically opens up in front of you (think “Abra-ka-dabra”!).
Once inside, we were greeted by a nice, dark and opulent ambiance. It may be brighter during the day time (we dined there at night, so who knows!).
We decided to dine outside with a view of Dubai for our last night there. Also the weather was still decent and warm enough. We got seated on their balcony and we could see the hotel’s water and fire shows (which run every 30 minutes on the dot). Also, you get access to the breathtaking city view of Dubai.
As we seated, they gave us menus to look over:
The inside cards which held the menu closed had these interesting bits of information about the background and history of the British cuisine.
As for the menu itself, here’s what was provided for us at the time we dined there:
While Michael and I were looking over the menu, our waiter came over to explain the tarot cards that were placed at the end of our table. There were 3 cards total with an explanation card of each of those three cards. Our waiter explained that each of the cards would depict how much info we wanted to indulge on pertaining to the food we would be served throughout the dining experience.
The Adventurer (Blue card), when placed in view of our waiters, would mean that we would get minimal interaction with the staff and not much would be explained to us about the food and the history. The Guide (Green card), was a step above that – meaning we’d get a short explanation and our waiter would interact with us more (the usual amount you’d get at a Michelin Star restaurant). And finally the Maverick was a full blown history course essentially of each of our meals and probably some other similar history lessons on the cuisine and restaurant itself.
We opted for the middle card since we were pretty tired and had a flight to catch later that night, we didn’t want to be overly distracted. This was then followed by some bread and butter for the table to get us started.
Since neither of us were incredibly hungry, we decided for their a-la carte option with an appetizer to start. Their “The Truffle” – which is a mushroom parfait covered in truffle and served with grill bread – was the appetizer we decided to try out. The texture was very creamy with a hint of salt and spread easily onto the grilled bread (two slices cut diagonally). I actually really enjoyed it. It was recommended by our waiter.
Next up, our entrees! I went with the Roast Halibut & Green Sauce (containing braised chicory, parsley, pepper, onion and eucalyptus) and Michael went with the Wagyu Ribeye (with Mushroom Ketchup and triple cooked chips on the side).
My entree was a little on the salty side and I didn’t care much for the side onion piece so I basically picked at it. But overall I enjoyed my entrée and the green sauce added some nice flavor to the moist and tender halibut. Michael’s ribeye, according to him was good, per usual. He always opts for some sort of steak or ribeye if offered. And the side chips were actually thick potato slices which we both enjoyed together. Surprisingly the mushroom ketchup sauce was really tasty!
Every half hour, during our meal we got to experience a show to my left facing the pool area of Atlantis The Royal Hotel. They have a water and fire show that syncs with top pop songs. Nothing like a free show while we dine!
Finally, we saved room for dessert. When were first looking at the menus, we were debating whether we wanted to get dessert at the end. But our waiter was so nice and great at explaining everything that she recommended we try their Tipsy Cake (containing spit roast pineapple). The reason she suggested we try it and possibly order it is because this dish takes a while to make so usually one would order it at the beginning of the meal before getting appetizers so that its ready by the time we get to desserts.
While still hot, we were very eager to try it. The presentation was nice and smelled sweet and fruity. This dessert was definitely a hit for us! Very soft and buttery and thick. It had lots of rich, buttery flavor and the pineapple fruit wasn’t too overbearing but you could definitely taste it. I totally recommend getting this dessert and ordering it at the beginning of your dining experience so that its ready at the end (our waiter said it takes about an hour to make).
And before we got our check, we got two small dessert bites to end the meal! Not really sure what they were (rather I forgot), but they were just as good! They were placed on top of a layer of raw coca nibs for presentation.
Lastly, here’s a quick tour of the restaurant and kitchen as we made our way back to the entrance. The restaurant has a huge pineapple sculpture in the center which apparently opens occasionally to some type of clock or dial.
Would I rate this a 1 Michelin star? Yes, I would! The service to be very professional, the waiter was very kind and entertaining, and the restaurant was very ornately and elegantly decorated which is my type of vibe. The outside patio are was intimate and comforting to dine in (very spacious with a nice view of of the Atlantis The Royal pool area and sync water shows).
The food itself was decent and the Tipsy Cake dessert was phenomenal so I’m very glad we took the advise of our waiter and ordered it! The main dishes (at least the ones we ordered) had good flavor to them and their presentations were nicely put together! During our experience here at Dinner By Heston Blumenthal, we did not do the tasting menu but instead tried their a-la carte menu and their portions did not disappoint! We were full by the end our our meals but weren’t very hungry to begin with so the portions that we ordered were perfect!
Don’t forget to check out my other Michelin Star restaurant reviews from other parts of the country & world!
Overall, I do give this a one star myself and if you’re traveling to Dubai, UAS, (and just so happen to be staying at the Atlantis, The Royal Hotel) please check out Dinner By Heston Blumenthal restaurant while you are there! Hope you enjoyed my Dinner By Heston Blumenthal Restaurant Review and that it entices you to dine there one night!
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