LIMA
Place: City Walk, Dubai
Price:
AED 325 (Inclusive of Soft Beverages)
AED 450 (Inclusive of House Beverages)
AED 550 (Inclusive of Bubbly)
Timings: 12pm- 4pm
“Food is everything we are. It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It’s inseparable from those from the get-go.”-Anthony Bourdain
As a massive fan of Netflix’s show Chef’s Table, I was super excited with the Peruvian superstar Chef Virgilio Martinez (Season 3 Episode 6) launched Lima in Dubai.
We are served two sets of appetizers to share (Unlimited):
- Bao Buns- shredded duck, pickles and rocoto sauce. Tasty but quite sweet for my palate.
- Salmon Ceviche- served in yellow tiger milk, beetroot and asparagus tempura. Nice fresh flavors but lacking a spicy kick.
- Sea bass Ceviche- served in traditional tiger’s milk, red onions and cancha corn. Again missing that little bit of spicy heat.
- Traditional Chicken Causa- Chicken breast, potato and olives. This was hands down the least favorite dish on the entire table.
Followed by:
- Tequenos- Lomo saltado deep fried. Absolutely delicious – I could easily eat 50 of these
- Prawns Anticucho- Marinated in traditional panka chill , served with corn cake. Juicy and delicious.
- Vegetatian Chifa Rice- Chinese style rice, with mushrooms, onions, asparagus and broccoli. Tasty and goes well with the prawns.
For Main course, you get to choose one of:
- Lamb Seco- Slow cooked lamb. Pumpkin and a coriander marinade. Nice flavours but I would expect slow cooked lamb to be a lot softer.
- Chicken Breast Pachamanca- served with sautéed potatoes and corn brulee.
- Pesca Del DIa- Seabass served with baby gem, miso sauce and seaweed.
Although the mains are good; they do not hit the same high notes as the appetizers. Perhaps it would be best if the menu did not include any mains, and serve a few more starters instead; a Tapas style brunch?
For Desserts we were served a sharing platter of:
- Avocado Mousse
- Selection of Sorbets
The Beverage options are as follows:
- Beer: Heineken, Sol
- Wines: House Red/White from Sangre De Toro (Spain). Both very good.
- Spirits: (Gin, Rum, Vodka, Brandy, Pisco).
- Cocktails: Pisco Sour
Yet another expensive brunch making no effort to prepare cocktails. Extremely frustrating!
I visited this brunch on two consecutive Fridays (luckily we booked on ReserveOut which had a promotion – Buy 1 Get 1 Free). Both visits I was part of a large group (15+) and on both visits the restaurant was virtually empty. There was no DJ, no live music, and no dancing; therefore the lively Latin rumba expected from a Peruvian restaurant was sadly missing.
Rating:
Ambiance: 8/20.
Very quite and timid, not at all what you would expect from a Latin Restaurant. Perhaps the management should pay Coya a visit
Beverages: 10/20.
Good wines, but an inexcusable lack of cocktails at this price point
Food: 15/20.
Superb starters, but mains were a let down.
Service: 18/20.
Friendly and efficient staff.
Value for Money: 10/20.
Priced at AED 450, the brunch serves high quality ingredients, but lacks in both drinks & experience.
Total: 61%
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