We’ve been to MANY MANY brunches here at Lovin Dubai, and some of them aren’t always that memorable. But when a really good one comes along it sticks with you. Ocean Brunch at Sofitel Dubai-The Palm didn’t just stick with us…it punched us in every one of our senses and left us just a little winded. Yes, it’s that good. If you love seafood, you can’t afford to miss out on this.

Stunning location, amazing service

It’s held at the beautifully classy Moana restaurant, which is set out on a pagoda-style decking away from the hotel’s busy pool and beach, choose to sit inside in the stunning restaurant or chill out on the terrace if the weather allows (it gets pretty hot out there). It’s an a la carte brunch, in the sense that you don’t have to traipse around a buffet, and it’s the best sort of a la carte…you get served EVERY item on the menu! The waiter gave us this excellent bit of news as we busied ourselves deciding what to choose…which would have been a hard choice because we love seafood and everything sounded incredible. Add in the option of perfectly engineered cocktails, and this brunch makes you feel like you’ll never stop winning.

The menu does change every now and again but we took some quick snaps of our menu to give you the general idea…

The simple truth is that every dish is amazingly tasty, it’s the freshest seafood we’ve tried in Dubai, plated in the most beautiful and elegant way…so much so it’s almost a crime to disturb the perfectly displayed dishes. Of course, we did disturb the food, and were rewarded for doing so! 

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You’re first presented with the cold starters, all of which are faultless but the Tuna Tataki is probably the stand out dish, tangy, fresh and the perfect texture with a light avocado salad garnish.

Then comes the hot starters, which are even more mind-blowing than the cold ones, the sea scallops were perfectly cooked and even on their own they were delicious, but teaming them with the pumpkin puree is genius!

Then when you think you might have eaten too much…the mains arrive. This time we just couldn’t choose between them…every single dish was OUT OF THIS WORLD! The chargrilled prawns were meaty with a sweet tinge and the squid thai curry was just the right side of spicy.

We could just describe how every dish was perfectly cooked, seasoned and presented but we thought we’d let these pictures do the talking…

And just a note about the prettiest dish of the lot: the Grilled Atlantic Sea Bass, with the basil violet crushed potatoes, artichokes and barigoule sauce…

And be sure to save space for dessert, pick off the menu or ask for a small platter of a few different ones as we did, the Dark Chocolate Mousse is worth a special shout out!

So the food is amazing…but what about the beverages? 

Well, we’re happy to report that the same high standards apply. Choose from the non-booze package (AED 350) and there’s a choice of delicious mocktails…which we actually started with before we moved onto ‘proper cocktails’. The alcohol package is AED 495 and includes a choice of deliciously mastered cocktails, wines, sparkling wine and beers, as well as the choice of mocktails and soft drinks. It’s not the cheapest brunch but we assure you that it’s worth every dirham. If you love seafood and something a little posher to do on a Friday – this is not to be missed. It’s a great place to take visitors too, especially the parents!

The Ocean Brunch is every Friday from 12.30 to 3pm (pool and beach access is included)

Get more info here

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