If any of you have read my previous post about Marina Social, you’ll know it safely lands itself in my top 3 favourite restaurants in Dubai. It has class, character and food that you just want more of (especially when starters consist of, not bread, but goats cheese churros drizzled with truffle honey – the dream). Food at Marina Social is unique, it has the surprise element coupled with exquisite taste. It’s one I would always recommend for people visiting Dubai for a week and if the weather permits it, I suggest taking a table on the terrace for the real wow factor.
^^ Can’t possibly claim they’re a healthy choice, but I don’t mind at all when it tastes this good! ^^
Another big plus is that it’s in the Marina as opposed to downtown/DIFC which is where you’ll find most of Dubai’s top restaurants – always lovely if you don’t fancy an hour traffic jam before dinner. They’re coming up with some cool concepts throughout the week like “Monday Social Club” but their Friday brunch was a visit that had to be done!
The brunch is in line with their sharing style concept. As a big group it’s handy to order the “Feed Me” option where the chef brings out a selection of everything (and lots of it) for the table to get stuck into! The food on offer is a mix between items you’ll find on the a la carte menu (with a small twist) and new dishes that they don’t usually serve.
Two of my favourites to start – Burrata with caramelised onions and steak tartare.
Cocktails are made upon request by a very well dressed bar man, and a very confused, adorable Cleo to go with them.
Oh, to be young again!
There’s also some great live music playing throughout the brunch and into the evening which adds to the buzzing atmosphere on the day.
The starters are deceptively small (but delicious) so make sure to leave room the mains!
You might see fish and chips, ribs, and pasta on the menu and make the mistake of thinking mains would fall in with the norm. Oh, how wrong we were.
Fish in the crispiest and thinnest of batters that flakes apart in the middle and is good enough to finish the day there.
And then the ribs … a heart-warming show stopper that had a table of 20 go quiet for some time. Glazed and cooked to perfection – my favourite dish of the day.
Your far from average “Mac, Beef cheek and Cheese” pasta, and a dish that I have gone back for since the opening: Marina Social’s signature pizzas. This one in particular being the pulled lamb, basil pesto, chargrilled courgettes and buffalo ricotta.
Marina Social’s food is near impossible to fault in my opinion, but the service on the brunch was definitely a slower experience than that of a typical evening!
I was with this rather large bunch to be fair!
Desserts weren’t quite up to the faultless standards of starters and mains, but with enough food to feed to Noahs Arc having already been devoured, I don’t think it made a big difference to the enjoyment factor!
Until next week Marina Social!
For more details on Marina Social and their brunch, you can visit their website here.
Have you been to Marina Social? What were your thoughts? Please comment below with your questions and opinions :)
LLG x
