It seems the Four Seasons is popping up on my favourite lists time and time again recently! I have been SO excited to share this one with you guys, it’s a real foodies heaven so get ready to be hungry! Just before the honeymoon, I went with one of my bridesmaids to a new mediterranean inspired restaurant that has recently opened in DIFC – LaLuz.

DIFC is where you’ll find the likes of well known and much loved restaurants; Zuma, La Petite Maison, Gaucho and Robertos … so when a new kid comes on the block, I’m all ears!

The interior for LaLuz is somewhat unassuming, you don’t necessarily know from walking in whether you’ll be dining on Asian, Italian or another cuisine. What you will notice when sitting down though, is a team of incredibly attentive, friendly and well-dressed waiters and sommeliers ready to make the evening a thoroughly enjoyable one.

I spied the menu before I booked the table so it didn’t take long to list off delicious sounding dishes for the table. Some say it ruins the experience of dining out when you already know what’s on offer but I do it religiously without fail, the excitement takes over and if anything, I look forward to the meal more!

An appetiser of spherical olives! I’ve had something similar in El Sur before; at first they’re a little strange because of the unusual texture but a lovely way to get the taste buds awake for what’s about to come!

We started with a selection of delicious croquettes and my favourite of all Spanish tapas dishes – Pimientos de Padrón! A lot of restaurants really fail at getting Pimientos de Padrón cooked correctly, either undercooked or too greasy or loaded with too much salt. These were worthy of my local Mallorcean restaurant!

There is a wonderful sommelier called Leon available to hand pick your wine according to the different dishes as you move through the menu. We started with an organic wine called Ginesta; a beautifully full and creamy wine with strong floral notes and a stunning looking bottle! Here’s their website if you want to have a look.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’d be hard pushed to find another roll that looks this good. A lobster and avocado roll topped with caviar that falls apart in mouth. What I loved about it is that you could actually taste and enjoy the lobster within the roll; too often there is an unrecognisable filling and the plate isn’t what it’s supposed to be.

King crab salad with mushrooms, apple and creamy vinaigrette. Again, full of dreamy fresh crab which worked so unbelievably well with the crunchy apple. It’s one of those dishes you don’t quite expect the amount of flavour that’ll hit you until you dive in – outstanding.

My favourite wine of the night – Viña Pomal. Rich and aromatic, but clean on the mouth as the after-taste. It’s full enough to go with something like a beef carpaccio but brilliant for fish too.

Beef carpaccio with truffle vinaigrette followed by classic ceviche of “Maigre” homage to Peru. Both incredibly well put together dishes, delicate but powerful in flavour.

No it’s not a cheese toastie…

But it’s not far off, just seriously upgraded! A “Truffle ‘bikini’ with mozzarella and smoked cecina”. When you’re dining off ceviche, raw metas and fish, it’s genuinely the perfect addition to have something with a bit of unhealthier indulgence. Hands down, the best ‘grilled cheese sandwich’ I’ve had!

The combination of aubergine and miso is one of my absolute favourites but this was the only dish of the whole evening that wasn’t quite perfect. Brilliant in theory but just too thick with the black olive miso topping, scrape a little off though and it’s very enjoyable.

I wouldn’t typically have gone for this next dish but the waiter recommended it as one of the favourites in the restaurant and I’m so glad he did! Roasted meat canelon – stunningly rich and creamy, and a seamless lead into the main courses.

After such a great (and filling!) beginning, we decided to go light on the main courses.

The Mediterranean prawn and black rice parked with the red prawn and scorpion fish ‘Caldereta’. The rice was lovely and full of flavour but after the stand-out performance of the Mediterranean fish starters, the fish main was a little bit of a let down. However with 99% of the dishes being outstanding, it didn’t even really register.

What we didn’t quite expect was a cheese board to finish to rival most local french restaurants! Not forgetting the sweet dessert wine…

A truly memorable evening at LaLuz and one I highly recommend if you want to try food that’s authentic but still offering the best bits of Mediterranean cuisine!

You can visit LaLuz’s website here for more details!

LLG x