With my upcoming holiday to Mallorca, I can’t help but have one thing on my mind – food! And more specifically, Spanish food. If you’ve never tried it before, you’re missing out on a serious treat. There is so much love that goes into creating their culinary delights which bring you everything from indulgent to salty, to light and appetising. I was brought up with the resounding noise that Pimientos de padron were the best thing to have ever been put on a plate and we were only allowed to touch the Jamón ibérico on special occasions. (Jamón ibérico can be a pricey dish, far more than parma ham which is also a very popular). Safe to say Spanish food has always been associated with a true treat and indulgence.
Galician style Octopus with potato foam
Tiradito of sea bream with coriander
Therefore it made perfect sense that I would celebrate my 1 year anniversary at one of the most sought after Spanish restaurants in Dubai – El Sur. Giving a fine-dining and unique twist on the Spanish experience whilst holding very close to their hearts all the classic dishes we love! With two of my favourite classic spanish dishes on the menu (mentioned both above) we started in full swing with everything from goats cheese and mushroom croquetas to garlic and chilli grilled prawns. Now I do make my own tomato salsa which I love, but the salsa they pair with the Jamón ibérico is without a shadow of a doubt, the best salsa I have ever tasted! With the saltiness of the ham and the powerful taste of garlic plus some other magic ingredients, it’s simply divine! The other inviting half of the starter menu is all the unique contemporary spanish dishes. Well, eggplant has definitely never tasted so good! It’s baked with soy honey & stuffed with requesón and is something really very special!
Goats Cheese and Mushroom Croquetas
Cod Brandade with eel teriyaki style
With Spanish food, I’m normally all about the starters, digging in to every dish and tasting bits and pieces. However, for the first time in my life, the mains at El Sur were simply exceptional and impossibly bettered what we had just eaten. The black rice with calamari & cuttlefish tasted of the fresh sea infused with rich indulgent flavours and the wild seabass with black polenta and calamari is the definition of exquisite. For those of you who read my most recent blog post on ‘How to Holiday Healthy’, you’ll know one of my biggest guilty pleasures is the dip in the picture you see below; Aioli. This, teamed with the succulent king prawns was fantastic, and not one little part of me felt guilty! ;)
Grilled tiger prawns with citrus aioli
Kenyan beans salad with seaweeds, sesame & calamari
We actually didn’t have dessert, I think both of us were far too full from all the incredible food we had just tasted! But for those who want a sneak peak into the El Sur sweet ways, then here’s a couple of their best dishes!
Vanilla Catalana cream and mandarin sorbet
Cheese cake XXI century
Peanut fondant with coconut ice cream
Overall, a fantastic experience and the perfect way to celebrate our anniversary, Thank you El Sur for a fab evening, we will without a shadow of a doubt be returning!
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If you would like to book in at El Sur then please see details below:
Website: http://www.elsurdubai.com/
Tel: +971 (0) 4-3997700 / +971 (0) 50-9449440
Opening Hours:
Daily 6:00pm to 12:00am
Friday & Saturday 12:30pm to 1:00am
