The new Turkish and Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, Fish beach Taverna, that has just opened in Le Meridien Mina Seyahi has everyone excited. It’s not hard to imagine why when pictures from the restaurant look like something out of the South of France, offering a whole new dining experience in Dubai. Forget gleaming white table clothes and puffed up chairs, it’s about enjoying their authentic food in a relaxed environment with friends and if you fancy, a few glasses of wine.
The interiors really are stunning, I thought it had all been designed by a favourite interiors shop in Dubai called Tribe – it’s effortlessly chic and although the fans don’t quite blend in with the furniture, you’ll be thankful for the breeze! Set right on the beach and enclosed with rustic, white painted walls that transport you to a whole new location.
All the large sharing tables were full quickly into the evening, offering a lovely intimate space to enjoy the food.
This is not to discredit the rest of the food, but genuinely one of the best parts about the night was their bread basket. Full of fresh and fragrant basil with good quality olive oil and sweet cherry tomatoes. Little did we know it was actually meant to have with the sharing starter plates, we had to order another when they came around.
The service does unfortunately mistakingly reflect the relaxed atmosphere they’ve so successfully created in the restaurant. No one is allocated to certain tables and it’s very possible you arrive with no greeting, searching for what to do. Fortunately, when you are able to order – the food is quick and moreish!
We had the mashed Fava beans, orange vinaigrette marinated octopus, salted sea bass, garlic tzatziki and slow grilled eggplant dip. The two dips were packed full of flavour and texture, and the fava, (although not served as I expected) was creamy and sweet.
As their freshly baked bread is so addictive, it’s a little too easy to fill up on that rather than the dishes themselves. Some grilled cuts of spiced pita bread wouldn’t have gone amiss to enjoy the dips and save room for that main!
A little friend to say hello and a selection of Fish’s hot starters..
The fried baby calamari is the star of the show and I would go as far to say that it’s the best I’ve tried in Dubai. Perfectly cooked with just the right amount of batter!
I’m personally not a fan of sweet baked tomatoes surrounding my savoury dishes but without the tomatoes, the cheese stuffed courgettes and the stuffed grilled calamari were tasty.
Main course was two of Fish’s signature turkish dishes – the Tiger prawns cooked in Turkish raki and ‘Safran’, which is pan fried Sea bass cooked in white wine, celery roots and saffron sauce.
The sea bass maintained its texture very well, whilst still falling apart at the touch of the fork and the prawns were a hotpot of mediterranean delight. The options for side dishes are relatively limited on the menu but neither hugely need an accompaniment to go with them so can be enjoyed alone.
Dessert was a perfect and pretty trio of baked figs with crushed pistachios and ice-cream. Be prepared to have a sweet tooth as the figs are dried, not fresh and therefore have an extra hit of sugar.
Fish beach taverna is a great little spot if you’re looking for something a bit different and relaxed for dinner. They’ve just opened so naturally there’s a few things to improve on but overall it’s a great evening with authentic food.
If you have any questions about Fish or would like to visit their website, see here for more details or call on +97145117139.
LLG x
