Burj al arab restaurants: expensive and unremarkable
 

couldnt find anything on here
Ive always wanted to see inside this magnificent building
so thought id book lunch at the top.
Got the conceirge to book for yesterday . it was confirmed by letter then cancelled a couple of days later so I emailed the conceirge and he got a booking for today.
we werent really feeling like going when today came around but because of the 24hr cancellation rule and the 500 d cancellation fee thought we may as well. I couldnt find any menus or anything at all about the restaurants except opening hours on any website. so we were at a guess as to what the situation was.]
got to the resstaurant and was not given a table near the window.
I know not everyone can sit near a window but as we were cancelled without our agreement thought they may have been nice:( and looked after us.
everything on the menu is horendously expensive. like 400-500 dr for a main. they also have a 2 course for 485d with 3 very ordinary choices.
I wasnt feeling very hungry and asked that I have a lobster bisque at about 220dr and my husband wanted a main. we were told that it was min 2 course and I could have a sweet. I dont eat sweets so decided that i would have the 2 course.
I asked if there was anything either grown or caught locally(like anywhere in the gulf) but was informed there was NOT ONE thing from the gulf
all imported from Canada Australia or England.
had I known this we would not be in that restaurant.
the bisque with poached seafood(it all seemed raw and certainly not cooked and not very hot)the main was wagu beef with mushrooms. it was ok .
the wine list
just one example
a bottle of moet 800dr(around $US300 on todays rate)
a bottle of water(toa)42dr ($US14)

total cost 1 water 2 set menu 1050dr.($US300)

back at the room now I feel quite ill.
the building was stunning from the outside.
thats about the best I can say about the Burg al arab.

You've saved me a visit, Tinky. It's one thing to pay for an expensive meal. It's another when the food is mediocre.

Hope you get to feeling better soon.

I enjoyed the outside view and a great upgrade. The food for breakfast was way over-priced and marginal. It did not make me sick but I did "wait" to have dinner until I left the Burj.

The minute I walked into the Burj I wanted to (1) laugh, (2) throw up, (3) get the hell out of there. The exterior is, as you say, magnificent, but the interior reminded me of nothing more than a combination of Trump Tower squared--or perhaps cubed--and the old Saturday Night Live skit "The Bel Airabs." I have never seen anything so tacky and overwrought in my life. It was beyond hideous, to the point of farce.

We had drinks and snacks in the rooftop restaurant. The service ranged from indifferent to outright bad: despite the fact that it was about 5 PM and almost no one else was there, we were not allowed to sit by the window "because dinner doesn't start until 6 PM" or some such nonsense. When you're paying several hundred dollars for a few drinks and canapes, you'd think they could be slightly more accommodating.

Thank God, I was not paying, and thank God, it was before the financial crisis, so the investment banker who was paying still had the money to do it!

dup please delete

I thought the decor on the inside was like a 60s las vegas but I didnt want to be too critical:(
I sent this thread to a friend who had been to DXB a couple of times.
I didnt realise that she had been to the restaurant and and had to send her main meal back.
had I realised that she had been there I would probably have thought again.:rolleyes:
as I had not seen any posts on the subject-anywhere I just thought it couldnt be that bad!
oh also there was 10% service but they still expected a tip.

Ditto on all accounts.

I'll be there in DXB in a few weeks, just saved me some time.

A much nicer place (and far cheaper) is the Bastakia restaurant near the Ruler's Court in Bur Dubai on the Creek. This is in a traditional building and if the weather is nice, you can sit upstairs on the roof. Good food too and about $100 US for two not including alcohol.

For something cheaper, the Al Bandar restaurants in Shindaga (a 5-10 minute walk from Bastakia) are great - you can sit on elevated cushions overlooking the creek and two can eat for about $20-30.

The Burj Al Arab looks great from outside tho!

Its horses for courses.

Stay there twice and dined in the various restaurants there (you mentioned restaurants but only ate in one). There is another restaurant that gives you the impression it is under the sea but is really on the second floor of the hotel. Most people going to the Burj really think the restaurant in under the sea.

You ate at the other major restaurant at the top of the hotel. You did not really miss that much not sitting by the windows since the view is really out to sea (there is not much to look at). Only the windows at sides do you get to see the layout of the Palm and the Global, man-made islands but not many tables are available by the sides. There is really no decent view of the Dubai from this restaurants at the top. It is the rooms with its side windows that really have the view.

Its very over the top and is a little naff but this is Dubai and the Burj. Thats what you come to see and experience. It is very expensive but that is also representative of the image that is the Burj. Many tourists who do not want to pay silly prices for a full Burj experience just have a meal there. The meals are equally as expensive there.

Unlike Las Vegas, the gold plating is really gold. Spent Christmas there once and the Christmas cracker had silver plated contents with designer perfume left on the dining table as gifts on Christmas Eve - yes and the price of the meal matched the gifts that were handed out.

This is the Middle East after all and this is meant to be the flagship hotel run by the Dubai Royal family. Staying at the Burj requires a particular mind set where money does not matter.

It is expected that when guests walk to the rooms , the floor receptionist has to stand as a mark respect. The floor butler then runs to open your room door for you. It is not what many people are comfortable with. You just have to say, " this is how top movie stars are treated - staff to run after you and you just do not concern yourself with costs.

I was just in DXB this weekend and I found everything everywhere to be horrendously expensive and overpriced.

Can Dubai really sustain this sort of prices?

I went to the new Dubai Mall. Yes, very nice. Very big. But it was very empty. There were hardly anyone there.

I wanted to buy a camera so went into one of the shops and honestly the prices there even on sale are now more expensive than the UK due to the lowered Pound.

I went for dinner at the new Westin Mina Seyahi Resort. Prices are reasonable. I went to the Spice Kitchen and it was nice.

Note - though this may be a Westin, this hotel does not participate in SPG! Pity.

I really don't know what the attraction in Dubai is. If people want 'shopping' there are other places to go on earth.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually looking forward to buying electronics and the like on my next trip back to the UK!

There's now very, very little that's cheap in Dubai.

That's for sure. Pin costs $10 USD at Burj al Arab. Basically just go and snap some pics and that's good enough.