A trio of new restaurant openings reviewed
Yubi. Three Bros. Piehaus. Would love your feedback on this new review format.
I am trialling something new and would love your opinion pretty please. Today’s newsletter showcases concise reviews of three new openings, rather than focusing on one dedicated longform restaurant review every month. Take ‘concise’ with a pinch of salt, as I am a woman of many words!
Typically each review that you’ve read from me so far encompasses four days work - the advance research on the concept and menu; the dining out itself; writing; fact-checking and editing; photography; publishing; and social media promotion. Yes that’s a helluva lot of time!
So whilst visiting more than one opening each month is even more time-consuming, let alone expensive, the writing element can be consolidated, and you get to read about these newbies promptly.
Please could you share your preference for A, B or C in the below poll:
A: Let’s stick to one in-depth longform restaurant review with every newsletter.
B: Two to three concise restaurant reviews in each newsletter, dependent on the number of recent openings.
C: I don’t mind. A rotation of A and B according to number of new openings.
This first ‘trial’ run is free for everyone to read. If you’d like to join my growing foodie tribe who support my work, you may like to consider upgrading, if not already. Paid subscriptions are not solely about the content, the dinner invitations and the direct message access to my restaurant expertise, but very much about championing entrepreneurs who you would like to see thrive. This continued support allows me to show up here with my best work, just for you.
Before I dig into the three reviews, if you missed last week’s newsletter, here’s the save the date for my new dining experience.
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For the first review: Yubi
Based on your questions when requesting restaurant recommendations, the two parameters of concept and location are prime deciding factors on where to dine out (along with price point of course!) so that’s what I am kicking off with.
Concept & location: Dubai has a new handroll bar, but this one, Yubi, is both homegrown and licensed. Located in the new Jump Street complex, accessed through the 25Hours Hotel at One Central with self-parking. Just remember to validate. A joint venture between 7 Management and Reif Othman, who is not only the chef, but a co-owner. I sneak in whilst he’s travelling to avoid any recognition - and pay the bill in full. Phew!
Menu: I adore a tick-your-own-box menu (à la OG Noodle House, IYKYK), which ensures I don’t have to listen to a waiter droning on with a repeat of my order - a pet peeve. Firstly, three handrolls (one of each for two of us): Tuna, the akami back cut with foie gras is my top pick for indulgence. Sake salmon with a hit of gochuchang mayo. Spicy tuna anchored by red yuzu kocho. A plate of marbled sashimi goodness with otoro and sake toro. Torched Wagyu nigiri topped with a dollop of caviar. A sprightly yuzu-pickled daikon with enough bite. Padron peppers for some greens - with a teriyaki mayo dip. Gyozas draped with Wagyu are suspended in ponzu butter that beg for a spoon to mop up the addictive jus. Vanilla soft-serve drizzled with caramel and cookie pearls - even zero sweet tooth me finds this dessert hard to resist. Every single dish is not only well executed, but boasts quality ingredients that I would happily order again.
Service: Welcoming. Authoritative. Knowledgeable. And not at all overbearing.
Design & atmosphere: I love counter seating when dining à deux as we do here. Plenty of tables for larger groups. With a no-reservations policy, we arrive on a Sunday just after the 12noon opening and a handful of customers are seated. Busy, but not full by the time we leave an hour and a half later.
Price: Second-to-market is often deemed a wise strategy allowing the second mover to learn from the original’s successes and failures. In this case, I am talking about Kokoro at Al Serkal, which, incidentally, is an imported concept - and hence why I haven’t prioritised a visit. Whilst Yubi sits on the pricey side, as you can see from this bill for two of us below, it’s still more reasonable than Kokoro from my online research. You can order considerably less than we do - three to four dishes each for around AED300 per person will suffice to fill you up. However, not only are we ravenous, but many dishes appeal, so we settle in for a treat.
At a glance: I quote Mr S: “Why would anyone go to Zuma when you can come here for a more affordable and fun experience.”
Three Bros
Disclosure: I am recognised here soon after ordering, with Mohamad Orfali spotting me on his restaurant camera. We insist on paying our bill, however a few extra dishes are sent over on the house.
Concept & location: I wrongly assume that by whisking Orfali Bros Bistro’s bestsellers, like the burger (a popular dish in many a Dubai restaurant, sadly) and the pide-turned-pizzas to newbie Three Bros, that the menu would fully embrace comfort food. But Mohamad describes his cooking at both restaurants as a “revolution against Dubai clichés.” Incidentally, the OG, Orfali Bros Bistro, which sits diagonally opposite Three Bros in the same Wasl 51 complex, re-opens at the end of this month. A smart move ensuring Three Bros is booked out, with the time and space to build its own following first. I struggle to secure a weekend booking over the last month, so I settle for a Thursday dinner - and brace for the inevitable one-hour journey in traffic. As of publishing, weekend slots have opened up for reservations three weeks ahead.
Menu: I never ordered the burger at Orfali and have no intention of trying it here, even though I spot plate after plate flying out of the kitchen. So many other more compelling dishes call out to me, like a one-bite, hasselback new potato treated like a croissant, glazed with brown butter, and topped with a quenelle of caviar. Or the prettiest of crisp gem lettuce salads that isn’t a salad, with Roquefort, caramelised walnuts and crème fraîche. Fasolia, prevalent in the Arab world and at home in Cyprus, are green beans, but served cold here dressed with a vinaigrette - Mohamad’s substitute for edamame. A clean, healthy dish to start a meal, along with in-house pickles and Sicilian-style green olives. His twist on Spanish prawns sizzling in garlic butter take the form of Japanese sweet shrimps resplendent in a garum, garlicky buttery jus, with a whisper of paprika. Tweezers for eating the ebi (I’d like more than three of these miniscule shrimps please), and charred sourdough for dunking. The teeniest of Syrian lamb sausages and baby potatoes plated symmetrically in a dukkah and lamb jus that makes use of more sourdough.
Mohamad sends over further Spanish inspiration. Bite-size patatas bravas, and his own beef cecina perched on pan con tomate. When his cooking trials on a turbot turn out too expensive for the menu, he substitutes the fish with aubergine - and serves it with a Chardonnay verjus-spiked beurre blanc, walnuts, and more caviar. I’m glad the turbot, an overrated fish in my opinion, priced itself out of the menu.
For dessert, we’re au fait macerating strawberries with balsamic, but here pastry chef brothers Wassim and Omar uses pink peppercorns instead, which give a punchy, textural hit to a dense swirl of Madagascar vanilla-flavoured soft serve. And, for the finale, an off-menu dessert of chocolate soft serve topped with, yep…more caviar, which, surprisingly, works similar saline wonders to sea salt.
Drinks: I now have a new favourite cocktail replacing LPM’s iconic tomatini with a zero alcohol fermented concoction. Sweet lime limetta. Chardonnay verjus. Amalfi lemon. Olive oil. And a Sicilian olive. I would happily order this tipple over a dirty martini any day. A kombucha with my favourite black tea, a smokey Lapsang Souchong, is another irresistible pour.
Service: My cover is blown, so needless to say, the team is overtly attentive - but before my recognition, we are still offered a decent table. And our Syrian waiter, one of many Arab staff, delivers warm hospitality with a good dose of humour.
Design & atmosphere: A bijou 30-cover restaurant with a vibe, even when empty on opening for a 7pm booking. Terracotta-meets-burgundy splashed across the walls and exposed ceiling, along with an open-plan pass, pizza oven in full swing, and bar, all craft a welcoming ambience.
Price: Our receipt above with paid dishes, and those comped clearly itemised. Based on a typical order of mine of three dishes each, expect a bill of approximately AED200 per person for food only, which offers incredible value for this high level of cooking. Mind the caviar though, that will, obviously, spike the bill.
At a glance: Three Bros is far removed from a casual, comfort food affair. You won’t find Dubai clichés of burrata, ceviche and truffle oil, but you will find real deal truffle, caviar…and burgers. A refined, fuss-free take on soul food oozing umami flavour.
Piehaus
Concept & location: As the name indicates, this café serves all things pie, specifically phyllo pastry swirls (or filo in my world), Balkan burek-style. The baby of Serbian restaurateur Stasha Toncev’s 21grams (incidentally my number one choice for all-day breakfast in Dubai), Piehaus was born as a pop-up event concept before this bricks-and-mortar corner outpost in Al Serkal. And yes parking in or around this complex remains diabolical. Unlicensed.
Menu: I’m not a fan of QR code menus as the technology is still in its infancy. For instance, one has to click through every single dish, separately, to read all the ingredients. However, Piehaus uses the QClub platform (menu here) for a one-step-solution from ordering to payment right at the start, so it does make for a quick, seamless front-of-house experience, particularly relevant given the tight one-hour seatings.
Food: In good news that flips my perception, savoury pies rule the roost, over sweet fillings. The ‘brunch’ plate, resplendent with a filo pie and sides galore. Smoked salmon and avocado. Cream cheese and trout roe. A boiled egg - runny so I can tear chunks of crisp, buttery filo and dunk. The pastry, fresh-out-of-the-oven, with the bakers in full view. Our second choice of an on-point pepperoni topping would work better with the side of tomato marinara as a filling instead, binding the hearty flavours into one bite. I have my eye on the Wagyu pastrami stuffing for my next visit. A mixed green salad to kick us off before carb-loading is elevated with toasted hazelnuts and pomegranate molasses. And I discover a new local Abu Dhabi kombucha brand - Yala - with no added sugar. Hot tea options on the menu are, oddly, amiss.
Service: Other than a welcome greeting when we are politely asked to join a short queue - and once seated, our order served and table cleared, there’s no other staff interaction. Love or hate, it’s a perfect fit for this quirky fast casual concept.
Design & atmosphere: Stasha’s Scandi-meets-Balkan design aesthetic shines through in this pristine bijou space. A no reservations joint. For a Sunday 12.45pm arrival, we queue for 15 minutes, indoors with A/C obviously, so no biggie - and in a clever move, we are asked to peruse the menu once we reach the top of the queue. Buzzing with post-workout, Lululemon-clad hipsters, reminding us of our ancient age.
Price: Stasha isn’t around, so, fortunately, I escape with no recognition. Similarly well priced to 21grams. One pie easily fills a hungry tummy.
At a glance: Throw away traditional perceptions of burek, and enjoy a café dedicated to the art of savoury and sweet filo pies, a first for Dubai.
FooDiva. x
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Really enjoyed Yubi - the handrolls and Yubi maki were incredible!
Turbot (aka Kalkan from my days in Turkey) is a supreme(ly ugly) fish. Not sure it should command the prices that it does but it used to be top 5 for me. however, its been a while since I have tried it and have tried many more fish since then. No.1 - monkfish cooked BBQ style in the Basque country