Indego by Vineet

Indego by Vineet is a must try Indian restaurant at Grosvenor House in Dubai.

We went there one night as an after thought and it turned out to be one of the best dinners I’ve had in the city since we’ve been here. This restaurant falls into the gastronomic category and it is quite pricey. The chef has 2 Michelin-star restaurants in Europe and you can tell by the menu (and the food) that a lot of thought has been put into the conception of every dish. In fact, I have his recipe book and the recipes are quite complex….

Back to Indego, the atmosphere is elegant, subtly decorated and perfect for either a romantic dinner or if you want to impress clients. For those who want to have cocktails before, I recommend going to Buddha Bar right next door.

Now comes the interesting part: the food. It was delicious and memorable.
Once seated, they brought us the typical Indian chutneys and sauces with pappadams. As an entree I took the kebab platter – don’t be put off by the non-fancy name…it is actually a super refined assortment of 4 appetizers (jumbo tiger shrimp, tandoori salmon, morsels of chicken, lamb stuffed with gorgonzola) that were each cooked to perfection. Honestly, to die for.
Our mains were equally good, especially my husband’s ginger lamb shank. It was a melt-in-your-mouth experience that had the right amount of spice and it was altogether very tasty. My sea bass was quite nice too but it paled in comparison.
We didn’t take any desserts but I was really tempted because they looked so original. I had never seen Indian desserts that sounded so appealing…saffron tiramisu with a cardamom smoothie, chocolate almond samosa, too name a few.
The service was excellent, the waiter was friendly, very knowledgeable about the food and was able to help us pick the right wine, which is not always a given in Dubai, even in high end restaurants.

The delicious ginger lamb shanks....

Ravi’s

If you peruse the web looking for good restaurants in Dubai, you will likely stumble upon a Pakistani curry house called Ravi’s. Cheap, diner-style place located in the bustling neighborhood of Satwa that serves up great Pakistani fare. A lot of people recommend it if you want to experience a more down to earth side of the Dubai restaurant scene. So it was with curiosity that we went there last night with a group of friends.
Luckily, one person in the group was a die hard regular and was able to make a nice selection of all the must haves. Meanwhile, I went snooping around taking some pictures of the kitchens and bread oven (they are like street counters, so very easy to sneak a peek). The two highlights was this very friendly guy sitting on top of a chair stirring some form of curry in a cast iron pot who was quite willing to be photographed and chat.

The other one was this bread oven used to make naan, more like a pit where they throw the flattened balls of dough on the sides and let them bake.

Back on our outdoor table in the sweltering heat, we were faced with a mouthwatering variety of curries, grilled meats, warm breads and dals. The naan was quite nice, and the dal was extremely good. I am not a huge fan of dal, the famous lentil saucy/puree often seen in Indian restaurants, but this one was truly tasty.  The chicken and meat dishes were as would be expected, good, especially the green masala chicken, which was spicy but addictive.
Is Ravi’s better than the average Indian or Pakistani restaurant? Maybe slightly, but above all it is really cheap and the atmosphere is really vibrant and genuine, which is why most people go back I think. Like many restaurants that are not located in a hotel in Dubai, it doesn’t have a liquor license but in 40 degree heat, water was a far better option anyway.