UAE: Friday Brunch at The Treehouse, Dubai

It’s Friday, what will you be having for lunch? I’ll probably be having a tuna salad and a diet coke, the same thing I have every day in the office. Yet whilst eating this low calorie, low fat and most definitely low taste meal I’ll be reminiscing about the outstanding al a carte Friday Brunch I experienced at The Treehouse located on the 3rd floor of the Taj Dubai Hotel in Dubai last month………food, glorious food!!!

Even though Dubai is a relatively new city it already has many traditions that Emiratis, expats and tourists alike indulge in and on Fridays that means BRUNCH! Brunch to me means a midmorning meal combining breakfast and lunch, for me it’s usually poached eggs on toast or something of that ilk. Not in Dubai, it’s usually served any time from noon until as late as 5.00pm and consists of everything and I mean EVERYTHING you could ever think of. Oh and the booze, did I mention the booze! Even though Dubai is dry the booze is free flowing in most hotels throughout brunch.

I’ll be honest I hadn’t done much research regarding where to head for Brunch and as we had only got to Dubai on the Thursday we decided to stay in our hotel the Taj Dubai. We booked via the concierge the evening before, excited yet unsure of what to expect. We did receive a telephone call later that evening explaining that due to the very high temperatures (40 degrees +) we would be unable to have our brunch in the Tree House and instead it was being moved to the inside air conditioned Tesoro restaurant. So unfortunately we didn’t have the Burj Khalifa as our backdrop however we also didn’t pass out from heat stroke, so it was probably the right decision 🙂

We took our seats and were presented with a menu. Unfortunately, nothing was really explained but between us we worked out that we had to pick a package – soft drinks and mocktails (295AED – approx £56 each), cocktails (395AED – approx £75 each), or champagne (545AED – £105 each). We decided on the cocktails package and quickly ordered a raspberry martini (for me) and an espresso martini (for Mr ESLT). Our glasses were never empty before refills were brought over, needless to say it was a good job there was food galore as it was a VERY boozy afternoon.

Speaking of food we were brought the cutest picnic basket which contained loads of yummy goodies and enough to feed a small army including:- fresh bread and toasted pita, Scottish smoked salmon,cold cuts, gherkins, pickled onions, quinoa salad, ceviche, humus, guacamole and the biggest hunk of brie I have ever seen in my life! Needless to say we jumped right in to a tasting frenzy. As we had been moved inside to Tesoro which also hosts a Friday Brunch we were told we could help ourselves to anything we wanted from the extensive buffet.

Already full yet in complete need of trying what else was on offer we ordered a few dishes which were prepared to order to share on the table including mini burgers, sweet chilli prawns and halloumi on lentils. We literally could have ordered as much of whatever we wanted. There is genuinely no limit!

Seriously, there was no way we could fit any more food in! Well apart from dessert, there’s always room for dessert right? Again, we could have picked from the al a carte Treehouse menu however I had already spotted an array of choccy (yes I’ve got a sweet tooth) delights on offer on the buffet table and made a beeline for them.

With live music and a relaxed atmosphere (that might have had something to do with the copious amounts of alcohol being consumed?) it was an amazing afternoon. Great food and tasty drinks, we couldn’t have asked for more. I must admit I was so happy that we were staying in the hotel and didn’t have any plans later that afternoon as I’ll be honest I did need to have a little lay down.

Have you experienced a Dubai Friday Brunch? We’d love to know your recommendations for next time we visit Dubai.