Ooooo, I’m probably going to step on a few toes for this but I’ll write this anyways. Times like this I wish there were more blogs on ladies nights so we could’ve avoided last night.
So, we were planning to meet up for a ladies night and I got quite frustrated trying to find a venue that had drinks as well as discount on food. Lots of playing around on an app that kept crashing, resorting to browsing through an online guide (Ladies Night and Brunches), then twitter. At the last minute I decided to propose a place I have been to ladies nights twice before (as well as for brunch) and was close to home.
Here’s a few tips to everyone out there who’s planning to go to China Grill for their ladies nights on a Tuesday – which does an admittedly pretty cool deal of free-flow drinks and 50% off a special ala carte menu :
a) If you want a table in the restaurant area, make sure you call to book in advance – not on the day itself, as it will probably be fully-booked!
b) You could walk in for their lounge area, on a first come first serve basis. Get there early i.e before 7:30pm, or preferably when their ladies nights start, which is 6:30pm. I thought 7:30pm was early but I was wrong. No seats, unfortunately!
c) If you don’t have a seat (restaurant or lounge), they will not serve you any food. Not at the bar, not if you’re standing around. So if you’re planning to go there to eat, make sure you get there early to get a table, otherwise … prepare to, starve!
d) There is another area (with more couches/tables) that will only be opened up when the lounge area gets jam-packed. If you ask the boys they’ll tell you 8:30pm or “soon”, but that never really happens until the lounge is crazy packed. We asked the boys and were told management said to wait a bit longer (for what?!)
e) There is no smoke-free area (I knew that..).. but take note that the crowd on a Tuesday night is a very..smoky one.
f) Pretty interesting crowd on a Tuesday night. Again, one of those places that’s great for people watching. Lots of men in suits who seem to be watching / waiting. A lot of attractive young ladies (if you’re reading this now, take it as a compliment, he he)
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So, that’s that. Look, honestly there’s nothing wrong with all the above, I just just wish we knew that earlier so we would’ve gone there at 6:30pm to grab a table and everything else would’ve been great. Music is loud, and it’s a great atmosphere if you’re looking for a noisy one to have a ‘night out’. Say you were there and you were hungry (starving….) and wanted food. Go downstairs to… Spice Emporium!
That’s where we went to at 8:30pm, as they have a Ladies Nights deal as well with a 50% off the total F&B bill (though thinking back I think they must’ve made a mistake with our bill last night.. I saw only 150 AED deducted and bill for 3 was about 300 AED… not too sure what happened there) – anyways, they do a fab Thai – chicken satay skewers, pad thai, mango and sticky rice – yum. And you can chat 🙂
So don’t burn me for this, China Grill. I would go back if I was looking for that sort of night out. I just wish I read somewhere else of what to expect before turning up there last night. I just didn’t realise how popular you guys have become in the last few months since I’ve been there. Would suggest maybe put in more high bar tables so people can order food (and you earn more money as well?)
- Madame Butterfly Ladies Night
- Tuesdays – Complimentary drinks all night plus 50% off food for tables of girls and 25% off food for mixed groups.
Looks like one I won’t be attending! I’ve got my eye on R Trader — who needs food? LOL!
Haha! Sometimes I feel like there should be a listing that shows the crowd attending as well. “Quiet, civilised, able to listen to each other” “Party, single, smokey” Lol.
I just googled R trader – 4 drinks and starting at …what, 5pm?! Lol! Must be the time the DIFC crowd finishes work.. he he he
I was planning to get there early and just think, you could be home by 7PM! Plus, there’s plenty of cheaper restaurants at DIFC for a bite (if needed).
Great article, seems to be the dreaded Dubai curse. Build the buzz, get the numbers but then struggle to actually monetise the customers that actually want to spend on your product. It sounds like they’re more bothered about the head count than the numbers ….
Thanks. Yeah, it was already jam-packed by 8:30pm. We were wondering how packed they were waiting for it to get before they open the doors to the next room ay. I wish they told us from the get-go, “Look – if you’re hungry I would suggest just go somewhere else as we won’t open the doors till you can’t move in this room and we don’t know what time that is!..”
Ah well, hopefully they will come to their senses soon – most likely when another venues becomes ‘the in thing’.
Doesn’t sound like my kind of place at all. I’m glad I’ve avoided it thus far. But I can’t see that anyone would be miffed with this post. You’re not mean about anything/anyone. You’re just telling people what to expect. Someone will find this invaluable and book in advance etc. or, like me, never go because I can’t cope with with sounds of somewhere so crowded!!
It’s a good thing I wrote this the day after and not right after we left China Grill ha ha I don’t think I would’ve been that ‘nice’ then ! Thanks for your recommendation on Inka in the Sofitel though – one to check out soon – did you like it by the way?
I was sadly unable to go, but judging from the photos all over social media this morning, it was a successful one!!