A family favourite - Walnut Grove @ Dubai Mall

There are some places you go to once and you tick it off your list, and then there’s Walnut Grove. Early last year, we checked out the Dubai Mall branch as part of a review . Shortly after, they were introduced into the Entertainer and we returned again and again on our own expense for lunches, dinners, coffee dates – any reason really. It was quite frustrating post-lockdown when we could not dine there as both branches were situated within a mall (Dubai Mall and City Walk) – which means that we as a family could not go there. Guess who was so happy when the restricted were eased? 😉

Here’s why you should check out Walnut Grove with the family :

a) The obvious one – consistency in serving good food.

I’ve yet to have a bad experience in the restaurant. Hang on…..that’s not really true. There was the time the girls were wiping the condensation off the cake display glass. Or when S was eating sugar out of the sachets. That’s just part of eating out with kids isn’t it. I’ll rephrase – I’ve yet to have a bad experience with their food.

We always order their beef slider selection. It’s priced on the high side of 79 AED, but bear in mind that it is in the Entertainer. If you have kids you don’t really need to order from the Kid’s Menu – just get this. They’ll love it. Seeded brioche buns. One’s got mushroom truffle sauce, big fat juicy portobello mushrooms, melted mozarella and beef bacon. Fancy. The other is melted cheddar, three cheese fondue sauce and caramelised onions. And the last with spicy African chakalaka sauce. Please don’t ask me what is chakalaka sauce. Did I also mention it’s topped with crispy panko onion rings? And of course – the thing all kids would eat, if nothing else – chips.

The other kid-favourite – pasta. You don’t have to get boring mac n cheese this time. You can actually order something worth taking photos of. They have 3 – arrabiata, walnut truffle carbonara and scampi. We must have tried all of them at one point or another.

There’s lots of options in their menu – salads, sandwiches, larger dishes from the grill. We tend to go for lunch so would do the simple burger + pasta option.

b) Family-friendly comfortable seating.

If they are not so busy, we always try to get the sofas at the corner facing the waterfall. The good thing about the current ‘situation’ is that there will be no one on the table next to us so you don’t have to worry too much about your chaotic kids. Plus, they are kind of contained and ‘hidden away’ from the rest of the restaurant, ha ha.

Other than that, there are lots of tables out front if you want space for your prams. The inside of the restaurant is gorgeous – click here for photos from our first visit.

c) The highlight for the kids is always the complimentary babycinos.

One thing I love about Walnut Grove is presentation – they make extra effort on this, and they do so even with their babycinos. I mean c’mon, even MnS Cafe charges for their babycinos and it comes only in a mini cup. These guys serve it on a dish – sometimes with marshmallows, sometimes MnMs, sometimes sprinkles, and their scrumptious red velvet cupcake.

d) Have you tried their cakes?

I’ve only tried it once – and I always tell myself – next time don’t eat too much for the main lunch so I can try some more. But I always do. Note to self : Return for cake only next time.

e) Their coffees

Served in pretty cups, again on their silver dish with a mini red velvet cupcake. This is when I don’t mind paying 22aed for a Vanilla Bean Cappucinno.