Pizzas with Kids @ Torno Subito, W Hotel The Palm

“It’s very expensive,” she said, as she took away the beautiful plates from our table. Two minutes late and the probability of it ending up on the floor was pretty high. My 2-year old’s lips started to quiver. Oh no. Please don’t make a scene here. Not in Torno Subito! Cellphone out – as my husband scrambled to turn on Youtube. Distraction, they say – always works. I was pleasantly surprised when a few minutes later the same lady came back with big plastic green plates and pink plastic bowls for them. Oh look girls – you’ve got better plates now! 🙂

So – how was the overall experience in a fine dining Italian restaurant in the W Hotel, The Palm? What were we thinking, bringing 2 toddlers and a newborn there? Please don’t give me a hard time on this one. We did ‘eat and go’, within an hour. Plus, it was a toss up between a nice colourful Italian restaurant, or fancy japanese. I’m not taking my kids to Akira Back. Liv was was only doing buffet that evening, and we weren’t keen on eating by the pool either.

Back onto our dinner – these were the highlights :

The playful, colourful interior. It felt like an ice-cream parlour. If you’re feeling a little low, you just have to walk into the restaurant and I’ll guarantee you it’ll bring a smile to your face.

This was a quick eat-and-go dinner so we ordered the Margherita and their signature pizza – the Torno Subito. Both amazing. The Margherita (80aed) – the simplest of pizzas was a perfect combination of hot melted mozzarella, with basil, oregano and tomato sauce on freshly kneaded dough. I loved their signature pizza (95aed) – this was beef bresaola with a little apple mustard hidden underneath, giving your tastebuds a sweet surprise. Put together with burrata cheese, all atop focaccia dough. I’ll admit this is possibly the very few times I will pay 80aed for a Margherita. Boohoo it’s not in the Entertainer, but hey – at least we get 25% off with Privilee! It’s the ‘whole package’ isn’t it. The setting, the decor.

What I appreciated the most of our evening was how they ‘managed’ the situation. I can imagine how stressful it is to a wait staff, watching these kids playing with these very expensive plates, causing a bit of a scene. Not only did she get hold of plastic plates (I assumed it was a panic call of help to their other restaurants), she also found colouring packs for the girls without me asking for it. My 4-year old wanted fries and again, although the restaurant did not serve any, she managed to get a nice big bowl of fries as well. Possibly one of the few times I’m ‘okay’ paying 35aed for cut potatoes. The team was absolutely professional handling us – and I give them lots of credit for it.

Will I return? Absolutely.

It’s a funny one – this place. Its decor is all cute and playful – somewhere kids would love. However, as it is ‘fine dining’ (is it not?) – it’s somewhere you probably wouldn’t bring the little ones, unless they are extremely well-behaved. They even have these ‘boats’ outside with slides. If the aim is to allow families with children – I would highly suggest to keep the plastic dinnerware ready! 😉

Keen to return with just the grown-ups for now. I’ll put on my most colourful dress 🙂 I would recommend it for a get-together with friends. Any chance you guys are planning to do a brunch? Afternoon tea?