Back to Fairmont the Palm this weekend with the family – this time for a lunch review at their seafood restaurant – Seagrill Bistro. I had always had the impression that the restaurant was an adults-only venue, but was then informed that kids were welcomed. Did you know that kids 5 and below eat for free from their kids menu as well? I didn’t! Anyways – we love our kids very much – but it’s always nice to have a bit of a break. We planned the afternoon such that we could drop the toddlers to Falcon’s Kids Club using our Privilee membership after they had made a mess eaten. I mean c’mon, how else would daddy and mummy (and everyone else in the restaurant) have some peace and quiet, and enjoy some good seafood? 🙂

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So, where shall we start?

The food itself – I can’t find fault in it. We went with the waiter’s recommendations and ordered the crab cake and kale salad to start. Both – I highly recommend. The kale salad (70aed) was crisp and fresh, tossed lightly with quinoa and roasted peppers. The sweetness from the sliced pear complemented the crunch from the roasted hazelnuts. This was a light salad, perfect to start the lunch off with. The crab cake (95aed)- crispy on the outside and very flavoursome. Take note it also quite filling so pace yourself. Just have one so you can get onto the main dishes. We thought we’ll spoil ourselves this afternoon and order the shucked oysters as well. Half a dozen (165aed), laid on a bed of crushed ice. Fresh, and so good with the lemon and mignonette.

Onto mains – we again asked for their recommendations which was the sea bream, or otherwise bouillabaisse. This time we decided to try something different and went with what we felt like – it was steamed mussels (95aed) for me, and the dover sole meuneire for the husband. We shared the dishes which was a good idea as the mussels were not very filling in comparison with the other. Taste? Again, could not fault it. Interesting choice of using just a little star anise within the garlicky mussel sauce, which they had added parsley to. The dover sole is pricey at 295aed – but again, so tasty and generous in portion. We could not finish it.

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We finished the afternoon with the dessert our waiter recommended – the soft baked chocolate chip cookie (55aed) served with vanilla ice cream. This was for me a tad too sweet – maybe better for those who loves their chocolate. The tiramisu (55aed) was nice and light – glad we ordered that one as well.

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You must be wondering, what did the kids eat? Their kids menu has the usual favourites – the girls had their penne and spaghetti bolognaise and thanks to our waiter which was just amazing, he managed to successfully persuade them to finish it. Well, the 4 year old did, at least. We were so happy. Note again that 5 year olds and below eat for free if you were planning to head over!

So that’s all for the tummy. What about service? What is our feedback on things that could be better? In general, our waiter – I’ll give him two thumbs up. He had a big smile, he was sweet and chatty with our girls, he was knowledgeable about the menu, recommending dishes and just generally great. Staff like this makes a big difference when you go out to dine 🙂 The following however, are things we picked up on which we felt could be worked on :

1. We understand that due to covid regulations, fabric tablemats are not allowed to be used (correct me if I am wrong)? Suggest to use a paper tablemat then, if that is allowed? We’ve seen that in other restaurants. Everything just looked quite messy on the table without it.
2. Our bread came to the table, and only after quite awhile did the cutlery and plates come. Suggest it be the other way round.
3. Used/empty plates and cutlery should be taken away after mains are finished. Our dessert came and we still had our empty dirty plate sitting there. No new cutlery provided either for the desserts. Suggest staff to check, and to remove the empty plates and provide new cutlery for desserts. I shouldn’t be using the same fork I ate my fish with, for my tiramisu.
4. Struggled to get staff’s attention when we were sitting outside. I had to turn around and wave, wave, wave. I don’t like to wave when I go out for lunch. I ended up walking inside to order my drinks. Maybe the restaurant needs more staff, now that things are picking up?
5. Had to fill up our empty glasses with water from the bottle on the table. Suggest to check every so often and top up for guests.
6. We had an awkward conversation with the manager with regards to taking home unfinished food. I know that this is a topic that can be discussed on an entire post and food writers will have a lot to say on this. To try and keep it brief – we try our best to never order too much as we really don’t like to waste food, whether or not it was a review. And at all times when it was on our own expense, we could take what we have paid, home, if we could not finish it – sometimes by signing the usual waiver all hotels have. I understand this is a special circumstance as it was a review. What we felt could be worked on, was how the situation was dealt with – the way it was said, what was said, and the overall mannerism. If I were a paying guest and had to go through the same situation, I would have been quite upset. We left the restaurant with smiles, however this was not returned from said person. It was quite awkward.

In a nutshell – do I recommend this place? Yes – for seafood lovers. Sit outside if you want some fresh air and view of the newly finished West Palm Beach. Mind you it does get quite warm, as we ended up moving indoors for the mains. If you’re spending a pool and beach day at the Fairmont, and not sure of where to eat – drop by Seagrill. They also serve lighter things like pastas and burgers as well. Price-point – yes, it is on the higher end – which is why I felt that the service should have matched what you expect from fine dining. All the little things like serving bread to table before plates and cutlery. Simple things that the team needs to up their game on. If they will relaunch their brunch – go for it – it may be more worth the money 🙂 Otherwise, take out your Entertainer app for that 241, or 25% off the total bill (both Entertainer/Privilee provides this discount). We will come back.

• Seagrill Bistro Dubai – next to the Adults Pool
• Website
• Fairmont The Palm
• Deal : 241 in the Entertainer for mains, or 25% off the total bill also using Entertainer or Privilee, Kids 5 and below eat for free
• Tip : Drop the kids at Falcon Kid’s Club (the team that runs it are fab) if you want a kid-free or ‘reduced kid presence’ lunch 😉 You get 2 hours comp with Privilee – timeslots are 1-3pm or 3:30 to 5:30pm. Then you can pick them up and go for a dip in the pool!

Disclaimer : We were guests of Fairmont the Palm to review their menu over lunch. Thoughts are our own.