We had spent a few evenings by the Park Hyatt lagoon pool back in December, watching the restaurant being built. Little did we know that it would be Twiggy, one of La Cantine’s newest venture – and a very successful one it appears to be, seeing how busy it was on a late Monday afternoon.
How is the food, what do they serve? Here’s our review of Twiggy –
Where is Twiggy?
I’m sure you’ve been to Park Hyatt at some point in your lifetime in Dubai. If you have not, where have you been? 😉
Twiggy has its own valet – so pop Twiggy in your googlemaps and drive there. Unless of course you like to walk around the hotel, then you could also valet at Park Hyatt Dubai itself.
It is situated by the Park Hyatt’s lagoon pool, which is really quite stunning – with its hues of blue to green and man-made sand, overlooking the Dubai Creek. It is also one of the few pools in Dubai where seagulls love to pop in for a splash come sunset, and where you’ll find instagram boyfriend and husbands taking endless photos for their influencer-other-halves 😀 It really is quite fun people watching from Twiggy.
What sort of food do they serve?
Its menu is as they call – “Mediterranean-inspired” – mainly seafood dishes, and then there’s sushi and sashimi. Not to worry, for those who’re not into seafood – there is also vegetarian and meat dishes too.
What’s the place like?
The person who designed the entrance and the interior of the restaurant itself – I’ll give you thumbs up for what you’ve done with Twiggy. I love how you’re led around the building, towards the lagoon pool (which is a wow, if you’ve never been) and up these wooden-clad stairs towards the actual restaurant. It is entirely outdoors so hooray for alfresco dining, and speaking to the team – there are plans to enclose it with glass facade for the summer months.
As the restaurant is west-facing, it also means that it is sun-drenched for a large part of the day and even at 4pm late March, you’re best choosing a table within, for some shade. That is of course if you don’t mind sitting in the sun. Just remember to put on some sunscreen and bring your sunnies to Twiggy!
What did we have, and how was it?
We started off with a selection of hot and cold dishes. The staff had recommended the yellowfin tuna but I was in the mood for salmon, which came beautiful presented with pomelos, yuzu dressing and coriander oil (76 AED). Instead of sea bass carpaccio, we opted for wagyu (88 AED). This came in a large tray which initially gave the impression that it was too much for starters but hey – this is carpaccio, which means it was thinly sliced and perfect with rockets leaves and shaved parmesan. I was glad we ordered the quinoa and kale salad (86AED)- fresh and light, complementing the heavier seafood and meat dishes on the table. Loved the addition of goji berries and figs in the salad, gives it that bit of sweetness. Oh, you definitely need to try their sauteed gambas (prawns) with eggplant (94 AED) – probably my favourite dish out of all for starters. The honey glazed wagyu short ribs – pricey at 245 AED and rather small in portions but very tasty.
For mains, the staff recommended the homemade gnocchi (162 AED). As with the sauteed gambas, the prawns here were fresh and crunchy, the sauce was just right. I was in the mood for lamb so Australian lamb chops it was. Though flavoursome, I felt that they could have done a bit more with the plating.
We were both completely stuffed by the end of the meal so there was unfortunately no secret tummy space for dessert. Maybe next time? 😉
Hang on, could I bring the kids along?
Much like other beach clubs around, Twiggy is adults-only, allowing those 16 and above to come and dine with them. I have no reservations on this – the place is just ‘too nice’ to bring your 4-year old along. The lagoon pool has also recently become an adults-only pool, so I guess I was glad we spent sometime there with the kids back in December.
Overall thoughts?
Twiggy provides a chic fine dining experience to Dubai’s elite. Definitely save this for a special date, or a nice catch up with friends. If you’re coming in the afternoon, remember – sunnies and sunscreen 😉
- Twiggy by La Cantine
- By the Lagoon Pool, Park Hyatt Dubai
- Tip : Privilee members have Pool & Kids Club access up till the end of March 2021. You could drop the kids in the Kids Club which is actually just by Twiggy and sneak off for a peaceful lunch 😉
Disclaimer : We were guests of Twiggy to review the venue over lunch.
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