How much can you possibly eat at breakfast? Two eggs, a hashbrown, sausages and mushrooms and I’m done. So who in their right minds will pay 315 AED for breakfast? That’s equivalent to say 64 Pounds, 85 USD, or 147 NZD. It sounds absolutely crazy right? And that’s how much breakfast at Gastronomy in Atlantis the Royal costs and I tell you what – the place was pretty much full on a Sunday morning, late July when we were there.
Here’s what you’re really paying for.
1. The whole Atlantis the Royal experience
The experience starts the moment you drive up towards the hotel. Just looking up at how massive the building itself is. Pure admiration goes straight out to the engineering, architecture and everyone else involved in bringing this structure to livf. Dare I admit, I was so excited the night before it took me awhile to go to bed – and I’ve lived here for over 14 years now and have been to a lot of places in Dubai with what I do.
We spent a lot of time in the lobby lounge taking photos. We took more photos out at the terrace. You walk pass a giant Louis Vutton mascot – shaped as a flower-person-thing. It has a name too. It’s called Vivienne. And then you find your way to Gastronomy after a long walk down the hallway.
Even getting to the restaurant itself is a journey itself. It’s situated a level up so you have to take an escalator. Don’t worry, families with little kids – you can take the lift if you prefer.
2. The opportunity to walk and see everything that is available in Gastronomy
Once you get there, you’re greeted with smiles as the team confirms your reservation, and bring you over to your table. I would suggest to go earlier so you pick a good one.
And yes – you’re paying for the opportunity to actually walk through this massive food hall. Consider part of the price tag – an entry fee. It’s very much like a museum, where you find a new thing at every corner. And if you think you’ve been everywhere – you’ll still be thrown off your socks at what you see here in Gastronomy.
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3. Access to 17 live food stations, and not just breakfast items
You’ve got the ‘orchard’ with an entire section for fresh fruit, fruit juices and salads. How do we make salad sauces look exciting? You design a sauce dispenser that takes up the entire wall. Everything is just over-the-top, it makes you smile.
To highlight – you don’t just get breakfast items here.
Yes there’s the egg station, smashed avo on toast, sausages, bacon, hash browns, grilled broccolini. Yes there’s belgian pancakes and waffles. There’s an arabic and indian breakfast station. And there’s also dim sum – kudos for remembering the chinese!
But other than that – you’ve got fried rice, fried chicken, a complete noodle bar. You’ve got a fully working pizzeria where you watch the team knead dough and put it into the oven right in front of you. There’s an entire ice cream station with all the toppings you could think of, and a little step where the kids can walk up and help themselves up (much, to your horror, at 10am in the morning, haha) And of course, with proper waffle cones. The good, crunchy ones.
Did I mention that you get freshly shucked oysters as well? Who eats oysters for breakfast? I bet you will as well – if you go to breakfast at Atlantis the Royal!
4. The Glorious Views
Most all-day dinings in hotels are conveniently located on the ground floor level, and sure – it will have a nice view but as Gastronomy is situated on the first floor, and the hotel itself is much elevated as an overall – you get amazing views from both sides. Every single walk that you do to get food is exciting (for me, at least) – as you can look out and admire the view itself. On one side – you’ll find the very calm Arabian Gulf, and on the other – the Palm & Dubai Marina skyline.
5. The Service
This starts off from the moment you get out of the car – from the valet team, to the team who greets you as you enter the lobby, to the ones who attend to you once you get to Gastronomy. And of course it carries on all morning – with the coffee orders, the clearing of the (many) empty plates, and more.
Does that justify 315 AED for Breakfast at Gastronomy?
Let me run through with you how much breakfast buffets here in Dubai cost in general. Most of the 5-star hotels on the Palm Jumeirah charge on average 150-170 AED for a breakfast buffet.
What sets Atlantis a level up is as explained above, the sheer size of Gastronomy itself and the amount of food that is available. Of course, a night stay would cost a lot more than the other hotels, which again would bring the breakfast price up.
Will you eat 315 AED worth of eggs? Of course you won’t. Who in the right mind will.
But it’s not just breakfast. With the amount of food available it’s literally a Dubai Brunch. Only difference is that this one starts at 7am and runs for 5 whole hours. If you think of it that way, 315 AED is pretty much what most brunches here in Dubai in similar resorts charge, isn’t it?
Can’t eat so early in the morning? Gastronomy does a Late Breakfast offer on Saturdays that runs from 12:30pm to 3pm, and it costs only 245 AED. It’s not bad, right? The champagne package for both sessions sets you off at 450 AED and again – if you compare it with other Dubai Brunches that serve champagne, that’s (believe it or not) – pretty well-priced! What sorta champagne is served? Moet & Chandon.
So, what do you say? Is Gastronomy’s breakfast worth the price tag? Go book yourself in and you tell me. Or consider booking a night’s stay with breakfast included for the complete exprerience.
Did we enjoy ourselves? Very, very much so. I would go so far as to say that you should add this to your Dubai Bucket List experience. It’s just, crazy. Y’know – it’s ‘so Dubai’. And I’m glad they have created this experience. Something special. Something you would remember, and talk about again and again.
For current pricing and details, see atlantis.com
Disclosure : We were guests of Atlantis the Royal to review the breakfast at Gastronomy.