When someone who works for one of the big food websites in the region recommends a restaurant, I take notice… Which is how we ended up at Tresind on Friday. As each member of our group was recovering from, ahem, rather late endeavors the night before, we leafed through the (far too) heavy card stock and requested the chef du cuisine menu (not sure why it wasn’t presented with the other menu). The concept behind many of the dishes is deconstructing or presenting Indian street food in a unique way. And it works.
Reservations? Made online. ‘Mr’ Courtney certainly gets around in this city. 🙂
Ambiance? Well… There is definitely room for improvement. Of the places I’ve been, all things aside, Hide and Rang Mahal are probably my favorite venues for straight up seating. In any venue, I like a bit of space from my neighbor. I like a private conversation. And perhaps this will be an unpopular opinion, but I do not like small children at venues like this. I know it’s a difference in the region and in cultures, but to the three loud toddlers that were running up and down the restaurant, I thought it really distracted from the evening. At Tresind, everything feels a bit close (including the ceiling) and unlike Rang Mahal, the closer attention to detail and total guest experience weren’t as evolved. Should you go, be sure to request a table overlooking Sheikh Zayed Road.
Service? I’m going to be critical here — only because I think it’s what could set the restaurant even further apart. There was no wine service to speak of. In fact, wine just sort of arrived at our table without explanation, presentation of the bottle or pouring. The service (and staff) were all perfectly lovely, with interesting explanations of the food and what they were doing (although at times the pronunciations were a bit difficult to understand). And also, they could have shut those kids up. All of this is such a shame, because the food is…
Food? Out of this world! (Also, vegetarians – there is a veg tasting menu!)
Cost? For a paired menu, with cocktails to start and a few bottles of water, we all ended up at about AED700 per person, which I thought was a little high, but acceptable.
While we were impressed by the theatrics and tastes, as a total package, there are better options in the city that would provide a more complete experience.
Thoughts from Hubs… I am too full to function.
