Located at: Financial Center Road, Downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Visited on: 01 May, 2018

I have passed this place by several times in the past, and always thought of it as an ‘English Afternoon Tea’ sort of spot. Such is the cute, old-English style décor. However, a stop at the place on this particular afternoon proved that there is much more to it than afternoon tea. The comprehensive menu had an interesting selection of snacks and meals, as well as an extensive choice of beverages.

To quench our thirst, we decided to try their Chocolate Cappuccino (AED 30) and their Cookies and Cream Milkshake (AED 32). I was expecting the latter to be rather thick, sugary and creamy. But it turned out to be quite smooth, with no excess of sugar – thankfully! Just right (and made note of for the next visit). The Chocolate Cappuccino was good too, obviously much less in sweetness but not too strong in its coffee content either. Again, not excessively heavy, which made finishing the tall glass a pleasant task.

For lunch, I ordered a Spinach Lasagne (AED 51). Sounds a bit sober, yes, maybe. But I wasn’t looking for anything fancy. So I was rather pleased with what I tasted when I started digging into my lasagne – it was delicious. Something that seemingly sounded so simple exceeded my expectations in taste. The creamed spinach was on point, and the four-cheese sauce did gooey wonders to the texture of it. And the garden salad was a good fresh element to incorporate between bites. Definitely a winning dish!

We also had a Seafood Chowder – creamy Boston-style broth of shrimps, calamari, leek, fennel, carrots, potato and fresh chives (AED 21 for a cup, AED 39 for a bowl). Although not as visually appealing as the image on the menu, this tasted alright. It did have a decent serving of seafood and the flavour wasn’t bad either. However, given a second chance, I probably would opt to try the Onion soup instead. Next time.

Apart from these, we ordered a Smoked Tuna sandwich as well – with avocado, fresh mango, tomato salsa, greens, wasabi mayo and potato chips on the side (AED 52). Lovely. So fresh, and beautifully presented for something so simple. The wasabi mayo was definitely a hit, with the hint of wasabi adding a different dimension to the flavour. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I’m not big on avocado. But this and the mango with the mayo tasted great on the smoked tuna. The bread was good too, crusty enough on the outside and soft on the inside – easy to bite into. And the chips were nice and crisp, not too oily. Another great dish. And another reason I might be going back to this place again in the future. Good job!

Yummy Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Special offers: Emirates Platinum card holders get 20% taken off the total bill.                    Diners can also download the Shakespeare and Co. app to receive a 50% discount on cakes and pastries after 9pm.