The Bench Brunch at The Daily, Rove Hotel, City Centre
Friday – that day of the week when you just want to take the back seat, live life – a bit slower, than usual and enjoy good food in the company of good friends. This whole Friday equation is incomplete without food and talk about Dubai – where food is kinda like the national obsession – the craze reaches its crescendo – particularly on weekends!
Needless to say, it is a very interesting time of the week when restaurants, cafes and bars vie for attention with special offers and promos. The most interesting and value for money offering I recently tried is the Bench Brunch at The Daily.
The Location
The Rove City Centre Hotel is just a stone through away from Exit 2 of the DCC metro station. In fact, most of the Rove properties are situated across well-connected locations in Dubai. If you don’t want to drive and be stuck in traffic on a friday, simply catch the metro or hail a cap. They have ample parking space, in case you drive there.
The Ambience
The milieu is chilled out, spacious and quite interesting while the vibe is subtle, relaxed, tranquil – just perfect for the weekend. The lobby features plush seating and interesting art, photography and paintings to immerse oneself in. Here you can lounge in those comfy sofas and enjoy free WIFI and aromatic coffee from The Daily’s expert barista. The ambiance is definitely very Instagram-worthy.
The restaurant interiors are equally interesting. They have a huge artistic wall completely covered with artsy metal paraphernalia from the chefs table. Spoons, egg beaters, tongs – you name it! I learnt from Tanika – the restaurant manager, that most of their restaurants have a theme to it.
The Daily also has an outdoor dining area with comfortable seating and sun shades.
The Food
The Daily Bench brunch offers an unlimited buffet complete with a plethora of choices including hot and cold plates, fresh fruits, fresh juices, just-baked pastries, a selection of fresh cheese, assorted cereals, and an interesting line up dishes on the main course.
The dishes on the Bench Brunch main course include:
Buck Wheat & Spelt Crepes, Chili Tofu for the tofu fans, Red Shakshuka, Eggs Your Way – where you can have it cooked to your taste with all your personal customizations, Pitaya Bowl, Eggs on Toast, Grilled Chicken Salad, Quinoa Salad, Vegetable Lasagna, Vegetable Biryani ( Indian style), Cheeseburger, Arabic Thali that comes with Chicken Mandi, Hummus, Moutabal, Fattoush, French fries and Arabic pickles, and finally the Fisherman Feast.
For starters I picked a few fresh salad and a small jar of fresh orange juice.
Being a sea food lover, I went for Fisherman Treat, for the main course. It was indeed a treat for the senses, from the depths of the great ocean. The Fisherman Treat came with Semolina fried Seabass, coconut shrimps curry, steamed rice, beef vindaloo, stewed beans, lemon slaw, and Kokum digestive.
Fisherman Treat
The Seabass
Certainly, it was one of the best sea bass I’ve tasted in recent times. It was cooked to perfection in a typically Goan style, where the fish is typically dipped in roasted semolina and then deep fried, giving it that extra crispiness and taste.
The Shrimps Curry
It was a pinch spicy but in a perfect kinda way and appealed to my Indian taste buds. The coconut gravy sort of negated the effect of the spiciness, and gave it an overall, great taste. Their head chef is talented young man from that region of India where fish and rice is the staple food – GOA.
Stewed Beans
The best part about this side was that the curry came with tomatoes giving it that tangy flavour which I totally love.
Beef Vindaloo
A Goan origin dish with large beef cubes and sweet gravy. The meat was slightly hard, so I did share this opinion with the chef, who was kind enough to listen out and take note.
The Service
The staff, though few in number, were very friendly and attentive. They paid great attention to detail and ensured my needs were taken care of.
The bottom-line
At only AED 59, the Bench brunch is complete value for your money. Besides a great choice of fresh food and drinks, the restaurant also boasts of a fantastic ambiance. The service is certainly something that you will appreciate and there is absolutely no doubt that your first visit to The Daily won’t be your last!
Recommendation: I highly recommend the Fisherman Treat to all seafood lovers and even to those who are not, for in trying this – who knows – you may just acquire a new love for seafood – particularly Seabass.
Food: ****
Décor: ****
Service: ****
Ambiance: ****
Value: *****
Also read Brunch in the sky
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Phone number
04 5619100
Average Cost
AED 210 for two people (approx.)
Cash and Cards accepted
Opening hours
Today 6:30 AM to 11:30 PM (All week)
Address
Rove City Centre, Lobby Level, 24 19B St, Port Saeed, Deira City Centre Area, Dubai
More Info
- Breakfast
- Full Bar Available
- Buffet
- Wifi
- Outdoor Seating
- Kid Friendly