Post-prohibition lounge and bar Phoenix Social Club has now opened its doors bringing a sophisticated air of modernized nostalgia to Dubai. A place where old and new collide, Phoenix Social Club features a delectable and accessibly priced ‘fine-sharing’ food and cocktail menu served up alongside upbeat vibes and welcoming service.
The food is produce-centric with an eclectic array of flavors and multi-cultural cooking techniques served as art, ‘fine-sharing’ style designed for guests to explore new horizons with a loose tie and without prohibitive price tags.
Tandoor Flatbreads are the signature starter at Phoenix Social Club, encouraging patrons to break bread together, and are served with a choice of Roasted Capsicum Cream, Wagyu Pancia or Burratina with a Paprika Truffle Honey.
Smaller sharing plates include Strawberry and Cucumber Salad, Chicken Liver Parfait, Hamachi Ceviche, and Miso Pumpkin with Sweet Potato. Larger dishes feature Chicken Tikka with a Citrus Onion Salad, Chargrilled Octopus with Yuzu Kosha and Miso Foam, Beef Cheek Tortellini with Porcini Beurre Monte, Black Cod with Braised Daikon, and Wagyu Striploin with Eggplant, a Burnt Leek Tapenade, and served with a Mustard Jus.
As a sweet treat to finish diners can feast on the Compressed Watermelon accompanied by Fresh Mangosteen, textures of White Chocolate, Kefir Lime and Basil, or the Saffron and Pear Sorbet with Spiced Caramel, Vanilla Yoghurt, Milk Crumble, Apples and Brick Pastry.
The bar program at Phoenix Social Club is serious and continuously evolving, starting with nine signature cocktails including ‘Shizzle My Swizzle’, ‘Pop Ma Cherie’ and the ‘Phoenix Elixir’. The bar is stocked up to recreate a myriad of classic cocktails and their variations. Rotating monthly, experimental cocktails are created in conjunction with the culinary team – the teams are serious about innovation and creativity.
Phoenix Social Club is inspired by the supper clubs, or social clubs as they were known back then, of 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles, Miami and New York, that brought together dining, drinking and dancing – the three key ingredients to having a good time!
Our Review
Blogliterati.com team visited this week and we had a fabulous time there. We were attended to by the friendly waiter Ade from Nigeria who was friendly, attentive and quick at service. We had the pleasure of also meeting the man behind all these extraordinary dishes – Chef Robert Fairs from New Zealand. A friendly gentleman and culinary genius, Robert personally dropped by to our tables and explained about the different dishes he had prepared for us that night. We were definitely very impressed by the special menu as each and every single dish had a wow factor to it. It was magical!
The Food
We started off with some heady cocktails to appetize. The first one we tried was the truly remarkable Old Currency which was oozing chocolate all around the glass. It was a melange of Gin, Dark Chocolate, Washed Vermouth and Campari. We then tried Islay Bootlegger which was a heady mix of Bourbon, Tobacco, Orange Bitters and Islay Whiskey.
Our first appetizer was Tandoor Bread with roasted capsicum and burratina. The curry had Roasted capsicum cream, yogurt espuma and texture of tomato. The burratina was garnished with paprika truffle honey, white balsamic pearls and fresh truffle. Thanks to the truffle, the taste was phenomenal.
We were then served with Strawberry and cucumber salad and Hamachi ceviche – a ceviche of hamachi with burnt avocado, tiger milk, chili oil, sesame and radish. The creamy tiger milk garnished with chili oil and sesame gave it a very nice flavor and taste.
In the third course we had Chicken liver parfait and Heirloom carrots. Chicken liver parfait had crème fraiche, caramelized yoghurt, pickled shallots, endives and rose. The heirloom carrots came in a mixture of coconut, kefir and carrot curry, coriander, quinoa
and puffed wild rice.
In the fourth course we had Chargrilled Octopus and Mushroom Tortellini. By far one of the best Chargrilled Octopus I’ve tried in Dubai. So tender and well cooked, seasoned with yuzu kosho – a kind of japanese chilli pepper paste which gave it that right hint of flavor. It was garnished with miso foam, grapes, pickled kohlrabi and nori powder. Mushroom Tortellina was equally scrumptious. We finished off the main course with Slow roasted miso pumpkin and sweet potato with pumpkin seed cream, pickled pumpkin and sweet potato crisp.
In desserts we had Saffron and Pear Sorbet and Compressed Watermelon. Compressed watermelon was not too much to my liking however I enjoyed the saffron and pear Sorbet.
Overall a very extraordinary dining experience in the slick and new social club in the heart of Dubai. This resto-lounge deserves a full 5 on zomato for the innovative menu, impressive service and great ambiance.
Chef Robert Fairs gets all credits for the impressive dining experience we had at Phoenix Social Club.