“We look forward to welcoming the local community and visitors alike to experience a truly wonderful and innovative take on contemporary Arabian cuisine. It is our vision to do justice to the breathtaking diversity and depth of the region’s flavours.” Oliver Key
The Terrace on the Corniche restaurant, located at the St. Regis Hotel here in Abu Dhabi, is a delightfully stylish place and it’s always a pleasure to visit, in fact their Bloody Mary Friday Brunch is now firmly placed on our visitor to-do list, so an invitation to the launch of their Modern Arabian Galleria was very exciting. The evening, which was hosted by General Manager Oliver Key and his team, started with drinks and canapés at the terrace bar in the private garden area and in keeping with the St. Regis tradition the bartender sabred a bottle of champagne to get the celebration going.
The hotel is a classic epitome of refinement with its old school glamour style lobby which defies its modern skyscraper exterior. The Terrace on The Corniche restaurant encapsulates this classic style and combines it with contemporary, colourful swanky European decor and Modern Arabian cuisine. The signature day-to-night dining offers guests a huge variety of options via its resplendent buffet and live cooking stations, with extremely friendly and accommodating chefs who hail from across the globe. You can sample flavours from across the Arab world including cuisine from Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Morocco and if like me you are somewhat fussy the chefs will prepare you something special and bring it to your table, the embodiment of quality service.
The launch was held on a Wednesday evening which is the ‘From the Sea’ night at the Terrace, where the rich colours of the restaurants upholstery and artwork are the backdrop to mountains of fresh seafood piled onto ice with oysters, lobsters and crabs cooked with Arabian flair, all vying for the diners attention. With a wide variety of breads, salads, soups, meats, vegetables, desserts and so much more it felt more like a brunch and myself and fellow guests enjoyed a memorable night of fine dining, drinking and socialising. Modern-Arabian inspired music filled the air, a selection of fine shisha was on offer for those who partake and an Arabic calligraphy artist made us personalised name cards as keepsakes of the evening.
Under the watchful eye of manager Bassam, Head chef Thomas Pendarovski chef and his team prepare sharing mezze daily and signature dishes that range from the classic Ottoman Almond Soup to Jordanian Lamb Mansaf, consisting of slow cooked lamb shank with a seasoning mix of cardamom, cinnamon and garlic.
Those wishing to get the weekend off to a great start can enjoy Thursday’s ‘Best-Cuts Evening Brunch’ that offers a host of hearty steaks and cold cuts and take it from me the fabulous ‘The St. Regis Bloody Mary Friday Brunch’ (read about that in my previous post here) is the perfect way to celebrate the weekend with full on indulgence, the odd glass of bubbly or two and of course the famous Bloody Mary itself which has its own ‘Desert Snapper’ reinvention here in Abu Dhabi.
After a fabulous Wednesday evening celebrating the launch, I returned to the Terrace on the Corniche restaurant with the other half and our guests on Friday where we ‘brunched’ ourselves into food coma’s and drowned in free-flowing Laurent Perrier, oh Friday’s I do love you so! Our guests were overwhelmed with this gastronomic feast and I was so impressed with the fabulous service from every member of staff we encountered, nothing was too much trouble and everything was a pleasure. Thank you St. Regis once again for two very unforgettable experiences in one week, in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger ‘I’ll be back!”
The Terrace on the Corniche Restaurant
Located on the ground level of the hotel, The Terrace on the Corniche can be accessed through The St. Regis Abu Dhabi main lobby or via the private entrance on the Abu Dhabi Corniche.
Telephone: 02 694 4553
Email: restaurants.abudhabi@stregis.com
Website: http://www.theterraceonthecorniche.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stregisabudhabi
Modern Arabian Gallery
Introductory price AED150++, plus AED50++ for shisha and AED100++ for unlimited grapes and hops
Evenings 7:00pm – 11:00pm daily
The Bloody Mary Brunch
Every Friday from 1.00pm to 4.00pm
Brunch inclusive of soft beverages – AED 255
Brunch inclusive of Bloody Mary’s, wine and beer – AED 365
Brunch inclusive of Champagne, Bloody Mary’s, wine and beer – AED 450
I was invited to attend this event but all the views are all my own. Unless otherwise stated all photos © Jo Brett 2015. All rights reserved. Photos 3, 4 and 6 used courtesy of the St. Regis/TohPR.
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