“The design, atmosphere, food and drink will be akin to taking a taxi tour of New York’s most celebrated dining districts.” Antonio Mansfield
You can now enjoy a little snippet of New York City vibes at the newly renovated District by Amalfi, the ground floor Italian restaurant located at Le Royal Méridien Abu Dhabi. Whether you enter from outside or via the hotel lobby a series of bold graffiti and street signs greets you, as many of NYC’s popular dining districts; the Upper East Side, Little Italy, Harlem and the Meat Packing are brought to life in a riot of colourful street art.
Add in the Italian cuisine that’s so popular in the Big Apple and you will find yourself immersed in the concept. The menu is teaming with choices for seafood and meat eaters as well as vegetarians. The multi faceted concept may be a little confusing I agree; NYC meets the Amalfi coast, decorated with a sidewalk style that screams casual dining, yet the restaurant boasts an extensive wine collection and some of the pricing definitely says fine dining.
For the smaller appetite there’s mini plates, starters, seven different salads and three types of assorted platters (meat, veg and cheese). There’s a good variety of mains such as veal, ravioli and the more unusual risotto flavour combinations of duck and barley or pea and lobster. Pride of place is the large graffiti emblazoned pizza oven and the pizza selection, all cooked fresh to order, includes favourites such as margherita, four cheeses, pepperoni and even a DYO (design your own) option.
The Soho Signatures offer some more unusual combinations such as the the Po Boy with crispy prawn tails and remoulade sauce, the Wagyu with marinated wagyu beef brisket, caramelized onions and bearnaise sauce and my personal favorite the Halloumi, a tasty vegetarian offering topped with slices of grilled halloumi and roast onions. The other half started with the marinated garlic mussels and on recommendation of the chef had the Sea Bass for main, both of which were declared tasty and disappeared off his plate in no time.
Let’s talk Italian desserts. District has five listed in the Sweet Revenge section of the menu such as panna cotta, cannolis stuffed with honey and ricotta, gelato and of course the all time Italian classic tiramisu. I have become inclined to judge the merits of an Italian restaurant on two dishes, its burrata and tiramisu. In the absence of the creamy cheesy goodness on this particular menu it all fell on the dessert to make the grade, I’m pleased to share that the coffee and mascarpone dessert, served on a stick like an ice-lolly, was not only delicious but had super cute presentation too. Also on offer are the sweet pizzas, with popular toppings such as nutella and banana, roast Ffig with local honey and a fried cinnamon sugar variety.
Fancy a slice of NYC while satisfying your cravings for Italian cuisine? Tick those boxes all in one place at District by Amalfi, the restaurant that ‘perfectly combines the delicate flavours of the Italian Amalfi coast, with the robust, familiar flavours of New York City’. I recommend trying one of the ample sized pizzas fresh from the traditional oven washed down with a nice glass of vino and don’t forget to try the tiramisu served on a stick.
@District by Amalfi
Location: Ground Floor, Le Royal Méridien Hotel Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa Street, Abu Dhabi
Telephone: (971) 800 101101
E-mail: restaurants.lrmad@lemeridien.com
Website: www.amalfiabudhabi.com
Opening Times: Lunch from 12:00 noon to 4:00pm, Dinner from 7:00pm to 11:00pm and Friday Brunch from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.
Read more about Le Royal Méridien Hotel Abu Dhabi in previous posts HERE
I was invited to @District by Amalfi. All the views are all my own. Unless otherwise stated, all photos on this page © Jo Brett 2018. All rights reserved.