Showing posts with label British. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British. Show all posts

Dhow and Anchor (Dubai)

Posted on Saturday, March 14, 2020 by

During my travels to other countries, I only occasionally dine at hotel restaurants, preferring places that are (hopefully) more local or not teeming with tourists. In Dubai, this preference goes out the window. That’s because, it’s mostly in hotels where I’m able to have an alcoholic drink with my meal. And a glass of chilled white wine simply makes the experience of dining al fresco so much better. After all, if you’re going to view the Burj Al Arab closely, why not do it from a sunny patio with a glass of vino?

So, this is how we found ourselves at Dhow and Anchor, a British restaurant located inside the famed Jumeirah Beach Hotel. It seems strange to go to Dubai to have British food, but with the number of expats in the country, they make good British eats – way better than the Chinese options we tasted.


The British coast fisherman’s pie (AED130) was fantastic incorporating big chunks of salmon, cod, and prawns, in a lovely leek gravy and covered with rich mashed potatoes that is more buttery than what you’d normally find on Shepard’s pie. Topped with a bit of cheese gratin, it makes for a heavenly pie that’s simply intoxicating, in taste and aroma.


So much so that it seemed to really draw in the flies. In fact, any dish seemed to attract the pesky buggers. The fly situation at Dhow and Anchor was horrendous with a huge pack of them descending upon the table as soon as our food arrived. We had to constantly have one hand waving in front of our plates, while eating quickly, and finally using our napkin to cover the dishes before they could be whisked away.

The restaurant really needs to invest in table fans that flitter around to help keep the flies away. As it stands, the fisherman’s pie was tasty but actually ingesting the dish was frustrating and rushed. I felt like I was having fast food when the meal should be savoured. Al fresco dining can be great, but I guess that’s the perils of outdoor eating.

 Overall mark - 7 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
 Address: Jumeirah Beach Hotel

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____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

CLOSED: The Borough (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, October 29, 2017 by

For being a British colony, Toronto, surprisingly, has a lack of good English restaurants. We’re graced with more than our fair share of pub chains, but the menus are cookie cutter and none are exciting. While searching for a quick brunch place in East York, I was happy to stumble upon The Borough - the bright white and red restaurant isn’t your typical dark dank pub, but the food would even impress Mr. Bean.

Their Borough benedict ($15) is what lured me into the restaurant… the promise of my favourite breakfast main on top of Yorkshire pudding was irresistible. After experiencing the dish, I wouldn’t want it any other way. The cheddar cheese Yorkshire pudding was airy and fresh, its crevices perfect for cupping the medium runny egg yolk and hollandaise sauce. Unlike English muffin, which can be difficult to cut through, or biscuits that are way too dense, the pudding was doughy enough to hold up against everything else but not taste heavy. The old cheddar notes also made the benedict more flavourful than the typical buttery hollandaise.


The home fries smell and taste like chips I’ve had in the UK. There’s something about them – despite being cut larger and made of solid pieces of potatoes there’s a fluffiness to the filling. With a hefty helping of sticky warm molasses baked beans, you’ll leave stuffed.

If that weren’t indulgent enough, that day they had a special eggs benedict topped with pork belly ($18). I didn’t try it, but my friend loved the crispy crackling crust over each thick piece of meat. They also do a proper full English breakfast, which seemed popular with other tables.


Should I ever have to venture to the neighbourhood again, I’d return to the Borough for their evening meals. At last, there’s a decent English restaurant in the fray and they’ve combined Yorkshire pudding with eggs benedict – genius.

 Overall mark - 8 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 1352 Danforth Avenue


 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

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