Restaurant Review: 3in1 at Vida Downtown Dubai

What's in a name? If we're going by Shakespeare's argument, absolutely nothing. But in the case of 3in1 at Vida Downtown, it could be all the difference between an uptick in footfall and, well, none at all. At least, that's why I was really keen to visit: not because the restaurant's name was intriguing, but because almost every other dish name on the menu tickled me silly.
They have offerings called Ocean's 8 (because it's an octopus dish, get it?), Drop the Bass (roasted seabass; but, of course), It's A Wrap! (Arabic-spiced chicken in a saj wrap with tomato and pickles), All American Kid (a pizza topped with beef pepperoni, shredded kid meat, goat's cheese, mozzarella and hot sauce) and Date Me (a cake of dates, muscovado and golden treacle). See what I mean? If that's not a straight hook, I don't know what is. So, kudos to whoever took the trouble to get inventive with the menu!
You'll find both European and Middle Eastern cuisine here (a tad strange as I expected the restaurant's name to mean three cuisines made up the motley crue here). Nonetheless, if we had any niggles at all, it was that the menu was a bit too comprehensive. For a fine dining place, offering a thick sheaf of papers attached to a clipboard is not exactly par for the course.
The restaurant wasn't very busy on the weekday evening we visited, but it's exactly the sort of place you'd opt for if looking for a quiet, yet fancy, evening about town. Good food and top-notch presentation, isn't that what Dubai's fine dining scene is all about?
Taste
Everything tasted as they should, right from the Hot Stuff starters (cheese rakakat, lamb kibbeh) to the Turkey Carbs pasta (turkey bacon, chicken, soft poached egg) and the baked and puréed Mr Aubergine. The Cheesy Cake uses popcorn - definitely a version we'd never tried before!
Ambience
It might have been a tad too dim (I could barely see the faces at tables across the room for the shadows), but the overall ambience is fairly chic. The mood is soft, according diners a certain level of privacy, and the sound of guests mingling by the pool just outside is oddly soothing.
Service
Our server was professional and patient (the vastness of the menu meant we were poring over it a fair bit). We liked his proactive offer to help us decide on dishes, and ability to suggest suitable options despite our dietary preferences and restrictions.
Presentation
As you can see above, plating at this restaurant subscribes to 'the fancier, the better' school of thought. Our Cheesy Cake dessert, for instance, came with a dangerous-looking, but perfectly edible, spike of (what we're guessing was) butterscotch. Creativity always wins applause!
Value for money
Yes, prices are on the higher side here, but at a fine dining joint, you're obviously paying for more than just the food, right? Throw in the classy ambience, exquisite presentation, and satiating portions, and you know your dirham is travelling a fair distance here.
karen@khaleejtimes.com