Cafe goes gastro

I've always thought Bateel presents the world's best dates in amazing packaging (I buy an armful of their pretty boxes when I'm at Duty Free: they make great gifts for folks back home), but had never considered dining with them at any of the Café Bateel options around town. Last week, however, saw a friend and I visit the Mall of the Emirates' branch, and thoroughly enjoying ourselves despite the "family-friendly" atmo (read: noisy kids). While the outlet gives you plenty of opportunities to be a social anthropologist (observing shoppers in MoE from a strategic vantage point is quite a cool thing), it's the food that takes your breath away. Cafe food is a real cliché (unless, of course, you're someplace in Europe), so to discover curated gourmet food in an informal setting was quite the find!
There'll be a spring in your step at Café Bateel - because it looks so fresh and airy. It's the decor - light, woody, minimalist - that lends to this impression. The colours are very "day"-like; loved the pops of lime green here and there. The seating is comfy and fuss-free.
Mediterranean cuisine, if I'm allowed to say so, is another cliché - unless you're at a fine dining joint, paying the price for it. The star of the evening was the food: uncomplicated, bursting with flavours and retaining the Med region's authenticity. From the first bite you know this is stuff made of the nicest, freshest ingredients.
The main takeaway from the evening was: here's a cafe that lives up to fine dining standards... without burning that hole in your pocket. Just what the retail therapist ordered!
Taste - Absolutely top-notch. The asparagus soup actually tasted of the veggie, not seasonings. The shrimp and baby spinach salad with avocado, burghul, and tomatoes set a new bar. A fantastic Umbrian rigatoni. The salted caramel and chocolate cake was the ultimate QED.
Ambience - The decor is cool: fresh, light and summery. The furniture is fuss-free, yet chic enough (and space saving). But this is not fine dining; it's not even casual dining; it's a sophisticated, family-friendly cafe. So, kids screaming occasionally can be a bit of a bummer.
Service - Polite, friendly and fairly efficient, but the staff is not exactly on top of the bill of fare. If you ask them for reccos, be prepared for some blank stares. But hey, like I said, this is not fine dining, so you have to make do with some element of the fast-food culture.
Presentation - Pretty neat. Clean-lined crockery and cutlery. Food looked fresh, wholesome and delish - not "put-together" and, therefore, too pretty to eat. The emphasis was on making dinner look simple and authentic... Instagram can wait! Oh, and posh-looking menu!
Value for money - This is not a regular cafe, so prices are slightly steep. But for the quality (and quantity) of food on offer, it was great value for money. Soups for around Dh40 (easily shareable), salads between Dh50-Dh60, pasta at Dh60 and desserts between Dh30-Dh35.
At a glance
Café Bateel, Ground level (opposite H&M), Mall of the Emirates, Dubai
Tel: 04 8016777
Cost for 2: Dh200-250
Rating: 4/5
sushmita@khaleejtimes.com

• Food and Dining