Basta Art Café

The fresh fruit cocktails are excellent – try the Berry Berry, a generous and sublimely refreshing mélange of crushed berries, apples and lime 1 Reviews

From Time Out Dubai Eating Out 2007

At the far end of Dubai’s historic Bastakia quarter, twinkling fairy lights lead to a courtyard shaded by leafy trees and decorated with chirruping fountains and Arabian lanterns. Basta Art Café has long been a favourite lunch spot with residents and visitors, offering healthy dishes and romantic surroundings.

The service is always personal, prompt and friendly, and there is even an onsite boutique offering unique jewellery and handicrafts from Dubai-based artists. The fresh fruit cocktails are excellent – try the Berry Berry, a generous and sublimely refreshing mélange of crushed berries, apples and lime. Unfortunately the quality of the food still doesn’t do justice to the setting and the service. The soup of the day, served with soft fans of flatbread, and the jacket potatoes are consistently adequate, but the salads disappoint. Served in giant glass bowls, the ingredients are ordinary: iceberg lettuce, chicken and unremarkable vegetables with little dressing to speak of.

The souk salad – a seemingly random concoction of chewy grilled chicken, cashews, capsicum, sweet corn and couscous, is dry and unappetising. The characterless grilled haloumi sandwich rates only slightly better. However, when washed down with a tangy pot of Moroccan tea and a delightful plate of Arabic sweets, spending the afternoon relaxing on cushions in the shade really doesn’t seem so bad after all.

By Time Out Dubai Staff