The Todcast is back.

DJ Jeff Price talks to Time Out about Dubai’s most important restaurant awards, how many Frankie Dettoris it would take to make a Burj Dubai and why you won’t regret visiting the Edith Piaf stage show at the Madinat Theatre.

 

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Well, that’s it.

The Time Out Restaurant Awards are over for another year.

And we have a new winner. A very deserving one at that.

The glittering awards ceremony at the Monarch Hotel finished just over half an hour ago and a new champion of the Dubai restaurant circuit has emerged.

Congratulations to are in order for The Noble House.

Not only did the new Raffles Hotel restaurant walk away with the Best Newcomer and the Best Chinese restaurant awards, it also did the unthinkable and knocked Gordon Ramsay’s Verre from the top spot.

It is now, officially, Time Out Dubai’s Restaurant Of The Year for 2008.

Not bad for a restaurant that has been running for less than 100 days.

“We’ve obviously had a fantastic night,” a delighted Christoph Ganster, Executive Assistant Manager/Food and Beverage, told Time Out just seconds after picking up the third award.

“Expectation was high because we know the team has put in a lot of work. This restaurant officially opened on the 24th of December last year and we’ve been exceeding expectations since then. We were pleased to pick up the award for Chinese restaurant. And then Newcomer. And then…wow…it has been a fantastic night for us”.

Nobody was more pleased than The Noble House’s head chef, Peter Lau.

Asked by Time Out how it feels to have toppled Gordon Ramsay from his position as the man behind the meals at Dubai’s best restaurant Peter was polite. Far too polite, in fact.

“I think I have cooked for Gordon Ramsay twice in restaurants. He liked the food a lot, so I was very pleased,” said the city’s newest superstar chef.

Comment of the night, however, goes to the multi-award winning Restaurant Manager, Christopher Won from The Noble House.

“Look, it says on my business card Christopher Won. And guess what? Christopher won Best Restaurant with Time Out!”

Brilliant. Congratulations again to Christopher, Peter and all their team. Keep up the good work. Just remember - winning the title is difficult, but retaining it, as Verre proved in the first two Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards, is the hard part.

The after party for the event is sure to go on late into the night. Winners, highly commended managers and chefs, the losing restaurants and even Time Out’s team will be pushing the Bose sponsored sound system to its limits late into the night.

Keep checking back to the blog throughout the next few days for more comments from winning (and losing) restaurants, pictures of the prestigious black tie event, gossip from the night and maybe even an exclusive story or two and a few recipes from winning chefs.

More on these stories in the next few days:

* Who gave the biggest cheer on the night? And the strangest?

* What hotel’s manager claimed the emotions of Time Out Awards night were amongst his highlights of last year?

* What was the final sum for the amount of money raised for the Dhaka Project charity on the evening?

* Which Dubai radio celebrity turned up late and was was forced to pinch bread rolls from neighbouring tables?

Let Time Out know your thoughts as well. Did we get it right?

Look at our special awards section to see the complete list of winners in every category.

Have you been to The Noble House yet? Did we miss out your favourite restaurant? Think you know a better brunch?

Leave a comment and join the debate.

What makes good service in a restaurant?

I only ask because I’ve been on the end of some very bad service today.

The scene was a familiar one. Sitting down for a medium-priced meal in a Garhoud restaurant and I was asked four times if everything was OK for me. Before the food even arrived.

This is, by any rational standards, too much.

Allow me to even try my food before the questioning begins!

In total a combination of three waiters checked up on me seven times in about one hour.

As it happens the food was satisfactory and the waiters’ attention really wasn’t required. If I need anything I’ll ask.

I think a customer knows what they are letting themselves in for when they order a Coke. It doesn’t really need to be followed up with after sales service and hovering. Does it?

I understand the waiters want me to enjoy the food and the dining experience, but do we really need a tour guide for a simple bite to eat?

In the end I had to be blunt and asked not to be bothered again until the bill arrived. It felt rude, but is this any more rude than hovering over a diner and interrupting a meal with too much service?

So I ask again - what makes good service?

Let us know what you think.

The UAE has declared Thursday a holiday for the public and private sector to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed.

According to a circular issued by Minister of Labour Saqr Ghobash on Tuesday, the private sector will join ministries, public departments and institutions in enjoying a long weekend, reported state news agency Wam.

The Civil Service Bureau announced that Thursday would be a holiday for the public sector, according to the decision issued by Khalifa Bekhit Al Flasi, state minister and head of the Civil Service Council.

It’s big. It’s bigger than big.

It’s the Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards 2008.

You can see our list of winners here.

Have we included your favourite restaurants? Are you angry that we have missed your favourite out? Are we geniuses - okay we know the answer to that one.

This is your chance to comment on the nominations and the winners.