Danat Dubai

Dhow dinner cruise on the Dubai Creek Discuss this article

There are three reasons why I’ve always been sceptical of dinner cruises. Firstly, the food tends to be unremarkable buffet fare. Secondly, the surroundings often resemble a downmarket ferry (white plastic fixtures and bingo hall carpets), and finally, they tend to be very expensive.

]Unfortunately for Danat’s creek cruise, my cynicism proved to be well-founded on all three counts.
Initially, everything looked rosy. The shining catamaran, parked dockside opposite the British Embassy, looked impressive from the outside: a picture of water-borne opulence. But things got worse when the music was cranked up and Kenny G’s forgettable ode to heartbreak and duplicity ‘I Said I Loved You But I Lied’ was fired into our ears, immediately undermining any semblance of romance formed by the candles and low lighting. But we were in a good mood, and after laughing about the terrible choice of music, looked forward to the gourmet buffet that awaited us.

Tender and cooked just to the right side of rare (steak tartare isn’t ideal buffet fare), the beef Wellington impressed, but the Arabian chicken tasted slightly undercooked, and the roast potatoes, vegetables and oriental soup were all lukewarm.

Dishes worthy of recommendation included the
salad and hummos platter, which came with bundles of tasty Arabic bread, and most of the desserts – especially the sweet, tapioca-esque umm ali and the lusciously rich chocolate mousse – pressed the right buttons.

The evening did perk up when a belly dancer entered the fray and shook her booty to a selection of Arabic hits – which would have been better suited to an Arabian dhow than this modern vehicle – but the good mood was somewhat spoiled when the bill arrived. Each meal had cost a whopping Dhs195, which didn’t even include wine.

Given Dubai’s preponderance of high quality, booze-inclusive buffets, this seemed excessive, especially considering the mediocrity of the food on offer. Although the service and entertainment was excellent, we disembarked the good ship Danat more convinced than ever that when it comes to dinner cruises there is good reason to be cynical.

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