Villa Beach Restaurant

Expensive European food on Jumeirah Beach Road. The prices refelct the view so don't expect a cheap evening but the food will not disappoint 2 Reviews

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From Time Out Dubai Eating Out 2008

Views don’t often come cheap in this city – something you’ll find out to your own great expense if you choose to chow down at this beachside restaurant. There’s no denying the awesome outlook from some of the tables here (if the sailboats bobbing around on the aquamarine waters of the Gulf don’t get you, the awesome dimensions of the nearby Burj Al Arab surely will), but the grossly inflated prices mean that dining here is recommended only to either the ridiculously extravagant or the filthy-rich.

It’s even more of a false economy if you end up at one of the many tables without a vista, where you’ll likely bristle even more indignantly at the meagre portions offered up. A brace of scallops with nuggets of mango is delicious, but the dish’s tiddliness will only truly delight those on a crash diet.

The main courses continue on this miniature tack – a portion of roasted corn-fed chicken falling short as a result of its paltriness. When the Villa Beach hits the mark it does it in style, however, and you’ll be pressed to find a better dish on the menu than the tender beef fillet, which is served with a beautifully textured accompaniment of warming oxtail, a wild mushroom mash and a green peppercorn sauce.

Desserts are of an equally towering standard – a banana, chocolate and toffee cheesecake, undeniable in its woozily wonderful glory – but more consistent collections of knock-out blows can be found elsewhere at a fraction of the price.

• Previous reviews
  • 12 March,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 29 November,2006- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 30 April,2006- reviewed by Time Out Dubai
  • 19 December,2005- reviewed by Matthew Lee

Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.