Café Bateel in Al Manzil Hotel, Downtown Burj Dubai, Dubai - Restaurant Reviews

Café Bateel

Luxury café with excellent dates 1 Reviews

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Not content with being known simply as ‘that date company’, Bateel has decided to colonise the Middle East with a series of ‘five star’ luxury cafés. I must admit that I found the concept – a Mediterranean café run by a Saudi Arabian date company – to be a bit dubious. And while, on a recent visit to the company’s premiere location (there are now three in Dubai), I was comforted by the establishment’s decor – awash in plush green throw pillows and sleek marble tables – I was made somewhat nervous by a menu boasting so many unusual combinations of dates.

But then again, this is a restaurant run by a date company, and if anyone knows how to successfully incorporate the fruits into a savoury, it would be Bateel, right? My dining partner and I decided to test this hypothesis (though given the state of the menu, we had little choice). After polishing off some sparkling date drink – reminiscent of a mild root beer – we dabbed our dinner rolls into a pool of date balsamic vinegar, a syrupy, tar-like concoction sure to send you straight to the dentist. Next up, we split an order of the signature couscous salad. The dish was rimming with lima beans, chickpeas, zucchini, tomatoes, figs and… care to harbour a guess? Alas, Bateel overplayed its hand a bit, as the sweetness of the figs and dates overwhelmed the salad.

For a main, I decided to take a break from dating, and went for pasta carbonara. As a youth, my mother had always steered me away from ordering outside of a restaurant’s comfort zone. ‘Don’t challenge the chef!’ she’d warn. As I bit into the clumpy mound of gravy-soaked noodles before me, I was wishing I had heeded her advice. My companion fared slightly better with her pasta and date pesto, mainly because it didn’t quite have the glutinous effect that my meal had. Oddly, when I sampled her dish, I couldn’t detect a hint of date. In fact, I found the pasta lacking in flavour all round.

Normally, mediocre mains deter me from ordering dessert, but I couldn’t help but give in to the calls of the assorted tarts behind the glass display case. I am glad I didn’t give up on Bateel, because when it comes to pastries, the company is in its element. The dhibbs millefeuille – layers of buttery pastry cream and date syrup sandwiched in puff pastry – was ideally light and a wonderful accompaniment to coffee.

The highlight of the evening, however, came in the form of a simple scoop of kholas date ice cream. The frozen dessert was creamy and yoghurty, and had a sweet and tangy taste reminiscent of cream cheese. If I’d had more room, I would have liked to sample the frozen treat in the form of a sundae.

Bateel Café isn’t a bad place to seek reprieve after a shopping frenzy, providing you’re content with a good pastry and a cup of coffee. Just do yourself and the chef a favour, and stick to ordering what you know you both can handle.

The bill (for two)
2x Sparkling date drink Dhs26
1x Bateel couscous salad Dhs26
1x Bateel pesto Dhs38
1x Cirioline carbonara Dhs37
1x Dhibbs millefeuille Dhs18
1x Kholas date ice cream Dhs9
Total Dhs154