Al Muntaha in Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah, Dubai - Restaurant Reviews

Al Muntaha

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It’s so nearly perfect. The backing singers coo sweet nothings into their microphones; the tables, each immaculately laid out, hug floor-to-ceiling windows, while the city twinkles 200 metres below like your own personal playground. Why, then, did the Burj’s interior designer – presumably no rank amateur and armed with an unlimited budget – see fit to decorate the place in the style of a 1950’s sci-fi series?

The entrance, rather than a grand greeting to one of the city’s most opulent eateries, looks like the inside of a Casio calculator, while the ceiling is a mishmash of coloured blocks that wouldn’t look out of place in the Early Learning Centre. Thankfully everything else in Al Muntaha takes your breath away for the right reasons. Obviously being perched at the top of the world’s tallest hotel guarantees great views but Muntaha’s soufflé heavy (it is possible, though not advisable, to eat variations of the dish for starter, main and dessert) menu manages to match the vistas.

Plucking a Saint Bris off the overpriced wine list (the cheapest glass will set you back Dhs70) we followed the waiter’s recommendation and started with the hot florentine soufflé. Thankfully the fluffy stuff was up to the task. Teamed with spinach, pancetta and an exquisitely cooked duck egg, the yolk ran through a forkful of feathery sponge and slender bacon and straight into the memory banks. My ecstatic looks were mirrored by my companion who allowed a scallop to melt in her mouth before tucking into her lemon-spiked pasta salad with equal relish.

For mains, my friend was handed the soufflé baton, so she ordered a version teamed with pumpkin seeds, tapenade and Parmesan crackers. While missing the moisture of the egg, the supreme airiness of the dish won through and the accompaniments interacted nicely with the main attraction. I relished a thick slice of divine dover sole. Skinned, partially filleted and artfully presented with its top flesh immodestly parted, it was set on a bed of champagne risotto – a welcome cameo but never in danger of stealing the culinary limelight. The dish was masterful – utterly fresh-tasting with a subtle, deep-seated sweetness and fine, delicate texture.

Between courses we were presented with morsels of wagyu beef and a palate-sprucing sorbet, meaning there was little room for dessert – we could only manage half a lemon soufflé between us. Our inability to finish it off was in no way a reflection of the excellent dish; it merely denoted the triumph of a round meal, as well as the desire to interact with a complimentary plate of petite fours.

Al Muntaha should be a fine dining experience to equal any in the world and while the food and the views are there, we can only hope that somebody calls in the decorators to give them the home they deserve.

The bill (for two)
Sea scallops Dhs160
Soufflé Florentine Dhs150
Dover sole Dhs280
Pumpkin soufflé Dhs190
Lemon soufflé Dhs110
Bottle St Bris Dhs315
2x Evian Dhs60
2x espresso Dhs60
Total (including service and taxes) Dhs1,325