Da Vinci’s

Da Vinci’s, certainly one of the city’s most charming eateries, likes to call itself ‘Dubai’s friendliest Italian restaurant’ and we’re not going to disagree 6 Reviews

Da Vinci’s, certainly one of the city’s most charming eateries, likes to call itself ‘Dubai’s friendliest Italian restaurant’ and we’re not going to disagree. The problem is that the restaurant proudly boasts another f-worded claim, that of Dubai’s ‘favourite Italian restaurant’ and this is where we must take issue.

The chicken breast main course with spicy sauce is the worst offender. Indelicately fried and carelessly presented, the two pieces of poultry drip with oil and are hard and chewy with brittle edges. A few dabs of routine spicy sauce do little to disguise the overall blandness, while the accompanying peas are overcooked. The tagliatelle aragosta e gamberoni – a lobster and prawn pasta dish – contains a huge quantity of lobster and a couple of mushy prawns. Unsurprisingly, considering the Dhs70 price tag, the never ending lobster is characterless and dull, and the dish possesses little of the promised cognac. Another flop is the carpaccio di manzo appetiser, slices of beef so thin it’s difficult to lift them off the plate without them disintegrating mid-air. They contain little flavour, and the accompanying stick-shaped parmesan means the cheesy flavour overpowers the meat when eaten together.

It’s not all bad; the funghi farciti, essentially mushroom-stuffed mushrooms, has a deep fungal flavour and meaty texture while the desserts are fine – a refreshing redcurrant sorbet and a smooth, nutty praline cheesecake.

Da Vinci’s offers excellent value: a three-course dinner, after the 20 per cent early bird discount for dining before 9pm, shouldn’t come to more than Dhs150 for two, and if you stick to the simpler dishes, you’re less likely to be disappointed. Friendly as Da Vinci’s may be, it’s also rather flawed.

• Previous reviews
  • 26 March,2008- reviewed by Jeremy Lawrence
  • 12 March,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 26 October,2005- reviewed by Matthew Lee
  • 01 March,2003- reviewed by Rob Orchard
  • 01 January,2003- reviewed by Rob Orchard
  • 01 September,2001- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff

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