Teatro - Restaurant Award Highly Commended

Teatro’s eclectic look comprises heavy drapes, atmospheric candlelight and a slick glassed-in wine store; the menu is equally diverse with appearances of pizza and pasta classics from Italy, sushi from Japan and bit part entries from Thailand, China and India. 9 Reviews

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Teatro’s eclectic look comprises heavy drapes, atmospheric candlelight and a slick glassed-in wine store; the menu is equally diverse with appearances of pizza and pasta classics from Italy, sushi from Japan and bit part entries from Thailand, China and India. It is perhaps only in the strange workings of a hotel manager’s mind that it seems like a good idea to give a hotel food outlet – that has absolutely no connection with the arts – a theatrical theme. A few mug shots of forgotten actors on the wall and a novelty Phantom of the Opera dish in no way adds up to an upmarket luvvie hangout. And yet despite these grumbles, Teatro continues to thrive. Despite the surfeit of new eateries springing up across the city, it resonates to the hustle and bustle of Dubaian chatter most nights of the week. Probably because it’s a good solid bet for a decent, if not spectacular, meal in a surprisingly tasteful setting.

Independent cooking stations are dedicated to each cuisine and are manned by enthusiastic chefs emitting ‘food is my life and I love my job’ vibes. If it’s variety you’re after, this is the place to come. The Asian sampling is a good start, consisting of battered prawns, vegetable wontons and Peking duck spring rolls. Or plump for the gamberi and pick your way through the calamari salad, insalata mista, tomato mozzarella and pesto salad. Because there are so many styles of main courses, the quality inevitably dips sometimes but the thyme roasted lamb chops hit the spot as does the stir-fried hammour. For some reason the desserts don’t quite work as well as they should: the sizzling chocolate brownie looks – and sounds – fantastic, but flatters to deceive. But still, Teatro has enough going for it to maintain its reputation as a Sheikh Zayed Road favourite.

By Time Out Dubai

• Previous reviews
  • 19 March,2009- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 26 March,2008- reviewed by Jeremy Lawrence
  • 12 March,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 28 June,2006- reviewed by Time Out Dubai
  • 26 September,2005- reviewed by Matthew Lee
  • 01 April,2004- reviewed by Rob Orchard
  • 01 July,2002- reviewed by Carolyn Robb
  • 01 November,2001- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff

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

Posted by: DF on 15 Nov ' 09 at 09:01

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• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Great atmosphere and service but the food had no wow factor which was a shame.

The crab cakes were bland and deep fried and were average at best. The lobster spaghetti was very short on lobster and had far too much chili in the sauce.

Posted by: Saadia on 17 May ' 09 at 10:44

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

One of the slickest operations in Dubai- there is a reason why this stalwart has stood the test of time and keeps it afficianados coming back regularly. The menu is designer to suit any taste and palate; perfect if you have a disparate group who cannot make their mind between sushi, italian, indian, continental or oriental. All dishes are prepared competantly; the Indian food is particularly good though. Make sure you save room for the indulgent sizzling chocolate brownie. A great place for business dinners and for large groups of friends- this is a favourite haunt of mine (and anyone i introduce to it)- thankfully i don't think i will ever exhaust the menu options here!

Posted by: Jon on 01 Apr ' 09 at 18:14

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

Sorry to disagree but I'm a real food fan and have eaten at a lot of great restaurants, but the food here isn't good enough. Not terrible, but also not deserving of all the stars.
Maybe it was our choices - the desert platter in particular was poor and lazily constructed - for example, would you really expect artificial spray cream on a desert in a good restaurant?
The Asian starter platter was also poorly cooked, with several items unpalatably soggy and dripping in oil, with a rather out-of-the-packet feel to them.
I was disappointed given the reviews I've read. I agree on great ambience, great decor and good service but the food doesn't cut it.

Posted by: Rita on 18 Mar ' 09 at 12:00

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• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

My mistake... I ment business dinners.

Posted by: Rita on 18 Mar ' 09 at 11:52

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• Best for: Business lunch
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

The food is great and I usually come to Teatro for my business lunches with my clients. The ambience is very nice and the service is excellent.

Posted by: Mirna on 18 Mar ' 09 at 11:43

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• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? No

The best ambience ever. The food is excellent and a lot of varieties.
the great quality of the service shows that a professional team is very well managing the restaurant.
Best of Luck...

Posted by: Carole Van Biesen on 18 Mar ' 09 at 11:23

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• Best for: Family friendly
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Great restaurant .. Love it !!

Posted by: Myrna Mouzannar on 18 Mar ' 09 at 11:17

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Best for: Romantic
• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Posted by: Kolin Jamil on 01 Feb ' 09 at 12:10

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FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Very busy very noisy atmosphere. Good for group dinner.

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