Teatro - Restaurant Award Highly Commended in Towers Rotana, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai - Restaurant Reviews

Teatro - Restaurant Award Highly Commended

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Teatro has been a permanent fixture on Dubai’s restaurant leaderboard since its conception over five years ago, consistently working its magic on the hearts and taste buds of a loyal crowd. So with the same feeling of warm familiarity that one gets visiting an old friend, we settled down on the candlelit window table overlooking Sheikh Zayed Road and sighed contentedly. But it soon became apparent that this old friend had changed. It had a new, busier life and didn’t have time for us; it certainly wasn’t interested in waving a big ‘welcome home’ banner; in fact, it looked a bit bored with us, and frankly, this old friend needs a stern talking to.

Firstly, the problem has little to do with the food; the choice is great, with options from around the globe: Thailand, China, Italy and India. They even have a sushi menu and the standard is consistently high. On this visit my partner opted for the tuna tartare to start, which was fresh and beautifully presented, while my antipasti had meaty mozzarella and tomato bruschetta, olives, a generous amount of calamari and some zingy insalata mista.

The main courses were slightly more miss than hit; my Peking duck was served with a doughy pastry-like bread instead of the expected pancakes, weighing down the dish considerably. The accompanying plum sauce was tasty and the duck succulent, but with no accompaniments aside from a few strips of cucumber, spring onion and the doughy construction, it was a bit bland. My partner’s seafood combo was equally erring towards disappointment. The scallops and prawns firmly fell into the blink and you miss ‘em category, while the small half lobster was a bit too charred. The Teatro dessert sampler was a pleasing conclusion but surprisingly a little miserly considering it’s billed as a sharing platter for two.

However, the food really wasn’t the issue. The ambience wasn’t the problem either – the usual level of chatter and laughter prevailed. No, it was the little things. There were no hand towels left in the bathrooms; our empty wine glasses were cleared even though we still had half a bottle of wine left in the ice bucket, and we had to ask for our glasses back in order to drink it. We had to wait almost twenty minutes for our bill; the ashtray wasn’t changed throughout the meal; we weren’t smiled at on our exit, or thanked for spending over Dhs700. We felt as though someone we used to be very fond of had stopped taking our calls…

There are so many restaurants out there vying for your friendship, that unless Teatro wants to become a footnote in the dining diaries of their regulars, they need to start showing some more love and a little less complacency.

The bill (for two)
Teatro antipasti Dhs48
Tuna tartare Dhs45
Peking duck Dhs105
Seafood combo Dhs175
Side order of asparagus Dhs25
Teatro dessert sampler Dhs48
1 bottle chablis moreau Dhs285
Total (including service) Dhs731