Bolshoi

This passable Russian spot has always had a reasonable reputation, we went back to see how it's going Discuss this article

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From Time Out Dubai Eating Out 2009

The Bolshoi hosts a high-kicking cabaret of campness that precedes a surprisingly authentic and tasty Russian meal.

The costumes are traditional(ish), but the music is old-style troika verging on hip hop. It should raise a snigger from the most curmudgeonly onlooker.

The food is an equally interesting experience for unprepared tongues. The sliced and curled cuts of smoked and pickled salmon, trout and herring provide an interesting way to whet your palate, but the real business begins with borscht.

The lurid claret soup is full to bursting with soft blades of onion, boulders of potato and tender strips of beef. It’s a much better bet than the dumplings, which consist of stodgy parcels of mashed potato swamped in an uninspiring sauce.

Lamb Ararat is a dish of chops, which come soft, dark and barbecued, served on a bed of potato gratin next to a pot of sweet berry sauce. The Odessitka baked mullet with vegetables is a huge fish, and the flesh is plentiful, if a little dry. Forget ordering desserts such as the arid honey tart – a miserly drizzled, layered brick of crumbled pastry – and the Napoleon tart – a flaky cake of puff pastry squares bound together with smears of custard. They are simply not worth the calories.

• Previous reviews
  • 23 February,2009- reviewed by Daisy Carrington
  • 26 March,2008- reviewed by Jeremy Lawrence
  • 13 June,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff

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