Benjarong

Benjarong’s breed of ‘Royal Thai’ cuisine isn’t bad, but as the flagship restaurant of the Dusit Hotel, a brand fairly well equated with expert Thai hospitality, you expect something special 7 Reviews

1

© ITP Images

 

• 
• Picture 1 of 2
• 

Is it possible for a restaurant to be too serene? The live music is so meditative you can hear yourself healing, the staff talk so quietly you think you’re in a library, and the wooden pillars and ceramic tiling of the temple-style decor scream tranquility at every turn. There’s nothing wrong with creating such a haven of wellness, but the problem with Benjarong is that the food threatens to send you to sleep too.

Benjarong’s breed of ‘Royal Thai’ cuisine isn’t bad, but as the flagship restaurant of the Dusit Hotel, a brand fairly well equated with expert Thai hospitality, you expect something special. The tom kha gai soup features a deliciously light coconuty broth, but it is let down by chewy pieces of chicken, while the yam pla duk, a crispy catfish salad with mango, is a slight disappointment. The meagre helping of fish is rock-hard and near tasteless, and the whole Dhs41 salad smacks of dryness. The pad thai could also do with a little more life – a quartet of accompanying condiments help shake it out of its slumber – while the fish red curry, although nicely spiced and chock-full of vegetables, only contains a couple of fish balls. The vegetarian dish with bean curd, chunks of aubergine, cherry tomatoes and pineapple offers a touch more pizzazz, and there’s no questioning the quality of the authentic Thai desserts. Benjarong is by no means a bad restaurant – we’ve had far worse Thai food in Dubai – but we get the feeling that the restaurant, as well as the customers, is currently sleepwalking.

By Time Out Dubai

• Previous reviews
  • 22 March,2012- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 28 March,2011- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 29 July,2010- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 06 April,2010- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 30 March,2009- reviewed by Time Out Dubai staff
  • 26 March,2008- reviewed by Jeremy Lawrence
  • 12 March,2007- reviewed by Time Out Dubai Staff
  • 01 July,2003- reviewed by Rob Orchard
  • 01 January,2003- reviewed by Rob Orchard

• Share | |
• E-mail:
• 
• Print:
• 

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

User reviews:

Posted by: KZ Pang on 08 Mar ' 13 at 20:21

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

Food was excellent except the rice which is not thai. Other than that, worth to visit for a good dinner experience........

Posted by: Robin on 24 Mar ' 12 at 22:06

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

• Would you go back to this restaurant? Yes

I was born and raised in Bangkok as an Ex Pat kid. I Definitely know the difference. This place has it all, the True Thai flavors, ingredients, hospitality and service! I was blown away how good the food was, the ambient and the view was marvelous!!
The chefs and cooks were all from Thailand, they definitely know their stuff! I ordered like 6 dishes all to myself because I wanted to try as many as I can! Since the starter soup blew me away, so I started ordering the next, and the next..and the next..I wish I had two of me...so I can eat more, everything was so good! OMG!! The price was also very reasonable. You should really go try this gorgeous place out for your own.
I truly believe this place is good for many occasions, for a date, for family, or really any time! ;)
From the Executive Chef to servers! I felt very welcomed!
Thank you so much for a wonderful experience, reminds me of being in Thailand! I will definitely come back and will tell everyone I know.

Posted by: Maan on 21 Nov ' 11 at 13:24

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

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

Last Thursday I invited a friend – another good dining buff – to Benjarong Thai restaurant. The ambiance hits you as soon as you walk in you are greeted by an army of servers (maybe because we arrived just at opening dinner time). The restaurant was empty save for us but soon got packed with diners. The décor is a pleasant one elaborate but not pretentious bearing elaborate carvings and royal Thai colors that are really uplifting. The view from that high up (24th floor) is quiet nice.
Our waiter and waitress were quiet nice and did her best but were not entirely knowledgeable about the food and their English was not very good, but surely better than my Thai.
Soon the ambience was completed by soft live traditional Thai music played by a aldy artist in colorful festive dress and hat.

We ordered the lobster salad with pomelo and fruits as well as the minced beef salad. Though both were excellent, the lobster salad was out of this world! The lobster was very fresh tossed with pineapples, pomelo and melon in a spicy tangy dressing that left a clean taste and just tantalized the taste buds. Both salads came with traditional carved vegetable decorations that added to the aesthetic value.
The Tom Ka Gai – Chicken soup in coconut milk came next. It was the best I ever tasted so far! A perfectly balanced soup flavored with coriander, basil, lime juice, Thai lime leaves, lemon grass, chili and bound together in thick creamy coconut gravy that was just the right consistency. The chicken was tender and saturated with the flavors and just melted in your mouth. My only criticism is that it was cut a bit too large. But even the presentation was sublime as it came steaming hot and in exquisite bowls as the rest of the serving dishes.
The main course consisted of three different curries: thick red beef curry, yellow chicken curry with potatoes and green vegetable curry all served with steamed rice on the side.
The green curry was a bit disappointing. Although it had two varieties of eggplants (small and pea shaped), baby corn, snow pea-pods and bell peppers (we requested it without tofu), and the vegetables were cooked to perfection (done but still with considerable bite, it was a bit thin, when we complained the chef fixed it but it became more oily! Maybe the chicken green curry would have been a better choice
The red curry was entirely different though. It was one of the best I ever tasted, though thick, it was not heavy and the gravy was very tasty while the beef just melted in your mouth!
The yellow chicken curry with potatoes was yet better. It is actually one of the best yellow curries I have ever had! The chicken juicy and tender and the potato just melted in my mouth.
Surprisingly the presentation of all curries was a bit plain in terms of garnish.
There was no room left for dessert so we had to call it a night!
All in all, it was a lip smacking experience! The bill was not too bad as it came to DHs 439/- without tip. That’s about Dhs 220 per person.
I can’t wait to try their seafood as I noticed they had interesting dishes on the menu.

Posted by: Rutger van Drongelen on 02 May ' 11 at 19:42

OverallServiceFood

AmbienceValue

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

This evening (May 2-2011) We had dinner with our family (4 kids), the staff was very friendly and courteous, most of the staff was Thai (like it should be) and as you may expect from Thai people, they love to serve you. About the food I can only say - It was superb! Actually, the Thai kitchen is our favorite, we try to eat authentic Thai food all over the world, and believe me, we know where to go, but this experience in Dusit Thani Dubai (Benjarong on the 24th floor) was jawbreaking. Th Tom Yum Kai was the best we evr had, the rest was also fabulous. One small remark, the price for the noodles and fried rice was absolutely too high, for 6 people (4 portions) we had to pay 250 dirhams, and that is, copared to the rest of the food, way too high.

Further nothing than compliments, we will go back if we visit Dubai, that's for sure.

Posted by: Rutger van Drongelen on 02 May ' 11 at 19:07

OverallServiceFood

AmbienceValue

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

This evening (May 2-2011) We had dinner with our family (4 kids), the staff was very friendly and courteous, most of the staff was Thai (like it should be) and as you may expect from Thai people, they love to serve you. About the food I can only say - It was superb! Actually, the Thai kitchen is our favorite, we try to eat authentic Thai food all over the world, and believe me, we know where to go, but this experience in Dusit Thani Dubai (Benjarong on the 24th floor) was jawbreaking. Th Tom Yum Kai was the best we evr had, the rest was also fabulous. One small remark, the price for the noodles and fried rice was absolutely too high, for 6 people (4 portions) we had to pay 250 dirhams, and that is, copared to the rest of the food, way too high.

Further nothing than compliments, we will go back if we visit Dubai, that's for sure.

Posted by: Karin on 15 Apr ' 11 at 11:45

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

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

very good food and very good value for money

Posted by: Hussain on 16 Apr ' 09 at 13:16

OverallDecorService

FoodAmbienceValue

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

Excellent food!
Authentic Thai ambience...elegant setting.
Attentive service.
All in all definately one of the top hits of Dubai.