Bistro Domino

Traditional French restaurant in Deira with good comfort food Discuss this article

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I hadn’t heard anything about Bistro Domino. It wasn’t one of the big launches. I knew only that, based on what the PR told me, it served ‘traditional French fare’. I asked her to send me more info. She sent me the colour schemes and a description of the waiters’ uniforms. I was worried. I put off visiting, terrified that ‘traditional French’ might mean suffering through burned crêpes in some cheesy expanse filled with black and white photos of the Eiffel Tower. When I did finally make it, I felt immediately humbled. The decor was neatly minimalist and surprisingly sophisticated, made up of cool black-and-white patterns. And, while the menu was in French, and the fare indeed authentically traditional (escargot and duck confit made appearances, the space lacked all the pretention associated with the cuisine. Pricey Voss water was nowhere in sight. Instead, waiters proffered bottles of Masafi.

Once we established that Bistro Domino was serving French food, and not just aspiring to, the meal became predictable – but only because traditional food, if done well, is predictable. My date’s escargot starter consisted of garlicky, butter-drenched snails in a puff pastry. She enjoyed it, and this wasn’t a surprise, because she always enjoys snails. Pools of garlic butter also defined my moules farcies, mussels stuffed with breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley and crowned with large splashes of butter. It was an easy dish to enjoy, but for every mollusc I polished off my energy level dropped accordingly.

Before our mains came we seemed to be fighting a dairy-induced lethargy, which wasn’t helped by the sheer mass of things to come. My duck confit was juicy and rich, served with dollops of roast potatoes and baked garlic. It was a dish that was better suited to a European winter than a Middle Eastern summer, but was expertly prepared regardless. My date’s lamb followed a similar route. It didn’t quite have the pungency of my dish, and was served with a gluey helping of mashed potatoes. Otherwise, it too was a nicely cooked, mammoth helping of meat.

We were clutching our stomachs before the waiter whisked away our plates. Reading my mind, my companion shook her head.

‘No dessert,’ she begged. But, of course, dessert is part of my job. The waiter assured me that the profiteroles were small and were champion among puddings. We decided to risk it (how filling can a few bite-sized pieces of choux pastry be, after all?). Perhaps the outer shell was not large, but the scoop of vanilla ice cream that filled them was. These were also easily enjoyable. The choux itself was airy and light and the ice cream fresh (no frostbite here). The chocolate sauce that topped them was passable – slightly above what might come out of a squeezy bottle. Overall, though, the meal had pleased and, as a result, it exceeded my initial, admittedly unfair expectations.

Bistro Domino fills a rare niche in Dubai. It is reasonable, it is relaxed, and it serves up some serious French comfort food. It’s not really the type of place to bring a first date, but would be a perfectly acceptable option to bring a spouse of many years for something low-fuss and well-executed.

The bill (for two)
1x Large Masafi water Dhs15
1x Moules farcies Dhs49
1x Escargots Dhs55
1x Confit de Canard Dhs75
1x Lamb Dhs70
1x Profiteroles Dhs35
Total (including service) Dhs299

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