The buffet had a very good selection of cold and hots from English breakfast favourites (excluding pork), continental and Arabic choices.  The main difference between the Business and First class lounges with Emirates is that the latter has table service and this service was basically the closest thing to that at Le Gavroche I have come across.  I was too busy tucking in to the foie gras with apple jelly and salmon fillets with honey mustard dressing that the bread basket had gone cold; I apologised and asked if I could have a fresh croissant and the waitress looked in horror at the fact that this could have happened and how she could have missed this.  The service was faultless and all the breakfast choices were on par with a luxury hotel in the UK, right down to the wonderful choices of smoothies in addition to the choices of champagne (Moët or Veuve).  The food was, in general well prepared and I found out that the reason for this lounge being special – you are simply treated like a Demigod.

On to the flight itself and the freedom menu for First class is cooked in the A380 ovens freshly to order, whenever and however many times you wish for the duration of the flight.  The fresh fruit on arrival to my ‘cabin’ was very good although I did find the mango puree dip a little too sweet for my palate and teeth.  The menu choices were extensive but I favoured sticking to amuse bouche portion sizes of food after breakfast in the lounge and therefore the little salmon soufflé with baked curried lamb and beef were pleasant enough as were cooked in 15 minutes from fresh.

However the real star of the show was the caviar with chopped egg and crème fraîche on blinis with lemon squeeze and my first ever taste of Dom Perignon.  As Dom Perignon only produce in vintage years, the year on show for this flight was the 2004 and so it was obviously on the tip of my tongue to say, with a Roger Moore voice, “Errr, I would have preferred the ’55 myself” however, even the most recent incarnation of Perignon is a thing of beauty to have which I found out.  It’s difficult to know how truly accurate your senses are on a plane as your taste buds are affected at 40,000 feet, especially after your eighth glass of Perignon and second cocktail.

The first glasses I had on board, I remember to be utterly sublime – so sweet, light and fresh with almost a hint of vanilla; this champagne was like none other I had tried and I instantly wanted more.  And thankfully, this is exactly what happened.  The apple pie with custard was fine – quite a simple thing but the pastry was done to the right level (even though quite thick) and the custard was creamy,  tastefully portioned and with a glass of Château Guiraud (Sauterns) 2002 dessert wine (only in First, not in business), went down very well during a viewing of The Equaliser.

I had a very pleasant chat with those looking after me on the flight and after a shower in their in-flight spa with underfloor heating (no joke, and only in First class) I felt utterly refreshed for landing back home.  I think the alcohol and the sensation of being utterly pampered to God-like status probably threw my senses a bit and may have made me enjoy the food more than it truly was, however, it is a quite a statement to think that I know of restaruants that would not serve food to the level on this flight(!).  Bad for them; good for Emirates A380 First class status.

Is it worth the price going in First class as an aside?  My gut actually says no, as although it is without question a more special experience in how you are treated from even Business class (I have actually had some bad experiences in Emirates Business class lounges by their greeters in Dubai and Heathrow being inexpliccably abrasive), the price tag is only irrelevant if you have enough money for First class to not make any form of dent in your account.  If you have to save for it, frankly, it’s probably better investing it as a deposit on a property.

Foodwise though, it was all luxury items done as well as it could be by the use of an oven at 7 and a half miles in the air, but impressive nonetheless that it was able to be done to a level where I could not recognise the food easily as pre-packaged food and it was essentially all coated with the incredibly generous service that it came with.

Particular highlights were having so many choices of foie gras (although some of the combinations did not work brilliantly), beef wellington with sauce béarnaise, shot glass desserts of chocloate and liquid jellies and the endless coconuts with malibu and cream.  Areas that were a little motorway service station standard were the cod in batter which suffered waiting in the sunlight and the Chinese station had hoi sin sauce that was a bit too salty to go with the duck and pancakes which were a case of finding the well cooked bits.  That’s not to say it was bad, far from it, it was all amazing and highly tasty all round, however you need to be getting things as they are just prepared and keep an eye out for not getting things that have sat idle for over an hour in the worst cases.

Unfortunately I can’t compare to other Dubai brunches, but was reliably informed this is in the uppermost quadrant for all Dubai brunches and  having been to this one I can say with ease, that any trip here will be a foodie’s dream with such impressive treats for the eyes and mouth.  An absolute given for any trip to Dubai – worth making sure you have Friday included in your visit for this alone.  The cost of this (for the unlimited alcohol refills inlcuding prosecco) was approximately £120 per head but for what it produced was well worth it.  You must book in advance as much as possible and be prepared for a minor stampeed come the hour as there were at least 200 hundred people waiting in the foyer on this occasion trying to beat others who had not booked – I can now see why!

The afternoon tea was pleasing to the eyes and the service was admittedly to a very high standard and that was good.  However, the general quality and design of the food were on par with the most basic of caterers for private functions in the UK and wouldn’t even come close to being put in the Michelin guide as just a recommended place, let alone getting any where near the territory of a star to give an idea of the overall impact.

The cakes were pleasant but obviously of a lower tier in the lack of real finesse, design and flavour (pastry being far too thick and the cream being bland) and the beef with a twirl of potato puree really did outline a lack of skill in comparison to Al Mahara on the ground floor.  Granted, there are only so many ways one can design finger food and mini cakes, but there is a vast difference one can achieve in the impact.  The canapés were very good and perhaps the best part of the menu but the scones were too dense and the single lychee with small rose petal was just far too simplistic to be taken seriously.

All in all, a nice occasion and a good thing to get crossed off the list and some very good cocktails in the mix there too; the couple that got engaged on a window table on the occasion I was there (low-rise bar seats by the North-East facing windows that need to be booked months in advance) will certainly remember that for as long as they live with their beautiful setting / view, but to go there for the quality of the finger food at afternoon tea?  I would honestly prefer to fly back to London and have the afternoon Tea at The Lanesborough instead.

The tasting menu began with delicately done squid ink and cheese twirls which went very well with the obligatory Kir Royale.  From then on, everything else was a stylish show piece of different and imaginative designs.  So much so that two of the dishes were served on top of a layer of clingflim that was stretched over the top of a bowl which I honestly couldn’t see for what point other than possibly being original for original’s sake(?).  Perhaps it allowed the spoon to get as much of the sauce as possible as the clingfilm would naturally bend to the exact pressure of the spoon being pressed, allowing all drops of sauce to be scooped up, but this doesn’t fit with the bread crisps course that sat on clingfilm as well.  Nevermind, it isn’t that important, just be aware they may be some over the top theatrics on your visit.  The actual quality of the dishes was however, not just style and was extremely well done.  The lobster in lemongrass was succulant and vibrant in its flavour; the vegetables were beautifully done and the blend of savoury and sweet for the olive oil and passion fruit was very fresh indeed.

The caviar was never in danger of missing its target and the velouté, mullet, artichoke and asparagus courses were all very well done, albeit with a hint of no noticeable wonder-moments.  This was not the case though with the mushrooms in light pancake with cider reduction sauce as this was frankly the knock out dish of the meal and produced immediate sensory pleasure.  The pigeon was fine and we were then spoiled with what I can only describe as an array of desserts in all forms.  Desserts can sometimes be easy vistories when done well but not only were these pleasant, I was also very impressed with the care and effort gone in to all of them along with beautifully made pre-desserts and petits fours afterwards.  It is safe to say that we were not hungry after this meal.

Overall this was a highly sophisticated meal with the icing on the cake being given to us on leaving – as we staggerred to the exit, two waiting staff were there ready with warmed and scented face towels along with a shot of refreshing cold alcoholic tea as a pick me up for the road.  That is something I have never experienced anywhere and was a frankly spoilt way to finish, however after the bill that was presented, I didn’t feel too guilty at that.  The food was in no way in any contention for style or technicality and I would say it sat somewhere between the 1 and 2 Michelin standard, however, the only dissapointment was that for all its care and attention to detail, it was a stylish conveyer belt of dishes with only one powerhouse moment of flavour with all other dishes being just pleasing.  Recommended as a spoil occasion if you don’t mind the restrained atmosphere.

Thankfully, this we had and on strolling to the restaurant through the underground tunnel, you cannot, not be considerably impressed or bowled over by the originality and special feel of dining next to the largest restaurant aquarium in the world giving a vivid sense of being somehow in the sea.  The amazing display of fish and creatures smoothly floating by is a lovely treat for the eyes to watch as one dines it has to be said.

But, more importantly what was the food like? Well, although the drinks list is pretty limited, they did produce some superbly done cocktails and although their forté is fish as primarily a seafood restaurant two meat dishes were enjoyed and all dishes were actually very well done.  The beef carpaccio was light and had a very good balance of garlic senses with its velevty texture, both fish courses displayed very tender meat cooked perfectly with subtle and very agreeable sauces and the beef main, although in last place was also very carefully done with a healthy selection of well judged vegetables.  The chocolate meringue was comfort food done superbly and with another chocolate martini was a superb way to finish.  I throw in a bonus picture in the gallery to this visit of what one can have here on the liqueurs side if you feel like blowing a month’s wage on a round of the Louix III, which works out as roughly £70 per sip.

The whole meal however, was actually quite reasonable considering where we were as we stuck to the set lunch menu costing approximately £110 each including drinks, however there are options on this menu available which will happily take care of emptying all of your disposable if you wished for the extensive tasting menu.

Without drinks at lunch, this is actually not a bad option for a reasonable meal in Dubai indeed and I would say the quality of the food sat quite comfortably in the lower-echelon 1 Michelin starred bracket, but certainly in the 1 star family, which is all to its credit.  Highly enjoyable and well prepared dishes here, whose price tag is not as scary as one thinks with a bit of self-discipline.