Brunch at: Serafina, Souk Al Bahar in Dubai

The Nutella pizza at Serafina Dubai. Courtesy Serafina

The location

This family-orientated brunch in Souk Al Bahar’s northern Italian restaurant is a nice escape from the brunching hordes who invade five-star hotels and the like across the country every weekend. Its New York influences are apparent in the red-brick interior embellishments and portraits of celebrities such as Al Pacino, while there’s an area set aside for children, with dinky chairs and tables, and an entertainer to keep any short attention spans sated – although during our visit, there wasn’t a nipper to be seen or heard. Winter bonus: as the weather begins to ease off, you’ll be able to comfortably head outside to dine on the terrace, which overlooks the Dubai Fountain and Burj Khalifa.

The atmosphere

Very relaxed without being painfully quiet, so you can kick back and chat whatever the size of your brunching group. There’s no buffet to contend with here, gladly; instead, dishes are served to your table in four courses – although that does mean that making new friends isn’t particularly likely.

The food

Unsurprisingly, Italian is the overriding cuisine, but without being ostentatiously restricted by the constraints of one country. The set menu with an emphasis on sharing, not least with the opening antipasti platter, which featured bite-sized bruschetta, a wire basket of calamari, tiny discs of vegetable pizza, carn salada (thinly sliced marinated beef with arugula, mushrooms and Parmesan) and, best of all, rolls of goat’s cheese wrapped in wafer-thin zucchini. Each week, the chef picks two dishes from the five selections on the pasta/risotto menu. We were served a passable paccheri and a risotto porcini. The mains more or less deny the existence of vegetarianism as a thing, with five fish- or meat-based helpings. As confirmed carnivores, however, we had no problems: the bistecca (thinly sliced striploin) and tonno e fregola (seared tuna with delicious ball-bearing-shaped fregola pasta) won the day. Come dessert, we were stuffed, but the standout Nutella pizza, which came with plenty of berries for a veneer of healthiness, was so good that we asked for the remaining slices to be boxed up, and enjoyed them with coffee the following morning – a highly recommended course of action.

Who’s it best for?

Families or couples who would rather relax than queue to pile their plates. Extremely hungry and/or thirsty types might like to note the extraordinarily generous hours of this brunch: 11am to 4pm.

The verdict

For those who want brunch to reclaim a little focus on the food, Serafina’s dual-day offering ticks plenty of boxes, and won’t leave you feeling disgusted by gluttony – or the inherent food wastage of buffets – afterwards.

The National was a guest of the restaurant.

• Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 4pm. From Dh225 (Dh100 for children ages 6 to 12, free for children ages 0 to 6). Souk Al Bahar, Dubai, reservations 04 363 8447