If you're looking for a Friday brunch venue with fine Italian fare at reasonable prices, check out our review of Ballarò restaurant in Dubai.
Venue: Ballarò restaurant, Conrad Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai
Timings: Lunch is served daily from 12:30 until 3:00pm, and an evening à la carte menu is available from 6:30 to 11:00pm. Friday brunch lasts from 12:30 until 4.00pm, and packages cost from Dh265 per person.
Theme: It's an easy-going Mediterranean market style restaurant with plenty of live-cooking stations.
Ambience: When we visited the venue at midday on a Friday it was refreshingly cosy, unlike so many of the city's sprawling, canteen-style brunches. It's an intimate space with banquettes for couples, central areas reserved for big groups and sun-drenched tables for four next to a large terrace. There was also a live band playing easy-listening jazz throughout brunch.
Flick through our slideshow to see pictures of one band member’s funky looking clarinet... or was it a saxophone?
Food: While the cuisine is traditional Italian, there was a good range of seafood (Omani lobster, snow and mud crab, French oysters etc) to choose from. Other standouts included the salmon en croûte and a vast cheese selection.
Chef's top antipasti picks: Italian-born chef Francesco Dimonte has chosen his seasonal pick of the antipasti selection available. Check out our slideshow for images of the daily-made dishes. FYI, many of the recipes are straight from his mother's secret stash of family favourites:
1. Vitello tonnato (Piedmontese dish of braised veal with a tuna sauce, anchovy and cayenne pepper sauce)
2. Burrata cheese with semi-dried tomatoes and basil pesto
3. Octopus salad with asparagus, potato and capsicum sauce
4. Tuna tartare with capers, onion and sour cream
5. Seasonal baby veg salad with olive crumble
Value for money: I can't remember the last time I saw a brunch advertised, with premium beverages, for less than Dh550. Ballarò is therefore extremely fair value, with packages ranging from Dh265 to Dh465.
For lunch during the week, patrons can also enjoy the entire antipasti buffet for just Dh65.
Coming up: "By October the season of the mushroom and truffle will begin and it's one of the most exciting times of the year for chefs." says chef Dimonte "It give us the opportunity to develop new recipes with an ingredient considered 'the white and black gold' of the kitchen. New items on the menu will include beef tartare with black truffle, white truffle risotto and a marvellous beef 'tagliata' with black truffle."
For reservations call +97144447444 or go to