Food fit for kings will most certainly be on the menu when the Grosvenor House, West Marina Beach, Dubai by Le Meridien opens this summer. The former head chef to Britain’s Prince of Wales, Gary Robinson, is the latest in a string of big-name appointments .
Robinson will head up the landmark hotel’s flagship restaurant Mezzanine, following seven years in the Royal household.
As chef patron at Mezzanine, Robinson will be fusing the finest of British cuisine with French flair to create a menu that reflects the heritage of the hotel’s name. The restaurant is scheduled to open this summer.
“To those who argue that Dubai isn’t as sophisticated as London, Paris or New York, we will prove them wrong. Dubai is certainly a melting-pot of the finest international influences, and we are creating a menu to answer to the discerning community, as well as hotel guests,” Robinson says.
Located on the second floor of the hotel, Mezzanine will be a mix of open-plan and private dining, as well as offering a terrace with views overlooking the Dubai Marina.
Mezzanine will be one of 13 outlets due to open at the hotel throughout the second half of the year.
Identifying new and fresh approaches to restaurant concepts is key to the long-term success of new hotels in Dubai, according to Pam Wilby, general manager of Grosvenor House West Marina Beach by Le Meridien.
“Fresh restaurant and bar concepts are crucial to ensure great ‘word of mouth’ in the local market,” says. Wilby. The 13 new outlets at Grosvenor House have all been designed to fill an identified niche in the market.
Leading the way is Buddha Bar, the Parisian-based outlet that that even spawned its own music-style. Grosvenor House will open the GCC’s first Buddha Bar in the summer.
“The Dubai market is becoming increasingly aggressive, with top-class concepts breaking the market regularly. With Buddha Bar joining 12 other outlets, we are confident Grosvenor House will live up to its promise of being a true lifestyle property,” she says.
As well as Buddha Bar, Grosvenor House’s other signature restaurants are Ottoman, serving Persian cuisine; modern Indian cuisine at Indego; and the hotel’s flagship restaurant Mezzanine, headed by chef Robinson.
While most hotel restaurants on the Jumeirah Beach strip offer a 80:20 mix between hotel guests and Dubai residents, Wilby predicted that this will not be the case with Grosvenor House, anticipating closer to a 65:35 ratio.
“With 217 rooms and 205 apartments, we will be focused in marketing the outlets to the Dubai market in their own right. We will not be satisfied until Buddha Bar is the top spot in the city, as befits its global reputation.
“There is no reason why the city’s growing population — especially those that live within close proximity of Dubai Marina — will not welcome the other restaurants and bars to the same degree,” she maintains.
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