Fortnum & Mason - Downtown Dubai

[caption id="attachment_4975" align="alignnone" width="470"] Fortnum & Mason[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4972" align="alignnone" width="470"] Gift hampers at Fortnum & Mason Retail Shop[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4959" align="alignnone" width="470"] Family enjoying their Afternoon tea package - Dhs 245 per person[/caption]

Discovered an interesting treasure next to Dubai Mall. A British classic called Fortnum & Mason, one of the oldest stores in Britain which was established in 1707. This is their second branch after the original one. If you look at the history of Fortnum & Mason, they started this store by selling the remains in the palace like the candles but today it's a full blown setup which comprises of a restaurant, tea salon, an ice cream parlour and a retail shop.

[caption id="attachment_4954" align="alignnone" width="470"] Fortnum & Mason - interiors[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4955" align="alignnone" width="470"] Fortnum & Mason - balcony with burj khalifa view and dancing fountain view[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4974" align="alignnone" width="470"] Fortnum and Mason ice cream parlour floor[/caption]

Fortnum & Mason is located in a dedicated building between Dubai Mall and The Address hotel. They've got 3 floors to the building. Ground floor being their retail shop where you can buy some of their souvenirs, biscuits, jams, tea powder etc.  This retail shop had a grand sale when I was there where some items where upto 70% off their regular price. Second floor comprised of the tea salon where you have tea and their savories. The top most floor was their ice cream parlour which was the best part for me at Fortnum & Mason. Both the floors have a nice balcony which gives you a good view of Burj Khalifa and the dancing fountain.

[caption id="attachment_4957" align="alignnone" width="470"] Milkshake - Dhs 50 - pistachio and coconut icecream[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4977" align="alignnone" width="470"] Beetroot Tatin with Goat’s Cheese - Dhs 70[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4958" align="alignnone" width="470"] Mushroom & Tarragon Soup - Dhs 60[/caption]

The Mushroom & Tarragon Soup was perfect in all ways. The breads came in their signature picnic basket. The Beetroot Tatin was one of a kind presentation and it was pretty interesting even to my son who normally would ignore such items. It's that pastry and lovely beetroot puree that does the trick. Their goat cheese was authentic. The ice cream parlour of Fortnum & Mason is very famous and well know for their quality and taste. So I had a milk shake made from a mix of their ice creams which was a combination of pistachio and coconut. The milk shake was so rich and pure that I couldn't stop sipping it till it finished.

[caption id="attachment_4961" align="alignnone" width="470"] Butternut Squash Risotto, Parmesan shavings - dhs 120[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4964" align="alignnone" width="470"] Roast Rack of Lamb with Provencale Vegetables & Rosemary Jus - Dhs 185[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4965" align="alignnone" width="470"] Salmon Fishcakes with Sautéed Spinach & Lemon Butter Sauce - Dhs 115[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4963" align="alignnone" width="470"] Side dishes -dhs 25 - Mashed Potatoes(left) and Mixed Organic Leaf Salad[/caption]

The rack lamb was very well presented and you definitely wanted to get your hands on that one first! but to be honest I wasn't happy with the amount of fat I came across this lamb. The Butternut Squash Risotto was well made but might not be the one for everyone as it is more on the sweeter side. I felt the rice was a little hard too :( Salmon fish cakes were yummy and that lemon butter sauce gave a nice touch to the fish.

[caption id="attachment_4968" align="alignnone" width="470"] Knickerbocker Glory sundae - dhs 115[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4970" align="alignnone" width="470"] Victoria sponge - dhs 70 - raspberry and vanilla[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4956" align="alignnone" width="470"] Sacher torte - dhs 70 - valrhona chocolate[/caption]

Then came the best part of the day which were their magnificent cakes and sundaes. There was no surprise that everyone had a cake or a sundae on their table. The full cakes were kept on the center table and it was really difficult for me to just pick one. I remember when I was given a show around of the cakes, there was this strong gush of smell from the valrhona chocolate when he opened the covering of Sacher torte. You can truly appreciate the quality in these bakes. At the end, I went with their finest and simple cake which was Victoria sponge.

The sundaes had to be made fresh and the descriptions looked very tempting. Not sure what to order I just asked them to get me the most common sundae I could see around my table which was knickerbocker glory, just so that I don't miss out on the happening sundae. The quality of ice creams at Mason and Fortnum is definitely at a higher grade. They say it's english milk churned in Dubai. By the time we ended our lunch almost everyone surrounding us were having the afternoon tea. The scones looked tempting and so we tried a couple of that one as well. It came warm and was one of the finest scones we've had.

[caption id="attachment_4969" align="alignnone" width="470"] Duo of scones - Dhs 65 - fruit and plain[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4971" align="alignnone" width="470"] Royal blend tea - dhs 40[/caption]

One of their other specialty is the varieties of blended tea they offer. They have a separate menu book just offering different types of tea and blended tea. I am more of a karak chai fan which the english can't offer :(   If you are a serious fan of black tea, then you will appreciate this one and you can even find their tea to take home at their retail store below. During my lunch I've noticed many of them were having their famous afternoon tea package starting at Dhs 245 per person.

Click here to visit their official website. Click here to visit their official Dubai page on facebook.

[caption id="attachment_4973" align="alignnone" width="470"] Fortnum & Mason retail shop[/caption]

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="4977,4975,4974,4973,4972,4971,4970,4969,4968,4967,4966,4965,4964,4963,4962,4961,4960,4959,4958,4957,4956,4955,4954"]

Madeleine Cafe & Boulangerie - Dubai Mall

[caption id="attachment_4942" align="alignnone" width="470"] Madeleine cafe and boulangerie[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4921" align="alignnone" width="470"] Madeleine cafe and boulangerie - Interiors[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4928" align="alignnone" width="470"] Me and my guest at Madeleine cafe and boulangerie[/caption]

Madeleine Cafe and Boulangerie serves french cuisine with interiors of a typical cafe in France. Love their bakery for making fresh breads and items such as madeleines and croissants which have been impressive. Their balcony offering stunning views of the Dancing Fountain, Souq Al bahar, Burj Khalifa is the biggest plus for this cafe at Dubai Mall.

[caption id="attachment_4922" align="alignnone" width="470"] Madeleine cafe and boulangerie - Interiors[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4931" align="alignnone" width="470"] From the balcony of Madeleine cafe and boulangerie[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4930" align="alignnone" width="470"] From the balcony of Madeleine cafe and boulangerie[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4932" align="alignnone" width="470"] spectators down below waiting to see the dancing fountain at Dubai Mall[/caption]

I felt there were two parts to the cafe. When you step inside the restaurant you feel like the restaurant is empty but once you get into their balcony you see it jam packed with hardly any seats to spare. So it is quite obvious that there no.1 selling point is that hot space which offers fantastic views of the Dancing Fountain and other buildings around it. Infact, you really begin to appreciate it when you see thousands of people standing cramped just to have a glimpse of the dancing fountain below.

[caption id="attachment_4920" align="alignnone" width="470"] Drinks - Dhs 30 - From left: Parisian sunrise, Peach Melba, Chocolate Milkshake[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4923" align="alignnone" width="470"] Chocolate croissant - Dhs 20[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4924" align="alignnone" width="470"] Complimentary bread and butter[/caption]

Among the drinks I enjoyed their smoothie which was the Peach Melba(peach puree, raspberry puree, banana, mango juice and yoghurt). Parisian sunrise(orange, mango and pineapple topeed with grenadine syrup) was my second favourite. Their chocolate milkshake was ok, could have been better. Their chocolate croissant were tempting me at the entrance of their cafe so I immediately asked for a piece of it. The croissant were soft and flaky and the chocolate would just melt open as you bite the light croissant. It was really nice but for Dhs 20 I wonder how many of us will value it.

[caption id="attachment_4925" align="alignnone" width="470"] Onion soup - Dhs 50[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4926" align="alignnone" width="470"] Mushroom and spinach tart served with mesclun salad - Dhs 55[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4929" align="alignnone" width="470"] Mushroom and spinach tart served with mesclun salad - Dhs 55[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4927" align="alignnone" width="470"] Goats cheese salad on toasted campagne bread, tomato, walnut - Dhs 65[/caption]

Mushroom and spinach tart was one of the biggest tart I've had. Simply delicious. The salad that came along with it along also had a nice taste to it. Initially when I saw the goat cheese salad I thought I've got a big slab of cheese, only to poke into it and find out the goat cheese was coated over a thick bread. The goat cheese was original in taste and if you are not a fan of goat cheese, you might find this cheese a bit too strong to handle.

[caption id="attachment_4933" align="alignnone" width="470"] Madeleine Hamburger - Dhs 80 - Beef patty, french gruyere cheese, lettuce and tomato served with french fries[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4935" align="alignnone" width="470"] Sea bass fillet - Dhs 120 - served with potatoes, beans, asparagus, ovlies, cherry tomatoes and capers in noisette butter[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4936" align="alignnone" width="470"] Beef patty of Madeleine Hamburger - Dhs 80[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4937" align="alignnone" width="470"] Weekly special - Lamb and vegetable stew served with rice - Dhs 110[/caption]

When you have their Madeleine burger  you appreciate the quality of beef inside the burger. Ofcourse, the bun used is made in house.  However I wasn't impressed with their french fries. Thought they should improve this one to match up to their homemade burger. The sea bass was good looking and tasted great as well. But my favourite was their weekly special which was the lamb and vegetable stew. The lamb was stunning good and thoroughly enjoyed this dish the most. I was fortunate to visit them at the right week to meet this weekly special :)

[caption id="attachment_4939" align="alignnone" width="470"] Oven baked Madeleine with 3 different flavours(orange, pistachio & chocolate) - Dhs 18 for 6 pieces and Dhs 32 for 12 pieces[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4940" align="alignnone" width="470"] Me with cream and sugar of Madeleine Cafe[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4938" align="alignnone" width="470"] Opera cake - Dhs 35[/caption]

There is no doubt they make some of those perfect madeleines here. You get them in three flavours(pistachio, orange and chocolate). Personally everyone's favourite pick was the pistachio one. Their opera cake which is a mix of dark chocolate, coffee and vanilla was quite heavy and you'll need atleast 2 people to finish it. The creme caramel was one of the best I've had and surprisingly I forgot to take a close up picture of this one but you can see it in the above picture where you see me in it. In short I am quite happy with their food and I am surprised they haven't got a good rating at Zomato. Maybe they made some changes/improvements over time. Click  here to visit their official website. Click pictures below to see them in full screen view:

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="4942,4940,4939,4938,4937,4936,4935,4934,4933,4932,4931,4930,4929,4928,4927,4926,4925,4924,4923,4922,4921,4920"]

Pie Face bakery cafe - Dubai Marina Walk

[caption id="attachment_4298" align="alignnone" width="660"] Entrance to Pie Face at Dubai Marina Walk[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4297" align="alignnone" width="660"] Pie face interiors[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4302" align="alignnone" width="660"] Custom designed regular pies - follow dubaicravings on instagram and twitter[/caption]

In your face, Pie face! Here's a bakery, a little different from the usual in Dubai who has specialized in sweet and savory pies alone. The pies always reminded me of the tom and Jerry cartoon where we often see pies thrown at each other. Pie face which is originally from Australia is now steadily growing in UAE. Their first store is in Yas Mall, Abudhabi but this one at Dubai Marina Walk is in a much better spot with great views of the Yachts and tall Marina towers. The smileys on the pies make them attractive and somehow I was able to connect to it with all those smileys we often use today ;)

[caption id="attachment_4301" align="alignnone" width="660"] The marina view from our table at pie face[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4299" align="alignnone" width="660"] Ice blended - Dhs 22 - From left: strawberry shake and Mocha[/caption]

We sat out as we wanted to take advantage of the wonderful weather and beautiful views. We first started with 2 cold blended drinks. The strawberry shake was a burst of fruit freshness. It is my recommendation to any of you who is planning to make a visit to pie face bakery cafe. The cold mocha got better during the later sips than in the beginning.

[caption id="attachment_4300" align="alignnone" width="660"] mini pie - Dhs 8 per piece and Dhs 20 for 3[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4303" align="alignnone" width="660"] The inner content of mini minced beef pie - dhs 8[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4305" align="alignnone" width="660"] regular sized chunky steak - Dhs 20 - half eaten[/caption]

I love puff pastries and the ones here are butter based pastry finished with a golden top. Pie face mainly sells chicken, beef, lamb and vegetable pies. You can actually see freshly baked pies getting refilled every now and then at their counter. I would just stare at those smileys initially figuring out which one to pick. When the pies came onto our table I had to match each smile to the respective flavour looking at their menu. so for example some of the smileys meant the following:

• U - chicken and mushroom


• V - curried chickpea(V)


• O - Thai chicken


• P - peppered steak


• L - Arabian Lamb


• Z - Pizza


• M - classic minced beef

My favorites would be the peppered steak, pizza and classic minced beef. There are only 2 veggie options, pizza and curried chickpea. If you are a veggie go for the pizza which is much better than curried chickpea which has an in house made tomato chutney in it, so no ketchup required for these pies. What I really didn't like at pie face were the plastic cutleries which wasn't really helping. Hence I quit the fork and ate comfortably with my hand.

[caption id="attachment_4306" align="alignnone" width="660"] mini sweet pies - Dhs 8 per piece[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4307" align="alignnone" width="660"] mini apple crumble sweet pie in focus - Dhs 8[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4308" align="alignnone" width="660"] my favourite - chocolate pie - dhs 8[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4309" align="alignnone" width="660"] sweet pies - dhs 8 per piece - from left: caramel, berry white chocolate and chocolate[/caption]

They make sweet pies too. I am not really a fan of sweet pies but I tell you that mini chocolate pie did hit me hard with its' rich chocolate taste. Others like the caramel and berry white chocolate also had the same texture but felt closer to cream in taste. Apple crumble looked pretty from the outside but after a bite realized not my kind of taste. Any of those pies that had creamy texture like the above picture were to my liking.

[caption id="attachment_4310" align="alignnone" width="660"] cappaccino - Dhs 12 - small[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4311" align="alignnone" width="660"] Me with faces of pie face[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4304" align="alignnone" width="660"] win a pie or coffee at pie face after meal[/caption]

They make good hot coffee. In fact their coffee has even won an award in the Golden Bean Awards. Sweet or savory, the pies comes in two prices and sizes. Regular size at Dhs 20 and mini size at Dhs 8. Also note they use quality products for making their pies like they use canola oil and meat like premium lean beef etc hence the pricing is a little on the higher side. Plus it is located in a magnificent location. Here's an interesting one, all customers at pie face get a chance to spin the wheel for a chance to win a coffee or a pie :)

Click pictures below to see them in full screen view:

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="4311,4310,4309,4308,4307,4306,4305,4304,4303,4302,4301,4300,4299,4298,4297"]