Espressamente illy - Al Ghurair Centre, Deira Dubai

[caption id="attachment_2339" align="aligncenter" width="678"] Enjoying sable biscuits at Espressamente illy - Dhs 20 per piece[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2342" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Espressamente illy - interiors[/caption]

Once again here I am at one of my favourite Cafe's in Dubai. This one's located at the new Al Ghurair City. I've been to the same cafe at Dubai Festival City but this cafe had a little more to offer. At a first glance you know this one's much bigger than the one at DFC but had lesser illy collections(coffee machines, plates, mugs, cup set etc) for you to see/buy which was a major attraction at illy DFC

[caption id="attachment_2341" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Espressamente illy - interiors[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2327" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Espressamente Illy - Dine out[/caption]

You could opt to dine in or sit out and enjoy the mall attractions while you sip your italian coffee. The lucky part for illy at Al Ghurair is that their outlet is located right at the heart of malls attraction area. So their outdoor seats are in demand during peak hours of the mall.

[caption id="attachment_2329" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Frappe al caffe - Dhs 19 and Half and half winter - Dhs 20[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2328" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Nuvola - Dhs 20[/caption]

Ofcourse the most exciting and difficult part in their menu is when you decide on your ONE coffee. Too many good coffees advertised on their menu with each coffee dedicated on each page with detailed picture, description and each coffee trying to beat the other one, atleast on paper :p

Frappe al caffe - Double shot of illy espresso blended with liquid sugar and ice for a creamy. smooth cafe.

Half and Half winter - A bottom layer of hot chocolate with slightly illy espresso softened in the mixer. A thick cup of delight.

Nuvola - illycrema and hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream

I am more of a tea freak than a coffee lover to be honest. For someone like me other ingredients in the coffee matters. So in this case it was quite obvious the Nuvola was my preferred drink. The frappe al Cafee was too much of a strong coffee and half & half winter which came served hot was more coffee than chocolate to me. In short the Nuvola is a must try if your someone who enjoy drinks like frappuccino. The nice part here is you don't feel or taste ice like in a traditional frappuccino. It's one of those good quality cold drinks you enjoy at a cafe. The last time it was Affogato which rocked at our table. This time it is Nuvola.

[caption id="attachment_2336" align="aligncenter" width="705"] sable biscuits - Dhs 20[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2335" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Bombolone alla crema - Dhs 20[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2337" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Bombolone alla crema - Dhs 20[/caption]

They do have some items that come directly from Italy. Like their biscuits or signature Tiramisu.
Some of those biscuits you see are Circles of baked vanilla sable dough sandwiched with apricot jam. These kinds of biscuits are famous in France. My favourite was the chocolate biscuit. The Bombolone is the italian version of doughnuts. You get it in different flavours like vanilla or chocolate. I picked the chocolate one and the cream tasted more like a Nutella in it.

[caption id="attachment_2333" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Ciabatta bread with chicken - Dhs 29[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2332" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Ravioli with tomato sauce and Mozzarella - Dhs 45[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2331" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Ravioli with tomato sauce and Mozzarella - Dhs 45[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2330" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Svitati with 4 cheeses sauce - Dhs 45[/caption]

This is where the difference comes in between DFC and Al Ghurair. You get to eat a little more than pastries and croissants. They've got a maincourse menu which I didn't notice the last time I visited the DFC branch. Some of the new items we tried were Ravioli with tomato sauce and Mozzarella which tasted great. The Svitati looked a little blank when I compare it with Ravioli but once we added all those pepper, salt etc...the cheese sauce in it turned out to do it's magic. Pastas tasted good but just make sure to add all that extra salt, pepper, cheese to your liking.. to make it more attractive.

[caption id="attachment_2334" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Tiramisu - Dhs 32[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2338" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Royal chocolate cake - Dhs 25[/caption]

Tiarmisu at illy is again made and imported from Italy and this time it's looking and tasting different. It's much softer and creamier than the last one we had which is a good thing. The chocolate pastry was my favourite by the way. So rich in taste and any chocolate lover should definitely try this one from here.

[caption id="attachment_2340" align="aligncenter" width="705"] Me with shop manager Mr. Sadiq khan[/caption]

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