Restaurant Review - World on 44

Browse and Brushes are major foodies and it was a pleasant surprise to hear from Josh 97.8 FM that we were one of the winners of the Foodie Fridays Restaurant Review competition.

Nestled on the 44th floor of Warwick Hotel, Dubai’s fairly new bar and restaurant, World on 44 presents a blend of French and South American flavors with 360-degree panoramic views of Dubai and the Arabian Sea.

Although we had a table reserved in the dining area, we took the opportunity of being the early birds to tour the outlet and its many cozy corners. The elegant design, soft, high bar stools and comfy lounge chairs in the bar area offer an intimate atmosphere to enjoy a relaxing evening drink. However, the restaurant was generally lacking in any sort of real atmosphere with very dull color combinations, conflicting with the vibrancy of the cuisines on offer. Although the bar area that night was reserved for a corporate party, we were confronted with a quiet and empty dining area with odd lounge music that did not quiet resonate with the theme of the restaurant.

However on Tuesdays they do a wine and cheese night for AED 149 which is quite popular and attracts good crowd - It is probably their classy, well set up mini cellar and tasting room for their wine and cheese that’s a great treat to the crowd.

The drinks menu seemed interesting with a range of classic mocktails and cocktails with a few modern twists. We were feeling rather brave and decided to ask the staff for mocktail recommendations and although they looked promising on arrival, the taste was far from it. It was way too sweet, lacked in appropriate ingredients and had a too much of ice making the bottom half of the drink tasteless. One of the other winners decided to give another go at a mocktail but what came was something that looked like frozen yoghurt and unappetizing to have any more than two sips. In the end we were happy with sparkling water to quench our thirst. While the staff did their best to recommend something good they somehow weren’t able to follow through. But they do deserve 5 stars for their effort and courteousness.

The food menu is quite innovative with some interesting selection of meat and seafood but for us winners the dishes for appetizers, main course and dessert were all Executive Chef Yannick Cayrol's recommendations. To tease our appetite, we were served the Grilled Tiger Prawns in Quinioa Crust, Chicken and Rocoto Chilli Croquetas and Cod Fish Croquetas from their Tapas selection and La Pizzaladiere comme en Pays d’OC, Seafood Tartare, Squid Salteado and Duck Foie Gras Comfit from their Starters selection.

While the presentation was fabulous the taste overall was so-so. The dishes that stood out were the prawns which had an unusual but great nutty taste to it, the squid paella which was cooked to perfection and the Foie Gras which did not have an overpowering taste and was so soft we could spread it like butter on toast. The chicken croquetas and Cod fish were nothing to rave about and lacked a bit of flavor while the Seafood Tartare had an initial zesty flavor that died by the time you could actually savor it. Lastly the pizza looked very appetizing but it was over crunchy and the caramelized onions were too intense for our taste buds. For main course, we had the Seafood Paella and Veal Ribs. Both dishes were well cooked but the veal did have layers of fat that quite turned us off.

With all this food, dessert seemed impossible but we couldn’t resist the Rhubarb and Strawberry Gratin and Dark Chocolate Crémeux. The gratin was like strawberry flavored crème Brule (crème brule being our ultimate weakness) and the dark chocolate coffee meringue with cognac foam was super rich and melted right on your tongue. The icing on the cake was the chocolate shot with cognac foam. Trust me you can have a couple of rounds of these and go “WOW” every single time.

Overall this restaurant is probably a onetime visit outlet because it doesn’t really leave you wanting to come back for anything. Livelier lounge music would probably help create a buzzing atmosphere. The restaurant did not really have an entrance or a welcome area so once your lift reaches the 44th you’re a bit confused as to which side to enter from. Depending on which area of the bar you choose to sit in, guests can catch glimpses of the Burj Khalifa but the bright lights do make it difficult to enjoy the view at night due to the reflections in the window. The price is a bit steep for the portions and would have been conceded if the venue had a buzzing ambiance with clear views of the city.

If we were to comeback it would be because of the friendly staff and to dunk some of those shots!

HIGHLIGHTS

Cost: Dhs. 460 for two people (approx.) with alcohol

Opening Hours: 6 PM to 11 PM, Bar is open from 12 Noon to 1 AM everyday

Friday Brunch: 12 Noon to 3:30 PM

Dhs. 245 (Without Alcohol)

Dhs. 375 (With Alcohol)

Dhs. 475 (With Bubbly)

Contact Number: +971 4 506 9600

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