Alta Badia Restaurant Review: Jumeirah Week

Situated on the 50th floor of Emirates Towers, Jumeirah’s signature Italian restaurant Alta Badia offers the views and menu that would normally demand top dollar.

But as part of Jumeirah Restaurant Week, an annual celebration of Dubai’s culinary experience, a three course meal suddenly becomes that much more affordable.

A beep from the lift for every floor allows diners to appreciate the speed of their ascent before entering the lobby area, from which it is a short walk to be seated.

Naturally being so high up, one of the restaurant’s best assets is its views, which extend almost uninterrupted by skyscrapers to the sea.

These immediately take your attention and for diners in large groups there is sure to be competition to face the window.

We recommend booking at sunset for couples and families alike.

The Jumeirah Week set menu offers three courses for Dhs180. The general idea being to highlight the restaurant’s signature dishes and provide for every taste. So the three options for both appetiser and main are vegetarian, fish and meat dishes.

We choose to start with the Vitello Tonnato, a delectable plate of chilled roasted veal in tuna sauce, and the Crema di Asparagi Bianchi soup.

Both come well presented, with the soup poured in front of us by the waiter to ensure it surrounds the island of chanterelles and broad beans in the centre of the bowl.

Between courses Alta Badia aims to set itself apart from the crowd, offering Italian bites including Caprese cocktails and pallet cleansers. These are a pleasant surprise and keep us occupied while waiting for our next course.

For mains we opt for the Orato al Forno, oven baked black sea bream with zucchini and tomato salad, and the Guancia di Manzo Brasata, braised beef cheek and truffle mashed potatoes with green asparagus.

We recommend the beef cheek, which is particularly tender and well flavoured, but both dishes are nicely presented, with the sea bream combining well with the accompanying salad.

Finally it comes to desert where out of the three options there was only ever going to be one choice.

The Cioccolato e Caramello, chocolate caramel lava cake with Grand Marnier ice cream is a delicious ending to our meal and it is particularly enjoyable sampling the cake’s warm chocolate filling as we look out across the Dubai skyline.

Overall we left feeling the Jumeirah Week offering was a worthy choice for those looking to impress with 50th floor Italian dining, but at a more affordable price.

Jumeirah Restaurant Week (May 23 to 31) allows foodies accessibility to what might be perceived as special occasion restaurants. Alta Badia is offering their special menu for the set price of Dhs180 for this week only. To book a reservation at Alta Badia for Jumeirah Restaurant Week call +971 4 319 8771 or visit: www.jumeirah.com/restaurantweek