I realize that if I ever leave Dubai, the institution I’ll miss the most is the Friday Brunch. I don’t think there is this large a variety of Friday brunches anywhere else in the world. We try a new place every Friday and still never run out of newer places to try, (mashaAllah!) Yesterday my sister and I went for a less extravagant and extremely casual family-friendly brunch than what we usually opt for, but had no regrets. At just AED 115 per person you can choose one of nine made-to-order breakfast entrees, a hot drink of choice, and unlimited amounts of fresh juices, smoothies, detox water, and a plethora of sandwiches, breads, croissants, cheeses, salads and cake from the buffet.

You can sit on the communal “bench” and get acquainted with new people, or sit in pairs or smaller groups on individual tables. I could see A LOT of people working or studying, be it alone or in groups; the wall sockets to charge your laptops as well as softly playing music in the overhead were indicative of this being a great work/study environment.

We got to the brunch SUPER late thanks to a taxi driver from a nightmare (yes, I complained to RTA), but the buffet was still well stocked and popular items were regularly replenished.

My choice of entree was the pancakes (duh), and my sister went for the tomato and basil penne. The pancakes were quite small, and I liked that, as it left room for me to try the huge array on display at the buffet. My sister’s penne was sadly not worth the calories and hence went mostly to waste, but she couldn’t get enough of the grilled vegetable focaccia sandwiches, cheese, and quinoa salad. I was more inclined towards the rocket and white bean salad that had a wedge of fresh fig. Anything with fresh fig has me standing attention.

I also enjoyed the smoked salmon and multigrain sandwich, and was spoilt for choice between the blueberry cake, fruit cake, pound cake, pear tart and banana tart- but went for the blueberry cake and had no regrets. The huge array of homemade jams included my favorite: raspberry jam, which I spread on some croissant and slapped some smoked turkey breast slices to have me an improvised taste of Thanksgiving!

The brunch was overall a haven for carb lovers, and with the signature water fruit TWG green tea that has become a reason for me to look forward to any of the restaurants faling under the Emaar umbrella, it was a morning well spent.

A good bargain, a great new find. Recommended.