Go Gallic at Chez Charles
This French take is a worthy addition to Dubai’s ever-popular weekend brunch circuit
Brunch at the weekend is a staple of Dubai’s multifaceted food scene. Once seen as a Western expats’ afternoon activity, brunch is now an item on every resident’s bucket list, and Fridays and Saturdays have become all about finding the perfect brunch spot.
Chez Charles — tucked into the sleek concrete-and-glass facades of Dubai Design District — puts forward a strong case for itself when we visit in late March.
Just walking into the place is a treat, as you are transported into a relaxed environment. The décor — cute light fixtures, wooden accents — and the ambient noise of people chatting are instantly comforting, and this French brasserie nails every bit perfectly.
The outdoor garden — which houses the live station and bar — complements the look and feel of the place, especially on the days when a band, or DJ, is playing, adding to the already chilled-out mood the venue exudes.
Most importantly, of course, there’s the food. And brunch offers a wide selection that takes its roots, we’re told, from “traditional French cuisine and out-ofborder flavors.
The menu offers five dishes for starters — and each tickled our taste buds with a distinctive array of contrasting flavors. The succulent beetroot salad and the marinated prawns and yellow noodle salad both burst with freshness, and a tinge of sweetness. The bulgur chicken salad added a welcome crunchy texture.
There were savory starter options too, including a platter of assorted cold cuts and — the star of the show — a divine dried beef and gouda cheese mille-feuille; razorthin puff pastry, partnered with the mellow flavor of the cheese.
We were off to a good start with the sharing starters. And there was certainly plenty to go around. We didn’t mange to clear our plates, as we were trying to save some space for the main course.
The live stations in the openair garden served four different dishes — spit-roasted lamb, slowcooked braised beef short ribs, two flavors of homemade pizza, and crispy whitebait.
Both the lamb and beef were cooked to perfection — then wrapped in fine bread and spiced with aromatic herbs. It’s always a treat to have your food prepared in front of you — watching eagerly as the professionals take the opportunity to show off their skills. A word of warning for people who are not into spicy food, however: make sure you let them know before they start cooking your selection.
The homemade pizza suffered a little from being prepared at the live station. Pizza doesn’t fare well when it’s been sat out for a while waiting to be picked up — always likely to happen with this kind of set up. So by the time we got around to tasting it, it had become a little stale and wasn’t up to the high standards of the meat dishes.
The crispy whitebait, however, got things straight back on track. The tiny deep-fried fish, dusted with flour, came with an aioli dip. They were excellent — crispy on the outside, but really tender once you bit into them.
To kickstart the dessert round, we were presented with a cheese board that would satisfy even the most ardent cheese lover. The tray of bitesize sweet treats which arrived next was less impressive, and a little underwhelming.
The pièce de résistance of the dessert menu was the pain perdu — the restaurant’s special take on that revered classic, French toast. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, its caramel flavor was heavenly, and a perfect way to end the afternoon.
Chez Charles only offers brunch on Saturdays, and regularly shuffles its menu to ensure return visitors won’t get bored. It’s no easy task to stand out in Dubai’s busy brunch circuit, but Chez Charles certainly gives it a good go.