EAT OUT: INSIDE LOWWASTE LOWE
Chilled out vibes and great food are guaranteed
Lowe is a relaxed neighbourhood eatery serving up honest and practical food that just tastes great. It’s quite different from most places in Dubai; the food is at a fine dining level, but in a venue that you can wear yoga pants to.
The word Lowe is Scottish for ‘a warm light produced by fire’ and it really does follow its namesake. As you arrive at the parking lot and walk towards the restaurant, you can already smell the charcoal grill, which gives you sort of an idea of what you can expect when you eat there. Food made on fire. The slight smoky smell is the kind that instantly makes your mouth water.
At the restaurant, there is warm lighting, chilled out music and comfortable seats. I immediately remembered the last place I went to, a buzzing restaurant in the Jumeirah area that played extremely loud music and had uncomfortable seats.
Fun fact: When a restaurant puts profit over the customers’ experience, they will often play loud music, which according to psychologists subconsciously puts diners under pressure to eat faster. This causes a faster turnover, so the restaurant can seat more people.
The menu isn’t traditional. It’s one page only. Quality over a quantity of options, which I prefer anyway. And the dishes aren’t split up into appetizers and mains, they are a mix of sizes that you can choose and share.
I ordered a few things off the menu including the local organic sourdough bread with charred aubergine butter. I love flavoured butter, so this was a great start to the
meal. The second dish that landed on my table was one of the highlights. The raw yellowtail with grilled peas, horseradish, yuzu kosho. It was a combination of flavours and textures. There was a buttery-ness to the fish, a sweetness to the yuzu
paste, a crunchiness to the peas and horseradish and a bitterness to the powder that covered the dish.
Then followed the grilled broccolini, with slivered white almonds, roasted laver (a flavourful seaweed) and the most unique ingredient to me, the grapefruit butter (again with the infused butter).
I also had the soft shell crab and the light but flavourful grilled market fish with fermented anchovy, pomelo and grilled scallion.
The dinner ended with the piece de resistance: Yes, it is the most expensive dish on the menu, at Dh120, but the sweet spiced BBQ lamb neck with creamed cauliflower topped with puffed grains was a winner.
Next time I go to Lowe, I am getting myself this dish and won’t share.
The menu at Lowe clearly has influence from all over the world. The offering is seasonal and changes based on what is available. The team tends to choose ingredients and then focus on how best to cook them and creative ways to pair them with other things.
This isn’t one of those premium cut restaurants. They use secondary cuts and more environmentally conscious ingredients. Perhaps ingredients that may be less popular to have on menus, but they shine in every dish.
They even host Waste Not dinners: An experimental dining approach to minimise waste production by repurposing food scraps. So you might end up eating fish heads or orange peels, but repurposed in a creative and delicious way. It costs Dh99 per person and you get to enjoy a multi-course meal.
The only so-called downside of Lowe is the fact that it’s located slightly far from the city. It’s completely fine for those who are used to commuting, but if you are a person who thinks Downtown Dubai is too far from Dubai Marina, then you may feel Lowe is a trek. As a former resident of the Ranches area, the 20 minute drive was a breeze for me.
What I love about Lowe is there are no gimmicks. No dancers, live musicians or waiters painting your desserts on tables. What you see is what you get. Good food, friendly service and everyone is welcome.