Airy café that’s big on nutrition without sacrificing on taste

ost Dubai expats are just now dipping their toes into the City Walk area, the London high street meets artist-driven neighbourhood in Jumeirah that’s quietly becoming the next great food ‘ hood. Now, the opening of La Ville Hotel right in the centre of City Walk has helped cement it as a key tourist and resident hotspot.

Accessible from City Walk’s promenade and the main hotel entrance, Chival adopts the best of both worlds: the slick, friendly and professional service of a hotel establishment mixed with the playfulness of an independent outlet. Hit the patio, order a drink, and feel smug about being one of the first at this under-the-radar spot.

The restaurant prides itself on serving nutritional feasts of goodness and while healthy eating is nothing new, Chival works with carefully selected regional farmers and purveyors – a concept that still feels fresh. Serving certified organic meats, eggs and salmon, this is exactly the kind of restaurant your clean-eating routine needs. Dig in at breakfast for farmfresh organic poached eggs, inch-thick hunks of smoked salmon (cured in-house), with freshly grilled asparagus, spinach and cottage cheese (Dhs58), or try the surprisingly filling coconut milk-drenched Tropical quinoa porridge (Dhs38) topped with mango, avocado, toasted coconut and peanut butter. Swing by at lunch or dinner to feast on a beautiful whole roasted organic chicken (Dhs135), served humbly with a fork sticking out of its back, or

Mthe signature Chival Ramen (Dhs45), a huge soup bowl of whole-wheat noodles, scallions, and turkey ham.

Despite essentially being the La Ville’s all-day dining restaurant, the food trumps most, if not all, other all-day spots in the city. In fact, it’s one of the rare outlets that we’d recommend residents of Dubai to try. Combine that good food with a great view and one of the only licensed venues in City Walk (right now), and we suspect it’s going to be well on everyone’s radar very soon.

La Ville Hotel & Suites City Walk Dubai, daily 6.30am to midnight. Tel: (04) 4033111. Taxi: La Ville Hotel. livelaville.com