FOUQUET’S ABU DHABI

This is Paris, with a little Middle Eastern flex

rt and gastronomy are two pleasures that are often delivered better with a French accent. That’s why we’re grateful to that little corner of Saadiyat Island that’s proudly flying a spiritual tricolore.

We collectively ‘oohed’ at the arrival of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, but we saved the ‘ la-las’ for when we heard about another Parisian import arriving just next door.

Fouquet’s Abu Dhabi landed with a menu designed in collaboration with Pierre Gagnaire, the same top chef responsible for the food at the Champs-Elysées based Fouquet’s.

So it’s with great expectations that we find ourselves being ferried by golf buggy from the parking area to the restaurant’s access point. And because Fouquet’s sits within the shadow of the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s grand canopy, contemplation continues as we check through a few more security steps than your typical dining date requires.

Once inside, the interiors strike an immediately Gallic tone. This is Paris, with a little Middle Eastern flex. Blanched walls and table settings stand in deliberate contrast with the stylish crimson seating (an homage perhaps, to the Parisian restaurant’s famous red awnings).

We order a selection of starters from our knowledgeable waiter. Before we settle on the choice for our main dishes, we’re greeted by a sizzling plate of Burgundy snails in garlic butter; prawns paired with avocado, pink grapefruit and egg mimosa;

Aand duck foie gras terrine, date chutney, and toasted rustic bread.

You’d probably have to take a plane before you find a snail dish that fits so snugly with the traditional archetype.

They are note-perfect here. The pink grapefruit and egg mimosa help uncover hidden depths in the prawn entree and the daubs of date chutney are more than just a charming regional foil to their foie gras pairing. They belong. For the plats principaux, our waiter directs us towards pan-seared salmon fillet, a popular choice amongst the restaurant’s faithful; and braised lamb shoulder, served with green lentil hummus flavored with curry paste. Whilst it’s true that the UAE isn’t lacking in strong salmon dishes, there are few we’ve tried that can match Fouquet’s finesse. A perfect fillet, subtle in tone, with the honest fleshy flavour of wild salmon, neatly echoed by a velvety butternut velouté. But the real grand dame of the brasserie is the lamb shoulder. A taste expedition that begins with a stroll down Avenue Victor Hugo but crosses purposefully into the souks of old

Abu Dhabi.

The lamb is tender and breaks effortlessly beneath the fork, cooked in the classic French style, but is given a poetic palate reimagining by the swathes of nutty, precisely-spiced hummus.

We end the meal with a trio of desserts, because all great art should be finished with a flourish. We try the coconut tapioca with pistachio parfait; Fouquet’s chocolate biscuit; and mille-feuilles with praline and carmelised hazelnuts. It’s an appropriate way to drop the curtain and call ‘fin’ on this meal.

This is a fine-dining restaurant in the most faithful of ways, and going a la carte means there’s a price tag to match. But you can explore the cuisine quite freely with Fouquet’s keenly-priced lunchtime and dinner set menus from Dhs210.

next to Louvre Abu Dhabi, Sun to Wed noon to 11pm, Thu to Sat noon to 11.30 pm. Tel: (02) 205 4200.