The Vivacious Brunch
at Vivaldi takes you on a trip to Italy and back; just don’t get waylaid by the starters and the mains!
– from the rustic pizza to the deep fried squid, potted lasagna and enough risotto and pasta to take you to Italy and back - the venue had a party buzz that sets it apart from other buffets we have been to, where the only sound to be heard is the cutlery clinking against each other.
Salad counter: Keep it simple
How can the humble tomato taste so good? Specially when they have nothing other than slices of rich creamy mozzarella and a generous scattering of basil leaves to give them company? It’s not for nothing that Italian cuisine is rated so highly in the world – who else can make a dish out of juicy slices of fresh tomatoes with chunks of mozzarella and let that be the star of the day? The mixed bean salad, the seafood platter plumped high with mussels in shells and prawns and squid and a simple risotto salad gave this section ample heft. The bread station alone could have put us into a carbhaven from which we’d have gladly never returned.
Too sweet to miss
Most of the buffets we’ve been to focus on the salads and the mains at the cost of what we deem the most important part of the meal – the desserts. But over here, with a zillion sweet options to choose from – we love the ‘mini bites’ trend that has taken over the buffet tables – everything from the chocolate roundels, to the crème brulle and the macaroons were divine. Our only regret would be filling ourselves with so much of the bread that we couldn’t do justice to this section.
Lesson #101
Sometimes it takes a decade for the most important brunching lesson to sink in – you HAVE to pace it out. So when the giant cheese wheels came over with creamy risotto topped with a generous dollop of truffle oil and steaming ribbon pasta, we were seriously too pooped to even accept a spoonful, though we did manage to convince our dining partner to take on some on his dessert plate which we dipped into and spent the next seconds oohing and aahing over the rich creamy taste of wholesome Italian fare.
Verdict
The venue is perfect for a noisy party (there was a 30th b’day celebration across the table) as well as for families looking to enjoy an all-encompassing evening brunch with a panoramic view of the creekside. The Friday evening brunch with Italian and Mediterranean-infused dishes is on from 6:30pm for Dhs249 (with house beverages) with a soft package costing Dhs199.