Flight of fancy
South African entrepreneur Natasha Sideris, who’s just opened Flamingo Room by Tashas, on why she has found her sweet spot in Dubai
Miami meets the Roaring 20s by way of Africa in an Instaperfect, clean-eating trance? Poised elegantly at the intersection of those ideas is the Flamingo Room by Tashas, the hottest, shiniest trendiest corner in South Dubai and the latest addition to Jumeirah Al Naseem’s turtle lagoon.
Whether by chance or design, South African entrepreneur Natasha Sideris’ new venture perfectly serves our fragmented attention spans — as a quick social media check shows (Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, has already been, of course). You can swoop in for a bite, a beverage, a bit of inspiration, some retail therapy, because you like the music, or rather like Facebook, all of them at once. Sure, it’s first and foremost an all-day restaurant, but with a bijou-box shop on the premises, a calendar of designer talks, and a DJ in the house, it’s also much more.
Sideris — the Tasha behind Tashas — says she wanted to create a space that occupies the niche “between feeling special enough but also casual enough to come and dine often at a reasonable price point at any time of day.” Rock up in your kaftan or sit down to dinner in smart shorts — she’s cool with either, but not with wet bathing suits, cigars or pipes, as the restaurant’s website warns.
“In terms of the food, I wanted to create a clean, simple relaxed dining experience, even though the venue is quite crazy in terms of its interiors,” Sideris continues, talking to ahead of the restaurant’s opening. “That’s missing in Dubai — there’s a lot of high-end fine dining or a lot of mass. But not a chic, private dining experience with classic food and where you’re relaxed like it’s your home — that’s what I wanted to create.”
As it says in the name, the Flamingo Room is a business-class version of Tashas, with a rarefied, luxury resort positioning — familiar but swankier with the Tashas DNA embedded in contemporary ingredients cleverly paired together.
A vast floral ceiling fixture that wouldn’t be out of place on the label of a fine vintage dominates the centre of the restaurant, designed in tones of peach and pink and gold, by Sideris’ longtime associates, B&S Studio.
It’s filled with quirky little touches — a life-size flamingo perched on a gilded bar over here, three little bronze meerkats on a marble counter there, the odd zebra chair around the room, hand-embroidered cushions from Africa everywhere. More of these are in the adjoining shop,