Time Out Market
Time Out Market Dubai is opening on Wednesday April 7 – and it’s one culinary and cultural adventure you really want to go on. Amy Mathieson has the lowdown
BORN IN LISBON in 2014, Time Out Market locations worldwide are the ultimate destinations for food and culture – designed to bring the best of the city together under one roof. And on Wednesday April 7, Time Out Market opens in Dubai.
Located at Souk Al Bahar, Downtown Dubai, in a gobsmackingly gorgeous 43,000 sq ft space, Time Out Market Dubai houses 17 home-grown brands, hand-picked by Time
Out Dubai editors. In addition to cool cultural activations, the reasons for visiting are many. Here are just 19 to get you started.
It’s time to dig in.
#1 FULVIO’S KITCHEN’S HEADTURNING PASTA PLATES
One of the most exciting openings at Time
Out Market is Fulvio’s Kitchen – a brandnew Italian concept from Fulvio Opalio, head chef at Orange Hospitality, the operators of multiple Time Out Dubai award-winners Il Borro Tuscan Bistro and Alici Dubai. The Italian chef is passionate about pasta and menu heavyweights include pumpkin tortelli and veal ragu tagliatelle. The headline act? An indulgent, earthy Parmesan wheel risotto with black truffle prepared in front of market-goers, that Opalio promises will add a “touch of curiousity”. Consider our interest piqued.
#2 24-KARAT GOLD AT SCOOPI CAFÉ
Scoopi doesn’t serve up standard ice cream – but it’s not just the wacky flavours and lashings of 24-karat gold that make it (literally) shine. Scoopi’s ice creams are cooled with liquid nitrogen, after innovative founder Zubin Doshi (who, fun fact, doesn’t actually have a sweet tooth) was bowled over by the world of molecular gastronomy. You can cool off with flavours including saffron pistachio, Nutella, Oreo, strawberry cheesecake or mango – or just be a baller and order this charcoal and edible gold combo.
#3 SLICES TO LEAVE YOU SHOOK FROM PITFIRE
It takes a certain crust to stand out from the crowd, and Pitfire’s perfectly blistered, pillowy pies are the ones for the job. Set up by Michele and Bill Johnson, Pitfire serves up huge pizzas with shedloads of flavour. Alabama-born self-confessed foodie Michele isn’t a trained chef, but credits her mum and grandma for her love of cooking, so big thanks go to her fam from all the pizza-lovers in Dubai. Famed for its signature tasty crushed tomato sauce and creamy, gooey, molten mozzarella, there’s everything from the indulgent Truff Daddy to the tongue-tingling Hell’s Kitchen to get your chops around. In fact, you can’t fail when ordering here – unless you forget to ask for a side of those gorgeous garlic knots, of course.
#4 Awesome original artwork from top local talent
TO KICK EVERYTHING off with a buzz of creativity and culture, Time Out Market Dubai will be hosting a live art show at the grand opening on April 6. Get ready for some impressive brushstrokes, as four local artists will each be working on a piece at the event – and the completed work will be on show at the Market for the rest of the month. We’ve teamed up with Dubai arts hub Tashkeel to showcase the top artistic talent and shining stars of the city, so expect to see creations from Victor Sitali, Abdulla Lutfi, Mike Arnold and Chie Nakano throughout April. Not enough art for you? Pierre Abboud, who has a Guinness World Record for producing the largest recyclable material mosaic, has been commissioned to create a sculpture for the Time Out Market Dubai stage. It will be made from recyclable bottles and will be on show at the Market until live entertainment resumes. The Market also will be home to an art installation from Tarsila Schubert – a Brazilianborn street artist who’s now a UAE resident. The name may be familiar to art fans, as Schubert is famed for being the first female artist to paint a wall in Amman, Jordan, in celebration of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, so get your camera phones ready to click a snap of her mural at the Market.
#5 JAWBREAKER SANDWICHES FROM LOCAL FIRE BY THE MATTAR FARM – DUBAI’S FIRST PROPER SMOKEHOUSE
Hattem Mattar is the main man at this smoke station. You’ll know this smoked meat powerhouse from popups around the city and that glorious scent of charred, tender, meaty brisking hovering enticingly in the air. Mattar is the top pitmaster in town and his skills are second to none. Officially he set up The Mattar Farm in December 2017, but has been hosting barbecues since 2005, which proved so popular that hungry diners called up to place orders. His Market brand, Local Fire, will plate up monsterously tall sandwiches including our favourite pastrami Reuben, plus Mattar Farm’s acclaimed brisket and smoked sausages.
#6 FIERCELY FUN FUSION FOOD FROM BB SOCIAL DINING
BB Social Dining is home to one of the most Instagrammable dishes at the market, and while we know it’s not all about looks, we’re predicting that the Habibti (soft shell crab bao) is going to be popping up on feeds globally. Baos, bites, bowls, barbecue are the backbone of the all-star line-up, while the wagyu katsu sando has become so popular it’s even led to a spin-off for the team – The Little Katsu Shop. “Wagyu katsu started emerging as a trend globally, so we jumped on this train, but with our own special twist,” says founder and exec chef Alex Stumpf. “We used the same dough as our baos, manipulated to a soft bread to toast”. A cracking creation, and one you won’t want to miss.
#7 CHICKEN WORTH GETTING IN A FLAP ABOUT FROM PICKL
Pickl founder Steve Flawith takes his sandwiches seriously. The accidental chef – who at 17 traded potwashing gloves for chef’s whites within two weeks of joining a kitchen – is all about fried chicken. And burgers. And fried chicken burgers (aka, those sizzling sandos). Famed throughout the city for its crunchy, crispy, spicy coating that splits to reveal juicy tender chicken, the only thing better than the tenders are when they’re slathered in “comeback sauce” and smooshed into a potato bun.
#8 The best of the city under one roof
SPREAD OVER 43,000 sq ft the sprawling space that is
Time Out Market, in partnership with Emaar, is set to be a Downtown Dubai hotspot. With a stunning indoor area, with high ceilings and a bright airy feel, there’s also a sweeping outdoor terrace that wraps round the outside of the market serving up stunning views of The Dubai Fountain and Burj Khalifa.