A great night out is the result of getting a combination of several things right – people, experiences and priorities. It bodes well, then, that the people behind the gorgeous new Abu Dhabi-based jazz bar and brasserie, Penelope’s, know a whole lot about getting those things very right indeed.
Sat on the world-famous Yas Marina, the new Art Deco-inspired restaurant and bar takes its inspiration from the Jazz Age of the Cote d’Azur. If you’re thinking French Riviera brasserie dining with a sharing-style Mediterranean menu, bespoke cocktails and live jazz music – then you’re in the right head space.
It helps, of course, that the duo behind the exquisite restaurant is Hamdan Al Khafaji and Layla Kardan – the coolest husband-wife duo in the industry.
Khafaji has more than proved his talent as restaurateur of the UAE’s achingly hip Mexican restaurant La Carnita, while jazz artist, Kardan, continues to build on her success of Dubai’s cabaret club, Papillon. Who they don’t know in this town could fill the back of a matchbox (and probably a really stylishly designed matchbox too).
The benefits of knowing good people is that you can call on the talents of people like Eddie Ghazal, the creative mind behind Dubai’s painfully cool Canary Club and Tikis rooftop and lounge. It collaborating with Ghazal and his team that has brought the passion behind Penelope’s to life.
The Yes Marina-based restaurant opened last month during Formula One weekend, which says something about the ambition of its owners. But it says even more about Penelope’s that its opening was the talk of the paddock.
Penelope’s Brasserie & Jazz Bar Américain, Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi. penelopes.ae