Bringing a degree of New York cool to JBR’s soon-to-be sweltering beachfront, Tribeca is the organic infused bar and kitchen concept recently opened at the JA Ocean View Hotel, an establishment previously most recognised for its cheap and cheerful (sports fan-frequented) upstairs bar, Girders.
Originating in the achingly trendy ‘Triangle Below Canal’ (or Tribeca) corner of the Big Apple, the Dubai incarnation of this stateside hangout has made a discernible attempt to harness an arty, urban vibe. Think concrete floors, bare ceilings and brick walls dotted with various bits of eye-popping street art, semi- redolent of a spacious loft apartment belonging to a hipster architect – albeit a fairly successful one.
While an environment like this might lead you to expect an assortment of smoked meat, sliders or anything preceded by the word ‘pulled’ on the menu – Tribeca has veered completely in the other direction with its cusine, offering patrons an extensive range of healthy alternatives.
Now before you salad-dodgers wince and hit the close-browser button, Tribeca champions far more than a wheatgrass and quinoa cause, with a menu that ranges from cracking ‘Little Italy’ offerings of Artisian ravioli and hand-made gnocchi, to a stellar selection of heartier mains such as the Cajun chicken breast and Chilean sea bass.
If your thirst is up, this health kick even extends to most of the cocktail offerings (not as big an oxymoron as you’d imagine), with both organic spirits and ingredients routinely used in the bar’s signature, strangely named concoctions.
While a few of the subtleties of these ‘alternative’ establishments popularised in other cities may be lost in translation when they set up shop in Dubai, the refreshingly increased arrival of bars of this ilk on the local nightlife scene can be considered nothing but a good thing. And Tribeca, with its New York state of mind, emphasis on pop-ups and the promotion of live acts, should serve as a fine case study.
