Ah, Dubai. Where culinary audacity doesn’t just walk, it struts. And amidst this glittering melee of unflinching concepts comes a dining room (or should I say rooms, plural) that asks you to toss your expectations into the wind.
Enter, The Guild, helmed by UAE kitchen maestro, Tom Arnel.
Imagine, if you will, wandering into a cinema where every screen is showing a different film . That’s The Guild. The Nurseries is a feel-good rom-com, a laid-back breakfast and lunch spot for coffees and catch-ups. The Rockpool is an underwater documentary, an up-close-and-personal look at the world of shellfish (albeit, the type best served on ice). The Salon, on the other hand, oozes the sophistication and drama of a film noir, paying homage to the bustle of New York City grills. And then, there’s The Potting Shed – a cocktail-themed indie comedy that pairs equal parts hard liqueur with whimsical storytelling.
It’s certainly a bold endeavor, putting so many different concepts under one roof. Is it one that pays off? Or The Guild bitten off more concepts than it can chew?
Now, while the concept can be compared to movies (see above), let’s not get too lost in metaphors and talk about the location. Seated on the ground floor of the sprawling ICD Brookfield Place, The Guild covers an impressive 20,000 square feet. And while it’s pretty easy to spot, getting there can feel like a chore (especially if you’re dodging the DIFC hordes escaping their financial fortresses at sundown).
That all changes when you step inside. Each space is intricately designed, each area a different set, each with its own mood lighting. The Nurseries is your sunny day scene, complete with bright colours and uplifting vibes. The Rockpool, meanwhile, comes complete with its own namesake in the middle, and shades of blue reflecting off crustacean-filled seafood tanks. The Salon is the closest to what we’d deem the dining room; while the Potting Shed is a quirky bar located in its very own greenhouse.
Ambiance? The place hums, it vibrates. There’s chatter, there’s laughter, there’s the clinking of glasses. It helps that from most seats in The Guild you’ll be able to see at least two other of the restaurant’s concepts, with patrons having very different dining experiences to your own.
We ate at The Salon, which is Arnel’s tribute to a New York brasserie. Expect the usual suspects here; beef carpaccio, prawn cocktail, burrata salad and steaks aplenty. While the menu doesn’t necessary venture into inventive territory, it does achieve mastery over its staples. The New York Strip was cooked perfectly, and the Atlantic lobster mac and cheese was tasty, indeed.
The food here leans towards the reliable, and the trusted. It’s less about fireworks on the plate, and more about turning the familiar into perfection. That might sound a bit old hat, but here’s the question: in a place that boasts five distinct concepts under one ceiling, does every dish need to be a revolution? Nope. Sometimes, a well-cooked steak speaks louder than molecular gastronomy.
The Guild then treads a very fine line; between interesting and utterly confusing. If one concept inside a restaurant is too little, then does five prove too much? Does putting a bar inside a greenhouse make it worthy of being called its own ‘concept’? And when should a restaurant draw the line between being distinctively creative or simply over-ambitious?
Fortunately, The Guild falls on the right side of that line. It’s audacious but hasn’t lost sight of quality, and its ambitious but grounded in expertise and a pretty clear vision by Arnel (a wild and complicated vision, for sure. But a clear one nonetheless).
Is The Guild worth coming back to? Almost certainly (unless you have the time and determination to make it round all its concepts in one sitting). Add to the fact that The Guild isn’t even finished yet (another concept, The Aviary, is set to open later in the year) and a return visit is almost guaranteed.