Though the poolside bar, attractive crowd and generous happy hour has long-since positioned the Media One Hotel as a post-work Media City hotspot, it’s never been an establishment particularly sought-after for its cuisine offerings. Hoping to change all that, the hotel has launched two novel restaurants in the space of a month, both found on the hotel’s 9th floor, Crab Tavern and its Brazillian neighbour across the corridor, Spirito.
Today we’re concerning ourselves with the hotel’s latest crustacean spot, the Crab Tavern. A stylish, wood lined, faux shack of sorts, and the Dubai incarnation of the existing London brand, offering a formidable mix of crab dishes and other grill classics.
Starting off, while you might be pre-disposed to go down the seafood route with your first appetiser, we’d advise perhaps going against convention and plumping for the Boneless Tavern Ribs. Perfectly sticky, and superbly succulent – they’re as good a version of this common starter as we’ve tasted in a while.
The ‘Crabs Galore’ section represents the menu’s centrepiece, with six options to devour our ten-legged, hard shelled friends. The spicy Singapore Crab Pasta may look and sound the most appealing, but be aware – the effort to reward ratio is a little askew, meaning a lot of cracking and smashing without too much meat in the end result. In the ‘Best Legs in Town’ however, you’ll find King Crabs legs carrying enough meat to chuck a pincer at, served with herb mayonnaise or garlic butter, alongside old bay fries and garlic butter.
Despite being what we’d imagine as one of the only crab shacks on earth located in a sky-scraper, like Claw before it, the Crab Tavern proves that a restaurant of this ilk doesn’t necessarily have to be at sea level to generate both atmosphere and an appropriate level of charm. The bar is excellent, offering a stellar drink selection – and the diversity of the menu alone makes it a great option for seafood and grill fanboys looking for a change from the city’s fairly limited, similar seafood spots.
Crab Tavern, Media One Hotel, Dubai, mediaonehotel.com/