Maison de la Plage could be the hippest – and happiest – place in Dubai right now. This stylish, laidback alfresco beach club/restaurant on the Palm’s ridiculously popular West Beach boardwalk is serving large sharing plates of flavourful food from the south of France, dreamed up by Izu Ani – former Esquire Middle East cover star and the culinary brains behind Gaia, Carine and the sadly departed La Serre, who has a personal love affair with Provence.
Esquire Middle East dropped by one late sunny Sunday afternoon when every table was filled. And we mean every table. As the DJ spun Donna Summer, Moloko, Whitney Houston and Bronski Beat, the collective smile of the crowd widened from ear to ear. When he dropped Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, the place erupted like a soccer stadium as diners stood and sung the chorus. That doesn’t happen at Drift, Twiggy or Nammos.
Maison de la Plage has an indoor restaurant with doors and windows flung wide open, a shady deck, and then – across a humpback bridge – a beach bar with cabanas. If you have a mischievous streak, keep your eye on guests as they attempt the slippery walk down the other side of the bridge to the sand. In terms of dress code, it’s a luxury t-shirt, linen trousers, statement sunglasses, bead bracelets and Loro Piana suede loafers sort of place – smart but not showy. This is the kind of chic boho crowd that decamps to Ibiza every summer.
On the menu, start with the cute basket of colourful vegetables (AED 125) with hummus, tapenade and tzatziki (all AED 15). The heirloom cherry tomato salad (AED 105) with goat’s cheese and hazelnut beautifully blends the crunchy and the creamy. The margherita pizza (AED 85) has a wonderfully thin and crispy crust with blobs of rich mozzarella, while the succulent lamb cutlets (AED 205) are accompanied by a spicy aubergine puree smeared on doughy pita breads. The highlight? A piece of white-as-snow sea bass (price per kg) that was grilled to perfection – simple and delicious. To finish, order the warm peach cobbler (AED 65) with a mountain of vanilla ice cream plonked on top before joining in for one more chorus of ‘Sweet Caroline’.