Scott's in Abu Dhabi

We had dinner the other night at Scott's, at the Jumeirah Etihad Towers Hotel in Abu Dhabi. Scott's in London has been about for 140 years or so in Mayfair, although we've never been. Although also in their group is The Ivy (which we did have a lovely night at) and the Rivington (which I've also been to) and Le Caprice.

The restaurant does look stunning, built out into the beach area of the hotel.

We were going with a group of friends who had chosen the venue (it's a seafood restaurant - not Caz's first choice). Caz needs to eat a gluten free diet, so we called a few days before to explain and check their options. They said no problem, they would talk to the chef and provide some choices. 

We arrived and the place was empty, which for Friday night was a surprise. For seafood lovers, of course the menu was extensive, with some good English favourites too, like Cod (never seen before in Abu Dhabi). I called the waiter over and explained our previous conversation about the gluten free requirement. He said, "no problem you can have the steak". Clearly no prior effort had been made, which was disappointing. They did however, prepare some fresh gluten free bread and she chose the Herb Roasted Lamb Rack. I started with Lobster Mayonnaise, followed by Seabream baked in seasalt. The food I thought was very well prepared and there was an excellent wine selection. 

As you would expect, the meal was pricey, but all in all we had a good time. Just a little disappointing about the lack of effort made for the gluten free request. 

Dinner at Quest, Jumeirah Etihad Towers

We had dinner with some friends on Thursday night at Quest. Quest is on the 63rd floor of Jumeirah Etihad Towers, which would have had some fantastic views if the windows were cleaner! As there was 9 of us, they provided a private dining room which was lovely. The food was a kind of Asian fusion. The dishes were "ok", but not fantastic - certainly overpriced, offering more of a reflection of the hotel brand rather than culinary excellence. Over all we did have a nice evening, but we would probably not go back in a hurry.

One cool thing they had though, was the wine list provided on an iPad. Now, I'm not a wine buff, but if I was, I would have found it really interesting to scroll through and find out the finer details of the vineyards and their ownership in the information provided. For me, I just looked for the cheapest red and chose that! I'm sure I am not alone in that strategy!