Always on the look-out for new hot tables at which to impress our most treasured business connections, we came across Hunter and Barrel in Emirates Hills, which offers up the perfect blend of casual ambience with a solid attention to serving up on-point food. A stone’s throw from Dubai Media City and the Marina, it’s conveniently located close enough to make it a good option for a longer lunchtime meeting while avoiding the long commute into DIFC.
As CEO is located in Media City, it was a particularly enjoyable bimble around the corner to the new-ish Vida Emirates Hills to welcome our charming business partner for an early dinner to celebrate a new project.
Charcoal, that dark and glowing source of magical heat with transformative powers, forms the core concept here, with roasted meat and vegetable dishes seared to perfection above its fiery might and served up sizzling with flavour.
“We are tremendously excited to be opening our first regional Hunter & Barrel outlet at Vida Emirates Hills in Dubai,” said Rob de Villiers, Regional Managing Director, Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group. “Having taken Australia by storm, we are confident our hallmarks of charcoal roasted meats and vegetables – which have been given a regional spin by Head of Culinary Chef Kamil Bouloot – will become a favourite for diners across Dubai and beyond.”
Our evening involves tucking into a craft beverage or two, before the ‘hunter-gatherer’ concept is brought to the table. Open fire prawns, salads, cured salmon fillet and burgers are some of the highlights of a menu that feels decidedly like a summer barbecue minus the blackened sadness of forgotten sausages and the sweltering heat and warm drinks. In fact, it’s exactly the right kind of balance of casual yet expertly put together that diners seem to be hankering after. There’s a daily happy hour and even a remote working space – a combination that may appeal to some, but with 232 seats, there’s a nook or cranny for most predilections, and certainly we found ours.
“We strived to ensure Hunter & Barrel’s first restaurant in Dubai stayed true to the brand principles of highlighting local traditions and heritage iconography related to land and sea aspects of hunting. It was essential to highlight fundamentally regional takes on sports and ways of life that are prominent to the native tribes of the region,” said Callie van der Merwe, Founding Partner of Design Partnership Australia.
Starchy white linen tablecloths and stiff upper lips are so 2019. It’s 2021 and diners want to relax, to unwind and to have a good time.
And at Hunter & Barrell, that’s exactly what’s on the menu.