The first thing you’ll note as you enter the airy surroundings of Giardino at the Palazzo Versace is how far away everything feels. Giardino is sat by the designer hotel’s lagoon-like pool, which brunchers can enjoy access to.
Light blue and white tones in the buffet area combine to make give an island feel to proceedings, something accentuated by the sand found poolside. A keyboard player and singer provide live entertainment that isn’t intrusive. When they aren’t playing, the speaker running in the background is faint enough that Shazam won’t pick it up. Natural light floods the room. It reflects off the expensive-looking cutlery.
You can go for Desi with the likes of Kashmiri lamb rogan josh, which I tried over vegetable biryani, or Arabian with some freshly grilled meats, which I liberally slathered with freshly ground garlic paste.
The herb-roasted lamb I collected from the live cooking station was another muttony triumph. My companion thoroughly enjoyed a sea bass fillet. The most memorable item has got to be garlic octopus with fava beans puree and wasabi mayo.
However, it was dessert that stole our hearts. We tucked into a pistachio muffin; multiple flavours of jellybean; mousse; chocolate fountain-dipped marshmallows on a stick; a tiny but tasty vanilla cheesecake; and more stuff my sugar-addled brain failed to register.
Brunchers get happy hour prices at the homely La Vita next door. A word of warning: It's easy to fall asleep on the soft sofas in here.
We loved The dessert station had at least eight flavours of jellybean – we could be care-free children again for half an hour. Shots of detox juice let you pretend you’re doing something to reverse some of the excess from this day.
We hated that this place is better in cooler weather
Verdict Children and adults will love the massive pool and the dessert selection is world-class
Details Dh720 with bubbly. Dh195 for Children 6-12. 1pm-4pm.
