Aprons & Hammers is not your average restaurant. For a start, it is located on a converted dhow, meaning that our evening began with a sunset meander up a long jetty inside Dubai International Marine Club. There's nothing like a salty sea breeze for working up an appetite.
Inside, it's all rather cozy and relaxed with plenty of wood panelling, fishing nets dangling from the ceiling, chopping boards and those all-important hammers decorating the tables.
Although there is a separate list of seafood-dominated main courses (fillet of the day, fish and chips, marinara pasta, etc), it's hard to ignore the list of crustaceans under the "What We Do Best" heading. This includes prawns, mussels, crab and lobster, served in small or large portions with a selection of sauce accompaniments. We decided to take the menu at its word and ordered prawns, mussels and crab along with a variety of sauces and side orders of fries and coleslaw.
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Before all that, we shared a portion of crunchy, lightly breaded calamari and a dish of steamed clams. These were great: small, chewy and briny, spiked with lemon juice, a lick of garlic and a dusting of chopped parsley.
No sooner had we finished the last one, then three large pots piled high with prawns, mussels and crab, all steaming hot and garnished with wedges of lemon, descended on the table.
There is no standing on ceremony or swapping of plates or cutlery between courses here; it's all about getting involved and enjoying the experience. We donned our aprons, brandished our hammers and set about doing just that.
Cracking open the crab claws and extracting meat from their bodies is certainly fun, but unfortunately, the small crabs had been overcooked and as a result, the meat was rather mushy. Not terrible by any means, but just a little disappointing after putting in the effort to extract the flesh.
The prawns, on the other hand, were excellent: large, supple and meaty, charred on the outside and succulent in the centre. They tasted equally good eaten alone or dipped into a piquant garlic and chilli-soused olive oil dressing. The lemon-butter sauce was also nice: rich and glossy with a welcome citrus tang, and the coleslaw was creamy and crunchy, just as it should be.
The only real let-down of the whole meal were the mussels, which tasted, rather scarily, as though they had been left to sit, uncooked, in their own juices for far too long. Mussels are supposed to taste of the sea: fresh and salty. These had a very pungent, off-putting flavour and were best avoided.
Although friendly and well meaning, the service was pretty slap-dash and could do with an injection of energy. Given that the restaurant wasn't busy, we waited far longer than necessary for our order to be taken and despite asking two different waiters, my friend's request for extra lemon wedges and mayonnaise took so long to arrive that we'd finished eating by the time they did.
That said, I would definitely return. In a city filled with expensive restaurants with fine dining aspirations (which often fail to deliver on their promises), this unpretentious seafood shack is a very welcome addition.
A meal for two at Aprons & Hammers, The Dhow, Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina costs Dh320, not including service. For reservations, call 04 4547097. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and reviews are conducted incognito.
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
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Director: Justine Triet
Starring: Sandra Huller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner
Rating: 5/5
The five pillars of Islam
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Uefa Champions League last 16, first leg
Liverpool v Bayern Munich, midnight, Wednesday, BeIN Sports
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High fever (40°C/104°F)
Severe headache
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Nausea
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
DIVINE INTERVENTOIN
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Director: Elia Suleiman
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Sav
Started: 2021
Founder: Purvi Munot
Based: Dubai
Industry: FinTech
Funding: $750,000 as of March 2023
Investors: Angel investors
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
Three ways to get a gratitude glow
By committing to at least one of these daily, you can bring more gratitude into your life, says Ong.
- During your morning skincare routine, name five things you are thankful for about yourself.
- As you finish your skincare routine, look yourself in the eye and speak an affirmation, such as: “I am grateful for every part of me, including my ability to take care of my skin.”
- In the evening, take some deep breaths, notice how your skin feels, and listen for what your skin is grateful for.
Match info
Newcastle United 1
Joselu (11')
Tottenham Hotspur 2
Vertonghen (8'), Alli (18')
Museum of the Future in numbers
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- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
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- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
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UAE athletes heading to Paris 2024
Equestrian
Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi, Abdullah Al Marri, Omar Al Marzooqi, Salem Al Suwaidi, and Ali Al Karbi (four to be selected).
Judo
Men: Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (66kg), Nugzari Tatalashvili (81kg), Aram Grigorian (90kg), Dzhafar Kostoev (100kg), Magomedomar Magomedomarov (+100kg); women's Khorloodoi Bishrelt (52kg).
Cycling
Safia Al Sayegh (women's road race).
Swimming
Men: Yousef Rashid Al Matroushi (100m freestyle); women: Maha Abdullah Al Shehi (200m freestyle).
Athletics
Maryam Mohammed Al Farsi (women's 100 metres).
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Inside Out 2
Director: Kelsey Mann
Starring: Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri
Rating: 4.5/5
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
Company Profile
Company: Astra Tech
Started: March 2022
Based: Dubai
Founder: Abdallah Abu Sheikh
Industry: technology investment and development
Funding size: $500m
The specs
Engine: 6-cylinder, 4.8-litre
Transmission: 5-speed automatic and manual
Power: 280 brake horsepower
Torque: 451Nm
Price: from Dh153,00
On sale: now
Jawab Iteiqal
Director: Mohamed Sammy
Starring: Mohamed Ramadan, Ayad Nasaar, Mohamed Adel and Sabry Fawaz
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