If The Eloquent Elephant’s excellent bar range, semi-speakeasy element, genial atmosphere and fun logo (an aristocratic elephant sporting a top hat and a monocle) weren’t enough to entice you into this rather fine Downtown/Business Bay gastropub, then its brunch might just tip the balance.
“The Crunch” – a cheeky double portmanteau referring to its status as a “craft brunch” – ticked the No 1 box in my personal brunch checklist, namely doing away with terribly wasteful, overly ostentatious buffets, in favour of à la carte dining.
You shouldn’t need the memory of The Eloquent Elephant’s eponymous herbivore to remember the menu break-down, because the five sections are logically split: “smallish plates”, a build-your-own burger, “big plates”, sides and desserts.
My other main long-standing gripe about brunch in the UAE – that the breakfast half of the title is usually squarely ignored – was remedied here, too, via two of the starters: eggs Florentine with truffle Hollandaise sauce and a wholesomely tastily fresh smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, avocado and crusty bread. We also tried the an inventive dish of tempura goat’s cheese with red-onion confit, plus the light and satisfying grilled chicken with honey-truffle dressing and mixed leaves.
On paper, the standout big plate was the elephant curry, until we read the disclaimer “does not contain elephant” – our waitress, dressed in the bar’s fetching uniform featuring white shirts with braces, informed us it was actually made with chicken. So we instead selected the beef cheeks with sweet-potato purée – it must have been sourced from a substantial-sized cow, because the meaty main was of fitting elephantine proportions. The build-your-own burger was similarly imposing – we elected to top the thick Wagyu patty with “eloquent” cheese, onion rings, Gorgonzola, lettuce, mushroom and avocado salsa, forgoing the tomato, onion and veal bacon.
The desserts, meanwhile, were imbued with a traditional English/American flavour: the sticky toffee pudding was sumptuous, while the apple tart tatin with custard ice cream wasn’t too far behind.
The Crunch, then, has the nous and smarts to be considered as one of the best refined brunches in town.
• The Crunch brunch takes place every Friday from 12.30pm to 4pm at The Eloquent Elephant, Taj Dubai, Dubai, and costs from Dh295 per person, including taxes. For reservations, call 04 438 3100. For more information, visit www.tajhotels.com/luxury/city-hotels/taj-dubai.
The National was a guest at this restaurant.
aworkman@thenational.ae
