'This is Lowe 2.0': much-loved Dubai restaurant reopens at Koa Canvas

Lowe announced in April that it was closing to consider its future

Kate Christou and Jesse Blake of Lowe

Popular Dubai restaurant Lowe is back in business.

The independent cafe and restaurant, which offers contemporary dining and innovative dishes, announced its reopening on Sunday. But for now it seems the restaurant at Koa Canvas Dubai will only be open on weekends.

In April, Lowe's management announced on social media that it was taking an extended break to consider its future. This led many to wonder if the restaurant was shutting shop for good, given that many businesses around the globe were being forced to do so because of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, in an announcement on Instagram on Sunday afternoon, it became clear the restaurant is, at least partially, reopening.

"From Friday, July 31, we are opening our doors for a weekend brunch, serving up your much-loved Lowe breakfast classics every Friday and Saturday from 8am to 4pm. Bookings advised," the post read.

The announcement was accompanied by a video showing what looks like a host of new dishes. "This is Lowe 2.0 and we can’t wait to have you back."

The brainchild of culinary duo Jesse Blake and Kate Christou, Lowe opened in 2019, and quickly garnered a fan base willing to drive out to Al Barari due to its fuss-free food, sharing-style menu, kombucha on tap and pet-friendly terrace.

Lowe Dubai, located at Koa Canvas, closed its doors in April. Chris Whiteoak / The National

In short, for many, it became a millennial paradise. The restaurant was constantly experimenting, launching monthly zero-waste dinners and cooking classes where food scraps were converted into gourmet dishes.

The raw tuna tonnato with fermented chilli and daikon from Lowe. Courtesy Lowe

However, on April 8, Lowe's management announced that it had made the "painful decision" to "end Lowe operations while we take some time to think about our future as a business when this crisis is over".

"It’s no secret that this pandemic has hit our industry very hard," they said at the time. "We will collectively come out of this better and stronger, but for us, we know the only way to rebuild in the future is to make a hard decision now," the post read.

"We are incredibly proud of the food we served, the team we built and mostly of our community of foodies that we now call friends."

In less than 24 hours, the post accrued more than 152 comments, mostly from chefs, restaurateurs and the food blogging community, lamenting the loss of a Dubai establishment that had, in a short time, gained a huge following.

However, notably, the post shared by Lowe ended on an optimistic note.

"While we may go quiet for now, know that our goal is to be back soon and better than ever, but right now, we don't know when this will be or what format it will take."

Luckily, that seems to be exactly what has happened.