Juxtaposing Mediterranean Elements into a Gastronomic Journey at Verdura

  • Category: Food
  • October 14, 2018

Located at one of Dubai’s trendiest venues—The Boulevard, Downtown— here, Verdura’s second branch blends elements borrowed from the Mediterranean to present a menu that has the best of Italy, Greece, the Levantine region, Armenia, Spain, and Turkey. With a promise of being naturally natural, the seating is both indoors as well as al fresco and reminiscent of a European sidewalk cafe. Also, from the plates to bowls and the mugs; are all handcrafted by Verdura’s potters to impart an artisanal experience.

We first dug into fresh tandoori bread served with creamy Turkish laban. From the fresh soups, we tucked into the roasted pumpkin soup; ladled by the server into a bowl that contained a small mound of sour labneh and dukkah spices.

From the Cold Appetizers, even the moutabel for instance—‘Verdura’s Moutabel’—was unlike any wehad ever eaten. It had a base of fried eggplant,
topped with pureed eggplant that was grilled and then roasted; sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, a splash of pomegranate molasses, and fresh rocket leaves.

From the Oven items, we indulged in the Chef’s Special Cheese Loaf with three different kinds of cheese—feta, mozzarella, brie, and cheddar which hit all the right notes.

From the salads, we ordered my favorite burrata cheese salad which was made up of organic tomatoes, and za’atar pesto, mixed with eggplant and dukkah spices. We also had the avocado salad which had fresh rocket leaves, creamy avocado, and grilled haloumi. The added honey gave this medley of crunchy and sour, a sweet and creamy flavors.

Hummus here is not one but several, including hummus beiruty, with sun dried tomatoes, hummus with beetroot, and then what we indulged in, the hummus with meat. Our server explained this included herbs from Morocco and special spices from India to create a very different take on the humble humus. From the hot appetizers, we tried the Turkish prawns which were almost like the traditional Borek, but with mildly spiced and served with red and green harrisa sauce.

We also sampled the Armenian Itch—white bulgur patties with tomato and mint which were plated beautifully. We also had the mini sliders; a delicious medley of a trio of meats: short-rib, tenderloin, and rib eye served with a mushroom and a truffle labneh.

Our chef sent two desserts; Pastilla—a puff pastry delight with orange cream and mixed fruits. It was light and mildly sweet. Then the baklava cheesecake, a fusion of two of my favorite desserts was a heavenly creamy treat with crunchy and sweet rolled into one dish.

The Verdict: Verdura is a must-try eatery in the midst of The Boulevard that offers an expansive area for a leisurely meal with dishes that are familiar but merge a melange of flavors into a very healthy meal.

Visit Verdura:http://www.verdura.ae