Home-Style Cooking with a Difference at IZU Brasserie

Nestled in Le BHV Marais, the French department store in City Walk, IZU Brasserie is a café style, relaxed space with small wooden tables and a long counter top with a bakery on the other side of the venue. The man behind this is award winning Chef Izu Ani whose local culinary expertise has been behind big names in Dubai– La Petite Maison, La Serre, The Lighthouse, and most recently Carine at the Emirates Golf Club. We were invited to IZU Brasserie to sample some of their dishes and here’s how it went…

With seating indoors and outdoors on the patio area, we chose to sit outdoors as the weather is still pleasant in the evenings. Our server explained the daily specials changed and were jotted on the boards indoors and the breads, desserts, sauces, and most everything here is made by Chef Izu. With a mostly Mediterranean style menu designed using the highest quality ingredients to create consistently good food, we were first served a complimentary tray of large freshly baked bruschetta with marinara olives, tomato coulis, and feta cheese. These were crisp, but not hard, and I enjoyed mine with lots of feta cheese and olives.

Next, we tried the fried calamari with aioli and arrabbiata sauce which was a good balance of crunchy and tender, unlike the usual chewy style served in some places. Also, we had their famed burrata with peppers and pesto sauce which hands-down was the best burrata I have ever tried.

For our mains, we ordered the Izu burger, the pizza Diavola with spicy sausage and artichokes to share, the sweet potato ravioli with prawns and the Rigatoni Bolognese; both signature dishes.

The Izu burger was not the usual thick beef patty in a bun, but rather, thin slices of seasoned beef on a homemade brioche bun. It was light and tasted a lot healthier than the usual variants. The sweet potato ravioli was delicious and the combination of sweet potato and prawns worked really well together. My Rigatoni Bolognese had just the right balance of sauce, meat, and pasta and was well-seasoned. The entire meal was a top-notch amalgamation of just some of Chef Izu’s revered dishes and cooking techniques.

Now for my favorite part of any meal—dessert! We ordered carrot cake, caramel cake, and tiramisu. The carrot cake with cream cheese icing was dense and not overly sweet. The tiramisu was a pyramid of coffee, cream, and sponge; another hit. But hands down, our favorite was the caramel cake, which was drizzled over with a warm caramel reduction, toasted pecans, and some vanilla cream. In a nutshell: excellent.

The Verdict: The perfect place for a cozy meal with friends and family, IZU Brasserie offers delicious, high-quality food in a chic ambiance. The passion Chef Izu puts into his dishes is evident with fresh, home-style meals served by a friendly staff.

Visit: IZU Brasserie at Le BHV Marais, City Walk, Dubai

04 403 3030