A taste of Tashas
With lunch back on the agenda given our Ramadan lull, it’s time for some café culture, and I have a few Dubai newbies to share with you. First up, is South-African import Tashas (the nickname of Greek-South African founder Natasha Sideris), just open in the new Galleria mall on Al Wasl Road in Jumeirah.
With a fresh and slightly retro, deli feel, the pretty all-white origami decorations dangling from the ceiling leave me mesmerised. There’s an outdoor terrace, admittedly facing the road, for al fresco munchies when the weather cools down.
I count 87 dishes on what has to be the largest all-day menu I have ever seen here in Dubai – and that’s without desserts and drinks. Anyone else got a bigger menu? There’s plenty of egg, pastry and healthy fruit-based breakfast dishes; all things bready with sandwiches, toasties, flatbreads and quesadillas; right through to salads, pastas and a protein fix with main courses.
I struggle to choose from such a mammoth menu, but with a pending detox on my mind, I settle on a healthy choice with a salad of roasted butternut squash and goat’s cheese – served on a bed of greens with oven-baked cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and avocado – and a teeny pot of honey mustard vinaigrette for drizzling. The slender squash ‘chips’ are crisp on the outside, yet soft and velvety on the inside. The salad leaves are fresh and crunchy, whilst the goat’s cheese is dense and creamy. An excellent dish oozing texture – but leaves me craving more. Next time, forget the health drive, am having the larger portion designed for table sharing – but all to myself. My friend’s ‘Brazilian’ quesadilla arrives as folded triangles – filled with strips of grilled chicken marinated in lemon, chilli and coriander with melted cheddar – and dollops of yoghurt on the side. Looks a little uninspiring and would benefit from better presentation, but it certainly packs flavour and punch.
There’s a good selection of freshly squeezed fruit and veggie juices, but sadly no local water here. Be warned Tashas doesn’t come cheap, with my single portion salad AED78 and the quesadilla AED58. Juices are AED28. Main courses range from AED58 – 135. If am gonna pay upwards of AED100 for a main, I’d like to down it with a glass of vino please.
Service is a little obtuse, with our waitress not quite comprehending our order so we have to continuously repeat ourselves. But aside from that, in a half-packed, buzzy restaurant over a weekend lunch, the food arrives pretty pronto. It may not be cheap, but it’s certainly cheerful. If you happen to be in Jumeirah 1, then Tashas makes a reasonably good, all-day dining pitstop, but given the steeper prices, there are plenty of more affordable, decent cafés scattered across town.
In the same mall sits the Emirati-owned, Home Bakery which makes for a delightful cuppa and cake – mind you, both our lemon and orange cakes are a tad on the dry side. Brekkie is also served here.
With detox over, I’ve just tried and tasted Avec in Dubai Media City so stay tuned for the review. Any more new café haunts worth checking out? Where’s your go-to café hangout?
A bientôt.
FooDiva. x
I must say, I do not like at all big menus. Given the origin of the owner, are there any Greek specialities on the menu? Am I right to notice from your remark that yet another case of ‘untrained’ staff!
Only Greek coffee Kelly! Bet it’s not as good as mine 😉 I think we were a little unlucky with our waitress, as service seemed slicker at neighbouring tables. I think her command of the English language wasn’t that great. But yes, here we go again, another new spot where every box is ticked bar service…and value for money in this case.
Is it really possible for a kitchen to consistently provide top quality food and presentation when there are 87 different dishes to choose from on the menu? It will be interesting to see how they are doing in 3-4 months time. Thanks again for an informative review.
Visited Tasha’s this weekend with friends and found the interior inspiring, but the food average and I agree with your comment on the menu, ie you get lost for choice with its extensive menu offering… We ordered a few salads to share along with the Wagyu burger and a pasta. The pasta was overcooked and bland and lacked a punch of any kind. The burger meat had an after taste and was over cooked/well done despite asking for it to be booked medium well. The salads were fresh and tasty and we did enjoy them. The service was below average throughout our visit and we were surprised that even though we barely ate the burger, we weren’t asked if we would like it replaced and/or was it removed from the bill. Prices are high, menu confusing and service needs to be improved…
I hear similar comments from others too Carla. I understand they are reviewing the pricing, but looks like food and service from your experience also needs seriously addressing. Appreciate your comment 🙂