Crab Market: does the food prevail over the location?

I struggle with Emirates Financial Towers in DIFC as a dining location. It takes two entrances, two elevators and three hostesses to get into new Dubai restaurant opening Crab Market on the 15^th floor. Will the day ever come in Dubai where I can walk straight into a restaurant from the street and order a glass of wine? Is that too much to ask for given I am paying more for my dinner than most cities in the world? Actually you can with this DIFC restaurant, plus those at D3. But we need more.

Anyhow, that’s a rant on Dubai, not on the restaurant itself, even though the owners could have picked a better building. Once in, huge iced seafood (mostly crab) displays and aquariums greet us in front of an open kitchen. Crab Market is a concept by chef Vladimir Mukhin of White Rabbit Moscow World’s 50 Best fame brought to Dubai by Bulldozer restaurant group. To the left sits a bar-cum-lounge which, whilst empty on a Wednesday night, has that lingering smell of smoke, so we decide to have an aperitif at our table instead in the main dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows. We pretty much have our pick of a table and go for a spot overlooking glittering Burj Khalifa – and Mint Leaf of London in the adjoining tower.

The cocktail list is intriguing and with my passion for classics with a twist, I go for an Old Fashioned with a Japanese single malt. Plum umeshu and bitters give it aromatic sweet-sour notes. What’s even more intriguing is the menu. Needless to say crab abounds, or should I say crawls, with four species – Crab Market’s Russian specialty, the mammoth Kamchatka from the Bering Sea (otherwise known as Red King or Alaskan King); brown crab from the North Sea; plus mud and blue crabs from the Indian Ocean. Whilst the menu has clear definitions between platters, a raw bar, starters, seafood, pastas and all sorts of interesting mains, it’s a menu where you can mix and match as you please.

A refreshing amuse bouche arrives of marinated watermelon cubes with a sharp flavour of elderflower. As much as I am an oyster purist, I also enjoy these molluscs cooked. The oysters Rockefeller use local no 3 Dibba Bay oysters (with another five species on offer from the raw bar). With a generous but not overwhelming dose of umami-laden spinach and Parmesan béchamel, my only qualm is that only three are served and we have to fight over the third. Given on average people tend to dine out in multiples of two, I am pretty sure this portioning is a standard restaurant strategy to encourage ordering more dishes. For our second starter, we opt for a pasta dish – a well executed spaghetti alle vongole, which is classically served with olive oil, parsley, chilli and bottarga (and a decent smattering of clams).

There’s no question that our main course has to come from the ‘choose your crab and sauce’ section. Sadly, the live whole Kamchatka has not yet docked into Dubai, so we settle for crab legs, which have been flash frozen. Given we are sharing, we order 400gms steamed (at AED70 per 100g). The crabmeat is plump, juicy and succulent. Crab forks are only served when we prompt the waitress – something that should automatically arrive with any crab dish. Dipped into a smooth and rich Champagne, leek and garlic cream sauce makes the whole experience so much more decadent. Interestingly, all crab dishes are meant to be served with steamed buns (to sandwich the crab) but the kitchen has ran out, so a basket of griddle-fried sour dough bread arrives instead. As wonderful as these carbs are, the crab on its own with the sauce is a pleasurable meal in itself. An accompanying coupe of chilled Laurent Perrier Brut is all that I need.

For review purposes we order a light dessert to share. A simple, feather-light sheep’s milk mousse is enhanced by a scoop of luscious blueberry ice cream. What ruins it though are small chunks of limoncello jelly – both the texture and the intense flavour are off-putting and over-powering. Presentation is a little sloppy too.

Our waitress is charming and well informed on ingredients and cooking style, whilst service is swift and not at all intrusive. The interior with its natural tones and starched white table linen is a little sterile making Crab Market more a venue for a business lunch or dinner, rather than a date night or a raucous gathering with friends. Perhaps once it gets busier, more atmosphere will prevail. Ironically, at odds with the décor, the sound level of the pop music playlist is too high and should be toned down.

What is welcoming though, is a relatively reasonable price point by Dubai standards for top-notch decadent seafood. Expect a bill of AED320 with taxes per person based on three courses each without alcohol. On that basis, I would most definitely return, despite the tower location. Here’s to a four out of five FooDiva knife rating.

Do you frequent any licensed restaurants here with easy street access?

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

?NEW RESTAURANT REVIEW?. I struggle with Emirates Financial Towers in DIFC as a dining location. It takes two entrances, two elevators and three hostesses to get into new Dubai restaurant opening @crabmarketdxb on the 15th floor ?. Will the day ever come in Dubai where I can walk straight into a restaurant from the street and order a glass of wine? Is that too much to ask for given I am paying more for my dinner than most cities in the world? Actually you can with one DIFC restaurant, plus those at D3. But we need more. Anyhow, does the food prevail over the location? More in my review now live – see link in profile. Do you frequent any licensed restaurants here with easy street access? ??? #foodivareviews #foodiva

A post shared by Award-winning food critic????? (@foodiva) on Apr 29, 2018 at 11:04pm PDT

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