Vamos to Bebemos
The Garhoud district of Dubai appears to be undergoing a culinary renaissance. Who remembers the glorious French restaurant, Café Chic at the Meridien Dubai Airport Hotel, that was so à la minute for its time? Well, sadly, that shut shop. In its place now sits Bebemos, a Spanish tapas restaurant with a Catalan chef from Barcelona (I am steering away from a political discussion here).
Chef Marc Mañosa visits our table soon after we are seated, as he does with every table on a Thursday evening in August. Admittedly, Bebemos is relatively quiet. Not many chefs venture front-of-house in the first place, and if they do, it’s for a perfunctory ‘how was your meal’ statement at the end of the evening. Chef Marc wants to know if we would like any recommendations or explanations, and he agrees that we should focus on the smaller tapas plates, with a paella thrown in for main course.
The menu is ‘chalked out’ on a mini hand-held blackboard, a quirky nod to the casual ‘tasca’ tapas bar concept. It’s an all-encompassing menu that stretches across Spain’s 17 regions with tapas, starters, five types of paella, mains and sides from North Spain’s seafood-focused cuisine to Central Spain’s roast meat specialities.
Make-your-own pan con tomate arrives as the complimentary ‘bread basket’. Interestingly, this also features on the menu for AED20, so am not sure how that one differs. A classic start to any Spanish meal, it’s just four ingredients – grated tomato, olive oil, garlic and salt – mixed as a dip that we slather on crusty bread. So simple and so delicious. I remember returning from my first trip to Spain decades ago, and making this at home practically every day.
Our first tapa is a bowl of plump and rather large Padron peppers sprinkled with rock salt. No sign of a fiery pepper that one occasionally gets. Next up, I choose bombas rather than the more classic croquettes because I want the mashed potato ingredient that replaces béchamel. The filling we opt for is minced beef, and two bombas arrive topped with a dollop of an incredibly moreish aioli. So moreish, the restaurant manager notices how we scrape it off the plate, and brings us more. Our garlic breath is testament to how much we polish off (expect garlic infused in almost everything). The starchy filling gives bombas a sturdier bread crumb coating than croquettes.
A refreshing baby spinach salad boasts a strong blue Cabrales cheese with caramelised walnuts and quince adding texture and tartness. Huevos rotos is one of my go-to traditional dishes whenever in Spain. Literally translated to ‘broken eggs’, it’s served with diced potatoes, and in this case, mixed with cecina, a local air-dried beef (similar to Italian bresaola). Ham is also an option (hurrah Bebemos has a cooked pork licence!). As comfort food, it’s not a pretty look, but the most flavoursome dishes (think soups and risottos) are never photogenic. So much depth of flavour with this starter.
Onto my favourite tapa of the night – Galician-style octopus, which is native to the north-west region of Spain. Cooked, bite-size octopus perches on slices of boiled potatoes that is topped with plenty of sweet and smokey paprika whose robust flavour lingers for a while. Sensational. Makes a perfect canapé. Prawns al ajillo are, simply, garlic prawns, flamed in what I think is a brandy-esque sauce, which is a little too overpowering on the palate.
We ask to wait some time before our paella, that is presented by our waiter in a large round skillet. The black squid ink rice has just the right note of crunch to describe it as firmly al dente. Many say that adding squid ink to rice (or pasta) only makes for a dramatic presentation, and does nothing for flavour – but I will argue it gives a rich, briny taste. Calamari, prawns and clams are a-plenty and I enjoy mixing in the dollops of aioli scattered throughout.
Seven dishes later, we are more than full – but manage to bite into the churros which our waiter assures us are Dubai’s best. He’s probably right. The tower of churro rings presentation is both striking and clever. The ridged shell is warm and crisp, with a pillowy soft dough. I prefer the dark chocolate dipping sauce to the rich caramel.
In other good news, the wine list is all-Spanish, in keeping with the fact perhaps that Bebemos translates to ‘we drink’? I even accidentally stumble upon a gorgeous organic and bio-dynamic wine – Mas Petit Balta to appease my brewer’s yeast intolerance. A Cab-Sav Grenache blend with smooth tannins. Bebemos is missing a beat by not identifying its sustainable wines on the menu.
Chef aside, the manager, our waiter and sommelier are all amiable, intuitive souls – from bringing me a pashmina given the high air-conditioning (I should know by now to carry one with me) and alerting us to unavailable dishes right from the start (not after we want to order them), to replacing plates promptly and their menu knowledge.
Bebemos’ décor feels typically Spanish with colourful murals inspired by modernist artist Joan Miro, sitting alongside raw brick walls and cave-like arches. Tables are a mix of regular and high (we opt for the latter) with retro pleather-backed chairs. Cutlery is placed in a pot on the table. There’s a bar area, and also a terrace when winter strikes. The only downside to our whole experience is the lack of clientele with half a dozen tables occupied by the time we leave, which does not lend itself to much atmosphere.
What Bebemos lacks in ambience, however, it makes up for in value for money. Based on three dishes each, expect a bill of AED175 per person without alcohol. And that’s without the current Marriott Bonvoy summer promo of 30 per cent discount (only until mid-September). Chef Marc’s classic regional Spanish dishes are high on flavour, technique and quality ingredients with a modern presentation. I therefore dish out a four out of five FooDiva knife rating. Garhoud truly is the place to eat these days. Vamos.
Any other new restaurants this side of town worth checking out?
A bientôt.
FooDiva. x
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