An unusual bazaar in the maze of DIFC (plus, we have a great deal for you – scroll down for info on that…)

Let’s get one thing straight: It’s pronounced bazaar – like a marketplace. But instead of alleyways of souvenir stalls, Bazxar claims it’s a food market. Well, a ‘food-market-restaurant-wine-bar’ to be precise. Whatever that means.

Despite its catch-all tagline, Bazxar has certainly managed to break up its DIFC space into four individual areas: a bar, a Vietnamese casual hangout, a deli and a dining room. The last one features canary yellow booths, marble tabletops, 3D artwork and a huge olive tree centrepiece – strangely, it works.

Peel your eyes away from the surroundings and you’ll find a really appealing menu with dishes spanning the culinary globe. There are Asian cold noodle dishes, Italian orzo risotto, glacier sea bass and New York strip loin.

The pull-apart bread with Neal’s Yard cheddar (Dhs58) looked like a humble entrée but turned into a standout moment of 2016. Why? Because of the accompanying pot of chicken skin butter. Just one whiff of the contents of that handsome porcelain vessel was like chowing down on a traditional English roast dinner. Equally delicious was the foie gras pb&j (Dhs67), which arrived stacked on top of crisped bread and topped with roasted peanuts and dried fig jam. The combination of rich, sweet and crunchy was achieved to perfection.

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bazxar

The branzino from the charcoal-fired grill (Dhs98) was a monstrous butterflied sea bass that tasted great with spoonfuls of puttanesca – a southern Italian blend of tomatoes, olive oil, anchovies, olives, capers and garlic. The 30-day dry-aged New York strip on-the-bone (Dhs160), served on a chopping board, was disappointingly chewy and the side slug of crispy fat was far from appealing.

As interesting as the savoury dishes were, the Flowers And Clouds (Dhs62) dessert with lavender sherbet is the thing you’ll be talking about on the way home – but perhaps not for the right reasons. Resembling a Christmas snow scene covered in a cloudy fog, the over-the-top dessert is better suited to your Instafeed than feeding you – it was far too heavy on the lavender.

Much like a traditional bazaar, there are duds and there are diamonds at this restaurant. But there are enough hidden gems on the menu to encourage us to explore a bit more.

PLUS, WE HAVE A GREAT DEAL FOR YOU…

If you subscribe to current affairs magazine The Week for a year for Dhs495 you’ll get a Dhs500 voucher to spend at Bazxar. Subscribe and 51 issues of the magazine will come direct to your door! You can subscribe here or by calling 800 MOTIVATE.

Gate precinct building 4, DIFC, Dubai, Sat to Wed 8am to 1am, Thur and Fri 8am to 2am. Tel: (04) 3551111. Metro: Financial Centre. bazxar.com

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Images: Supplied