Review: Lowe at KOA Canvas
What’s the lowdown on Lowe?
Unless you live or work in KOA Canvas, a cutting-edge development near Al Barari, you’re not just going to happen upon Lowe. This sleek new eatery takes some seeking – but those who do make the drive to Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens are in for a treat. Helmed by chefs Jesse Blake and Kate Christou, who came up through the kitchen ranks in Australia and New Zealand, this all-day restaurant is a rare beast for Dubai: a laid-back ambience with whip-smart service, and a menu that’s accomplished, but still deliciously approachable.
Decked out in honey-toned timbers, polished concrete and pops of greenery, the stylish dining room centres on a curvaceous bar pouring house-brewed kombucha and knockout mocktails, and an open kitchen, where chefs work the charcoal grill, rotisserie and woodfired oven.
Jesse and Kate met while working at Melbourne dining icon Cumulus Inc., and that seasonal, produce-driven approach is writ large across their sharing menu. Gather as many of your pals as you can for the trip to Lowe, because you’re going to want to taste it all. To start, there’s smoky, velvet-smooth whipped aubergine to pile onto hot puffs of pita (Dhs21); chargrilled Omani prawns dusted with the gentle heat of Espelette pepper (Dhs78); and the deep umami funk of local clams tossed with ozro pasta, lamb belly and XO sauce (Dhs62).
Next, order a cleansing salad of crisp, pleasingly bitter endive leaves to swipe through miso and sunflower cream (Dhs49), before sharing half a rotisserie chicken, spiced with coriander seeds and turmeric, and pepped up with a herby, pesto-like garden dressing (Dhs75).
There are other things you’ll want to come back for: a rib-eye from the dry-ageing cabinet, perhaps, or an Aussie-accented breakfast of smash avo with cured salmon. But do not, under any circumstances, leave without ordering the chocolate and sunchoke dessert (Dhs57). With its layers of feather-light mousse, sunchoke crisps, chocolate sponge and caramel laced with coffee grounds, this textural treat is a contender for the best dessert in Dubai.
KOA Canvas, Wadi Al Safa 3, daily, 7am to 11.30am (8am on weekends), 12pm to 3.30pm, 5pm to 11pm. Tel: (04) 320 1890. lowe-dubai.com
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