Prepare for a sunny Friday brunch, a brilliant live band and all the BBQ bites you can eat…

If we were to describe the classic great Dubai brunch, it would need to check the following boxes: several indoor and outdoor cooking stations, tasty cocktails, great service, energetic alfresco vibes and a fantastic live band. Spoiler alert: Brasserie 2.0 at Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa fits the criteria perfectly.

Of course, the Brasserie 2.0 brunch has been up and running for a couple of years now, and is already a very popular Friday brunch having had time to perfect its offerings. But slightly ahead of the New Year, the brunch has rebranded, made a few additions to the food options, and been given a colourful face lift.

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Inspired by Le Meridien’s European heritage and the allure of the Côte d’Azure, the newly-named Au Soleil Brunch embraces the sunshine in every aspect. Staff are dressed in yellow shirts and dresses, flowers drape over perfectly-positioned Vespas, and white and golden ribbons flutter in the breeze above the delightfully happy live band.

The great thing about this brunch is that it’s always busy, so a fun and lively atmosphere is pretty much guaranteed – that’s especially important when you’re looking for a brunch to impress out-of-towners.

Drinks are either served to your table, or you can go and hunt down fun concoctions being prepared outside.

Food options are, as you’d expect, vast. Ask your waiter nicely and he’ll go ahead and build a BBQ platter for you complete with cooked seafood, charred meat or a combination of both, and bring them to your table, while you mosey around the indoor stations choosing between sushi, tacos, a full roast dinner, Indian, pasta – or a mighty, messy mash up of the lot.

As the afternoon progresses, the live band amp up the tunes (Tina Turner and Abba hits were personal highlights), and before long, a conga line of overjoyed brunch revelers is snaking around the tables.

It’s all-round smiles, sunshine and sizzling barbecues at Au Soleil Brunch. Just the ticket for a perfect Friday.

Brasserie 2.0, Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa, Friday 1.30pm to 4.40pm, Dhs450 with soft drinks, Dhs595 with house drinks and sparkling, Dhs795 with champagne, Dhs225 for children five to 12 years. Tel: (04) 3165550. facebook.com/brasserie2point0

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Images: Supplied