An upscale, undiscovered treat of a Friday afternoon…

If, like us, you’re a non-yacht owner, The Bvlgari Yacht Club probably isn’t on your radar. Blink and you’d miss it, it’s found on its own island next to the Four Seasons Jumeirah. But it’s well worth seeking out, especially for their Friday brunch, which runs each week from 1pm to 4pm.

A pro tip for those heading to Bvlgari Yacht Club for their recently relaunched Friday brunch: pool access starts from 10am, so head down early and bag yourself a poolside cabana for an hour or two of tan-topping before your brunch begins.

The pool is expansive, and surrounded by luxe wooden day beds each laid out with towels and iced water to keep guests cool, and you can leave your things there while you head up to brunch, and then return after, which is a nice touch.

At 1pm, guests begin to migrate upstairs to the first floor restaurant, which is just as breathtaking as the perfectly manicured pool. Inside boasts upscale nautical decor, while tables on the terrace gaze out to the marina and wow-worthy yachts berthed there.

It’s a four-course menu, which kicks off with ‘Benvenuto’. As well as an oyster each, we’re served course miniature servings of tuna tartare, beetroot cured salmon and creamy cod served on a black crouton. It’s a light way to kick things off, and we enjoy each bite.

The antipasti course comes next, and while on our previous visit we found the portions overwhelming, this time they’re just right. A smoked mushroom arancini ball is delicious, as is the buffalo mozzarella caprese salad. The barley salad is less impressive, and lacks flavour despite being served with parmesan shaving and basil pesto.

In total, we’re served four dishes for mains, and in hindsight we wish we’d asked them to bring only three. While the eggplant parmigiana is presented as a small individual serving to each diner, the other three mains are each generous portions. The seafood ‘scialatielli’ pasta is exceptional, fresh seafood, al dente pasta and fresh tomato simply seasoned, while the stuffed squid and grilled lobster arrive plated together with a side of spicy broccolini. It’s another fresh, flavourful main course, that shows the kitchen doesn’t scrimp on quality, despite brunch being pretty busy.

The beetroot and gorgonzola cheese risotto is the only dish we don’t enjoy. Though we put much of this down to personal taste, the gorgonzola is overpowering, and the risotto rice is a little overcooked.

A dessert platter, which we delight in taking to enjoy poolside, is a perfectly presented trio of tiramisu, lemon tart and raspberry panna cotta mirror the same high-quality as mains, and finish our foodie afternoon on a delightfully sweet note.

Bvlgari Yacht Club, Bvlgari Resort, Jumeirah Bay, 1pm to 4pm, Fridays, Dhs350 soft, Dhs550 house, Dhs800 premium. Tel: (04) 777 5555. bulgarihotels.com

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