Beachfront dining is always on everyone’s wish list as it conveys a sense of being footloose, fancy free and away from the constrictions of dress standards as well as fussy dining. After all, we all do need some good dose of Vitamin Sea sometimes especially when we are on a mini staycation. Nestled along the Gulf of Oman, with blue sky favouring this locale almost everyday throughout the year, DRiFT has the ideal middle ground location – at the beach, while not on the beach and yet you can indulge the nature by hearing the waves, seeing the water with some creature vacation comforts and unwind with the Fujairah crisp winter sea breeze.
DRiFT is a beachfront bar and grill bristromique concept restaurant right next to the resort’s main swimming pool, so it pulses with chill vibes to create a relaxing state of being.
DRiFT’s interior has the feel of a chic bistro, with wood and iron design highlights that creates a modern and chic twist industrial design motif juxtaposed with the big earth tone shade tiles to keep things quite neutral against the bright sun from outside, plus adorned with ceiling wooden fans and metal brass chic dimmable hanging lamps that offer a different mood and cozy ambience during day and night.
Al fresco dining expanded to a well laid out wooden floored terrace, shaded on the elevated area or direct Vitamin Sea of your choice that lets you hear the waves gently lap onto the beach and to enjoy the cool evening air with the spectacular mountain ranges in the background just visible in the twilight.
Outdoor aligned table settings are simpler and friendly and guaranteed all seafront facing. Quart tube pyramid patio gas heaters well allocated in proper distance to warm you up in Fujairah winter evening at the outdoor setting also adds a more romantic mood for dining.
Three sunken round lounges decorated with colorful plush cushions surrounded a real fireplace that offers a relaxing corner for shisha as well as pre or post dinner drinks.
Don’t forget to look up in the dark sky with stars upon you, you may have possibly forgotten when was the last time you gazed at the stars especially for those of us who live in the all time illuminated concrete jungle way too long to appreciate that nature is there for us to embrace. It is simply another blessing to take full advantage of such opportunity arisen by doing so at DRiFT.
Rest and relax with a great menu to indulge is what you can possibly expect at DRiFT. The restaurant serves up specialities cooked on the Charcoal oven Josper grill. The menu has quite a good variety of offerings, the essentials are those selected fine seafood and some prime cuts of meat, so you could say that all tastes are catered for. Minus the fine dining setting, tabletops are simple, as they want the food to do the talking.
DRiFT interior by night
<Langoustine>
While we were deciding what to order, an amuse bouche arrived. The langoustine with green pea puree topped with blacked tapioca and Beluga caviar is simply delicious, mindfully presented and the caviar really piques the taste buds. A pleasant surprise!
<Dibba Bay Hammour Fish and Chips>
Superb presentation – a bamboo Dim Sum basket on top of a skillet with the three sizeable fillets arranged standing on end and thick fat chips nestled to the side of the basket, garnished with sliced seaweed. Hammour is a local fish from Dibba Bay, thick and meaty and perfect for this dish. The fish was well battered with carbonated soda to create the fluffy, airy and crispy texture (an old recipe yet not many get it right but DRiFT nailed it). The fish was still firm but light to the bite and came with a creamy tartare sauce dipping, plus fat chips to meet your expectations in every way. Chef has been trying very hard to impress his diners with a very generous portion to share as well as how good fish & chips should taste. This is one of the best fish & chips we have had of late and best accompanied by their signature Passionate Strawberry or Asian Mystery mocktail.
<Prawns Freekeh>
As we were eating on the coast of Oman, we thought we would spend more time sampling more seafood. Three fresh King prawns were expertly chargrilled, with a firm textured and meaty flesh served with parsley and garlic, mushroom freekeh (a cereal food made from green durum wheat, roasted and rubbed to create its flavour) and Zattar potato. We were expecting extra-large prawns as its name suggested but slightly to our dismay smaller, and yet still sizeable as we were told the local King prawns are not as large as some other regions. Do make good contact with the Chef as you may get an extra prawn on the serving if that is your lucky day!
<Grilled Seabass>
When catch of the day was being recommended, the grilled seabass was ordered and arrived to the table with another pleasant surprise. The jumbo seabass was lightly grilled to perfection – very meaty, juicy, well-seasoned and no sauce is needed to enjoy the taste on its own. Well presented and superb in taste and this is exactly how fish should be handled and prepared, and the kitchen has handled this with full marks.
<Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb>
If seafood is not your thing, a good quality premium cut of meat on DRiFT’s menu would be your next best alternative. On reading the menu, you would have probably thought a normal size portion, but somehow it was quite a meaty rack of lamb served and seemed a lot more than the mentioned 250gram weight. We asked it to be cooked pink and it was spot on (this was the chef’s recommendation too!). The Australia rack of lamb was juicy, tender and simple and beautifully presented, it came along with slow cooked green peas in Maldon salt. It was clear that the quality of the meat was important and really stood out – Perfection!
<DRiFT Forest>
Tried
& Tested:
Location:
4.5/5
Design
& Decor: 4/5
Food
& Beverage: 4.5/5
Service:
4.5/5
Value
For Money: 4.5/5
Experience: 4.5/5
InterContinental Fujairah Resort
Al Aqah Beach, Dibba Road,
Fujairah, United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971 9 2099 999
Reviews are based on actual day of visit and experience. mylifestylenews reserves the right of final decision in case of any disputes. All images are photographed by mylifestylenews team without any photoshop enhancement and are the property owned by mylifestylenews unless otherwise stated.
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