A contemporary Italian restaurant in the Jumeirah Islands Clubhouse has a lot to offer customers of all ages and taste. Bask in the sun, enjoy the pool and end the day with an incredible meal – the perfect holiday while still in the city! Isola Ristorante has it all!
With the Dubai version of winter being around the corner, we will try to inform you about the best options out there for al-fresco dining, staycations, or pool days or family days. With that end in mind, Ipshita Sharma heads to the gorgeous Jumeirah Islands community to check out Isola restaurant’s weekend offer of a pool day plus lunch.
Driving past the green community roads, there’s a sense of well-being that’s given that extra little push by the sound of an actual bubbling brook at the beginning of the clubhouse bridge. This charming little bridge is surrounded by beautiful villas and mansions and you feel transported from the chaos of everyday Dubai.
Once you enter the clubhouse, the pool area dominates your view until you turn around and find yourself ushered into a gorgeously laid out poolhouse that is actually the restaurant Isola. The ambience is relaxed and the music, while loud, is not obnoxious. There’s a fair few families around and quite a few celebrations that happen while we’re around.
This however has no effect on the service that remains fantastic, fast and cheery through it all. This licensed venue has a great wine list and a large range of aperitivos to choose from but we were ready to get our food on! The food menu is also comprehensive, with a contemporary Italian heart at its core. The antipasti has something for everyone and we settle on the Carpaccio di branzino or seabass carpaccio and everyone’s favourite parmigiana di melanzane or eggplant parmesan.
The seabass was light and ethereal and the subtle slices of olives and sun-dried tomato gave it just the right accompaniment. The eggplant parmesan was rustic and comfortable and felt like a warm hug on the inside. The flavours were spot on thanks to the tomatoes having been cooked perfectly.
L’insalata di soncino or goats cheese and beetroot was the star of the salad course. The cheese was just creamy enough to balance the sweetness of the beet. The abundance of flavours in these appetisers should given us a good idea of what to expect from the Secondi…
We chose the tagliolini neri piccanti con branzino or the squid ink taglioni with seabass and the Polpo grigliato or the grilled octopus. These dishes were just sublime. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the fish went along with it like a match made in heaven. The octopus was beyond amazing. Grilled just right, the octopus was melt-in-the-mouth fantastic.
With no space left for dessert, we opted for espressos and they were just what we needed to keep us from going into food comas! With this perfect ending, we headed out to the pool to relax and spend the day splashing around.
Good: The food is incredible and it is contemporary Italian cuisine at its best.
Bad: Prices are slightly restrictive.
Trendy: There are various pool day packages available for families and other groups.