Baker and Spice, the revered organic food shop and restaurant, has just opened their third outlet in town on the Dubai Marina Promenade. The fresh and locally-grown produce used by the brand within their hearty home made dishes is long overdue for the Marina. Boasting a terrace of long wooden tables overlooking the waterfront, it’s already difficult to claim a seat at the brand’s new location. Pop inside and admire the smart open kitchen with abundant displays of home made breads, jams, tarts, cakes and enticing salads. Friendly staff are readily on hand to explain the specialities as you eagerly peruse such a feast of organic produce and dishes.
Before taking my seat at one of the heartening wooden tables, my waiter explained to me how the concept of Baker and Spice came about. The brand launched in London in 1995 by Yael Mejia who set up an artisan food shop preparing dishes made from produce she bought everyday from the market. A team of dedicated bakers would then transform Mejia’s ingredients into delicious home made dishes while always ensuring commitment to the brand’s motto of supporting local and organic farmers. The new Marina branch does exactly this with The Farmer’s Market taking place on the terrace of the restaurant every Saturday morning.
The Dubai Marina branch is much more home style in concept compared with Baker and Spice’s other locations in Souk Al Bahar and Dukkan Al Manzil and can also prepare a dish based on the ingredients you desire. I started with a series of cold salads and a Mango Banana and Ginger Smoothie. Small helpings of mouth watering roasted sweet potato, aubergine with garbanzo beans and feta cheese, fennel and home made bread. For the mains, fried prawns and a daintily prepared fish cake filled with king fish and wild bass arrived followed by well-done grilled tuna with mango salsa and my ultimate favourite, a stuffed aubergine. Then there was dessert, a divine carrot cake comparable to ones you’d find in a New York food joint and also wonderfully moist, sweet and utterly addictive Italian Amaretti cookies.
The result was filling considering the amount of indulgent home made recipes, but incredibly satisfying. Baker and Spice is the Marina’s new food treat – once you enter, you will be back many a time.
Baker & Spice is located on The Promenade in Dubai Marina, +971 43624686 www.bakerandspiceme.com
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