You know sometimes you go to a restaurant and just cant stop talking about it or thinking about the food you’ve tried, that is pretty much the case with my visit to the sparkling Intercontinental Dubai Marina’s new restaurant Marina Social. Gordon Ramsay’s former protégé, Jason Atherton and Marina Social chef patron Tristin Farmer (formerly of Pollen Street Social and maze) have created a contemporary menu drawing inspiration from the Mediterranean, with dishes designed to be shared.

This new hotspot with a British- Med inspired menu is definitely my new favourite hangout these days. Expect unique dishes, creativity at its best, trollies serving champagne and marshmallows, a superb dessert bar, an incredible meal, good music, tapas style dishes that are served from an open kitchen and a stunning view. If you still haven’t paid a visit to this new spot, you’re definitely missing out on something.

Name: Marina Social

Location: Intercontinental Dubai Marina

Cuisine: British- Mediterranean

Ideal for: A fun gourmet dining experience

What I tried:
The drinks we tried at Ginter were as follows:

Gin mare: Fresh basil with rosemary and a fresh lime wedge- so refreshing!

Edgerton pink : Blueberry infused ice, fresh blueberries and raspberry- this was my favourite.

Ophir Spiced: Grapefruit infused ice, cinnamon sticks, fresh juniper and grapefruit wedge- a little strong for me.

Marina Social:
-English Breakfast Tea & Toast Mushroom: Think mushroom tea in a pot with creamy parmesan milk in cups served with homemade sour dough bread and bone marrow butter, so creative and too flavourful. A must try! (Dhs30 per person)

-Italian Beef Tomato Buratta: At first you might think of it as a normal tomato glazed in balsamic but once you cut through you will realize that the little treasure is actually hidden inside. It’s a fun dish and so fresh too. Try it with the tomato salt served on the side (Dhs 90)

-Foie Gras and duck confit terrine with black fig jam and toasted hazelnuts. If you’re a fan of foie gras you will love this one! (Dhs 90)

-Whole smoked Boston lobster served with warm potato salad, baby gem and choron sauce. Loved the smokey flavor of the lobster. It was accompanied by a warm potato salad with lobster tempura, a dish great by itself too. (Dhs 300)

-200gm Black Onyx beef tenderloin cooked to perfection, confit garlic, pomme puree and served with peppercorn sauce (Dhs300)

-Rhubarb and custard soufflé: The best part about this dessert is it that you can add as much custard as you like! (Dhs80)

– Clementine marmalade on Toast: My favourite dessert! Looks like an orange on the plate but when you cut throught and take a bite with the marmalade its simply delicious. (Dhs 55)

-Black Forest with a twist. It’s served as an ice-cream in a cone.

-Social sweets from the trolley

My experience:
– If you want to start your night I recommend trying a few drinks at Ginter and then moving to Marina Social. Not usually a gin drinker, after trying these I was so impressed. They were so good!

-Loved the ambience of Marina Social. The interior is sophisticated, modern with little touches of green, dim lights, an open kitchen and incredible views of the sparkling marina.

-I love the fact that they have their very own dessert bar. You can just hop on there and complete your last course and the guests can interact with the Chefs too.

-The concept of service trollies offering marshmallows, cigars, teas and bubbly is very cool. Loved the old vintage tins that they were served from!

-Even though it’s a fine dining restaurant, it a fun place where you don’t have to sit uptight and talk softly. It is indeed very social!

-So much attention has been paid to details, like the contrasting colours of the plates with the skull design.

-The food was visually appealing, perfectly executed and and oh so creative.

-I’ve been here several times and its always buzzing, so I highly recommend reserving a table in advance especially if you want to sit outdoors.

Service: The most friendly staff ever! They just make you feel so comfortable and will always serve you with a smile. Also the staff was kind enough to pack some marshmallows from the sweets trolley since I was too stuffed to have it then. How sweet is that!

Bill: Amount mentioned next to the dishes ordered.

Contact: 044466664/ www.marinasocialdubai.com/ reservations@marinasocialdubai.com

Marina social has definitely set the bar high for me. Dining has never been so much fun!

 

 

 

Edgerton pink- My favorite Gin based drink

My cocktail at Marina Social

English Breakfast Tea & Toast

Foie Gras and duck confit terrine, black fig jam, toasted hazelnuts

Italian Beef Tomato Buratta

Black Onyx beef tenderloin

Whole Smoked Boston Lobster served with Warm Potato Salad

Black Forest Ice Cream

Clementine marmalade on Toast

Rhubarb and custard soufflé

Serving happiness!

 

A little bit about Jason Atherton

Jason Atherton started out working alongside great chefs including Pierre Koffmann, Marco Pierre White, Nico Ladenis and Ferran Adria at el Bulli, before joining the Gordon Ramsay Group in 2001. After launching ‘Maze’ in London and overseeing the opening of five more ‘Maze’ restaurants globally, Jason left Gordon Ramsay Holdings to launch his own restaurant group, The Social Company. His flagship restaurant ‘Pollen Street Social’ opened in April 2011 in Mayfair and was awarded a coveted Michelin star within just six months of opening. It has been awarded 4 AA Rosettes by the AA Guide, named The Good Food Guide’s ‘Best New Restaurant’ and hailed the fourth best restaurant in the UK. He has opened 17 restaurants in the last 5 years. Jason was awarded ‘Chef Of The Year’ by ‘Caterer and Hotelkeeper’, which for a chef, Jason has likened to winning an Oscar.

Tristin Farmer

Born in Kirkcaldy on the east coast of Scotland, Tristin has worked at the historic Peat Inn as an apprentice for 4 years and then had the opportunity to work for Andrew Fairlie at the two Michelin star restaurant in Gleneagles Hotel. In 2007, his passion for fine food took him to London where he worked at Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, starting as Chef De Partie and later was promoted to Sous Chef within three years. In 2010, he moved to Petrus as Senior Sous Chef, for the restaurant re-launch, helping them to win a Michelin star within a year. Later that year he joined the team as Sous Chef at the prestigious three Michelin star Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea. In 2011 Tristin became the Head Chef at Maze by Gordon Ramsay where he led his team of chefs for three years. After leaving Gordon Ramsay Holdings in 2014, Tristin joined Jason Atherton`s The Social Company, working at Pollen Street Social, City Social in London and the pre-opening of Aberdeen Street Social in Hong Kong, before taking the role as Chef Patron of Marina Social Dubai.