Downtown Cafe (DTC) got me really excited and curious at the same time when an invitation to try them out was sent to my email. With its namesake, I initially thought that a Burj Khalifa view or a Downtown Dubai view might be part of what the restaurant has to offer.

Have you been to Ravioli & Co.?  It's located in Burj Daman in DIFC. They serve authentic Italian dishes. Mark and I got to try it out a couple of weekends back.

Met with Cat and his fiancé, Zack, last Saturday. Finally got to carry out our much needed catching up after 6 months! Yay! Talk about being busy. :p

Birthdays won't be complete without cakes and ice creams, right? And because it was a lucky coincidence that I got an invite to try out Morelli's Gelato in time for my birthday, we intentionally didn't order desserts during my birthday lunch to make room for Morelli's! :D

Whenever I think of Italian restaurants, two things always come to mind. One having an elegant and chic ambience and most of the time intimidating too, and another having that traditional old school Italian vibe with mostly bricks and wooden fixtures.

Just when you think that Iftar always has to be an Arabic dinner, Eataly has created a special menu for breaking your fast during Ramadan with an Italian twist . Cherry and I were invited to grace the Iftar preview in Eataly at the Dubai Mall a few weeks back.

We were served with breads and a glass of Jallab while waiting for our orders to be served. As I've read and as what Mark has also been telling me, fasting during Ramadan is usually broken by eating dates first, so I thought having it in a form of a drink was a brilliant idea.

A few days after I got my first invite for a restaurant review, I received an email for another one. And because I already confirmed for the weekend with the first invite, I decided to confirm my presence for the second invite for the following weekend.

And so last Friday, January 9, Mark and I got to have a taste of Italy at Eataly in Dubai! :)


After confirming with the staff at the reception near the entrance, we were welcomed by Mr. Louay Moursel, the F&B Manager, who also ushered us to our seats. We were seated at the far end of the restaurant which gave us an ample view of the place.
Unlike in our first invite, in Cinnamon Restaurant, where we just waited to be served with our food, we were given the liberty to order what we want here at Eataly. And because it was our first time to try Eataly out, choosing what to have was actually a struggle, in a good way, because everything in the menu was inviting. Good thing Santosh, the staff who took care of our orders, was kind enough to answer our queries. He even suggested that we try out their specialties for drinks, appetizers, main dishes, and desserts, to which we obliged.