Nothing brings people together like great food! 💛💫

Can you keep a secret?

There’s a hidden gem down on the waterfront of Dubai Creek, that has been sparking conversation everywhere. It is a Mediterranean magnificence being labeled by a few!

Here is what we are talking about 😁

The Canopy by Hilton Al Seef Hotel is situated on the banks of Dubai Creek with some of the very best views in the UAE. The hotel houses the wonderful Skafos restaurant, that has been receiving some truly remarkable reviews and has come across our radar on quite a few occasions.

Anya and I were invited to see what all the fuss was about and what a trip it was!

A little bit about Canopy by Hilton Al Seef Hotel

Canopy by Hilton is an organic, lifestyle hotel that is a growing community around the world. It has chosen a key principle in its local work, is to tie in with local schools, to bring a different style to the hospitality sector of Dubai and develop the community bonds that are making this city so great.

Our arrival to the hotel

We had a short 20-minute drive, that becomes a hard trip to make when the views from every angle of the windscreen, literally makes it such a chore to focus on the road. We had to avoid playing bumper cars with the rest of the traffic on a few occasions.

Once we arrived at the hotel, we were welcomed by the most hospitable staff who did everything from valeting our car, taking our luggage off our hands, taking us through check us in and then making us feel right at home by showing us to our room. The welcome has to be up there with one of the warmest in Dubai!

Due to this visit being in the Coronavirus pandemic, we could immediately see the level of safety procedures that were put in place to maintain our safety as well as the staff. Our temperatures were checked on arrival to the hotel and then our room door had also been sealed once it had been cleaned and sanitised by the staff. All of these safety precautions had really made us feel safe.

If you are wanting to know our room procedure, it is known as the Hilton CleanStay procedure, which is an industry-defining standard of cleanliness and disinfection.

We quickly got changed into some smarter attire and shot down to the Skafos restaurant, where we were about to eat our bodyweight in food at the brunch.

Our experience at the Al Seef Brunch, Skafos Restaurant

On heading to our table, we were welcomed and shown to our table by the incredible Catherine, who had chosen a spectacular table that once sat down, had our eyes in every direction, from: admiring the views of Dubai Creek, the aroma tempting live cooking stations and the live music, which was incredible.

The beautiful voice of the singer was Dubai famed @kary.loka. Kary was a true delight with her relaxed vibes, that brought a smile and a few known lyrics to all the diners’ mouths throughout the brunch. Anya even got her contact details for future bookings.

What also added to the cultured theme of the brunch was that it housed an art exhibition. The work was that of some magnificently talented pupils from @gemswellington whom had captured some beautiful shots of around Dubai and the UAE.

We had the pleasure of meeting Mr Hakan Erkam himself (@ecoartisthakan). He was the teacher of the students and he introduced us to some of his star students, who then shared their concepts and ideas behind their photographs 📸

Now back to the brunch!

The brunch has a Mediterranean swing to it and what a delight it is! Anya and I were whisked off our feet by the sheer quality of the starters that were both hot and cold.

An extensive menu that features popular Mediterranean starters like Gambas al Ajillo, Smoked Beef Carpaccio to mains like Tomato Moussaka to Lamb Chops served with Roasted Garlic or the enormous Tiger Prawns, and not to forget their famous House Paella, there’s ample choice for every palette and that all your friends need to know about.

For desserts, the SKAFOS master pastry chef prepared many lip-smacking dishes but the numero uno was the Crème Catalana that became extremely popular with the customers. There’s even a place where signature ice creams are served and devoured.

With our minds absolutely blown away, we had to meet the head chef and what a great guy he is! Chef Mehdi is responsible for the exquisite Paella and the running of the kitchen. We thought that we would be cheeky and ask him what the secret is behind his paella recipe, he told us fresh fish! Every morning before the restaurant opens, he heads to the local fish market before sunrise, to make sure he is the first to purchase the freshest ingredients ✨

We can’t express enough gratitude to him and his incredible team, for the spectacle that they provided to us and the other diners.

Location of Skafos restaurant

The Skafos restaurant is perched out over the Dubai Creek, which makes you feel out at sea. From this position you have the added vantage points, to enjoy the sunset whilst sipping a cold, well-deserved drink of your choice.

If you are one to enjoy a view whilst having food, this is the restaurant for you!

You are able look over the rest of the historic Dubai Creek district whilst being next to Al Seef, that caters for all needs through retail and many restaurants day and night. After the brunch, we decided to take a slow stroll through the Al Seef area, to take in the beautiful architecture and heritage of which Dubai was built from.

Out overnight stay at Canopy by Hilton Al Seef

After our stroll through the Al Seef area to help our food digest, we headed to the room and called it an early night, the reason was because we wanted to get a photoshoot in during the sunrise hours.

If you are able to wake up early and have that opportunity to witness the sunrise through the Al Seef area, then we highly recommend it!

Here is one of the shots and if you want to see more, head to our Instagram @activitytraveller

If you are looking for a new area to explore in Dubai and experience more of the UAE heritage, the Al Seef area is exactly that.

Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed our blog of the Al Seef Brunch By Skafos and the wonderful Canopy by Hilton Al Seef Hotel.

Patrick x

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