Something for the Weekend #16
August hopscotched between Kerala, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I’m back in Italy next weekend. I might have some writer’s block? Plus headlines.
Our host’s hug was warmed with our gratitude, then felt bittersweet as we let go to say goodbye.
Kerala was not exactly the trip I anticipated (SFTW #15 for more). Yet, if you find yourself in the Kannur / Thalassery area (I’m not sure how), you should look into The Heritage 1866, a sprawling family-owned property with a warm, inviting team that not only took exceptional care of us, but laid out a banquet of Kerala cuisine over six days and nights.
As usual, India was a kaleidoscope: brilliant saris and the lush greenery and backwaters synonymous with Kerala; the waft of heady spices pouring out of makeshift shacks frying things in batter dancing across shimmering oil then, behind me, the blast of horns from passing tuk-tuks.
My head bursts with things to write about, but there is a catch.
The words don’t come easy to me like they did.
I blame myself for not slipping it on like a well-worn shoe. Much of 2025 was spent on work deals. I want to be inspired again. I need to put my back into it.
Quite a few subscribers are also writers with full-time jobs (and thank you very much for subscribing). How do you do this? What is your process? How do you manage? How do you find the time to eat, write, edit, edit photos, proof, and publish? Advice please!
The Great Excavation.
Four years after buying a money-suck of a house, we will finally break ground with renovations. This is why I am working from Italy for half of September.
“Daunted” inadequately captures the heart-racing sensation that courses through me, not to mention the laxative effect on my savings. *spits macchiato* Sorry, window frames and shutters cost WHAT?!
To set the scene, we bought a 120-year-old villa in Monferrato in 2022. Monferrato was always Plan B. A holiday home that could become home one day.
There are picturesque, pastoral views with glimmers of vineyards and centuries-old towns seemingly carved into the hillsides.
The old family left behind Italian Art Deco-style furniture. Some walls are coated in original frescoes.
It’s our dream, but also a nightmare.
Shortly after signing the paperwork, our old architects ghosted us, then Plan A kicked into high gear, shelving Plan B in order to finance rounds of IVF. We fell pregnant in 2022 (hello, Rufus!), causing us to re-prioritise buying a home in Dubai. We then renovated said Dubai house multiple times because my wonderful, small business owner, renovator and interior designer wife cannot help herself and leave things alone saw the potential and brought it to life.
Our new architect and geometra kick things off with “Phase I”, which will take 9-10 months. Hmm, this betting man heard one whole year, especially once the inevitable unknown unknowns reveal themselves fully.
Either way, I will use this medium as a place to commiserate and celebrate, but my fingers are tightly crossed for the latter.
Less is more, says Prue.
The Times reports that Prue Leith had a gutful of verbose menus and service seliloquies. Everyone gets a swipe as she seeks salvation from prosaic fine dining diatribes harping on about provenance, sustainability and concepts.
Even her local gastropub was caught in her sniper scope as she ordered “sustainability-certified North Sea halibut loin, coated in tempura-style batter made from Hook Norton Ironstone lager and Billy’s free-range organic eggs, served with locally grown Maris Piper potatoes, triple-fried in Cotswold Gold corn oil”. Aka, fish and chips.
Now, I understand why pubs name-drop this way. It signals to locals (who care) about ingredient sourcing (perhaps supporting the local economy) and, of course, for those inspectors and judges tickled by such things. Personally, I prefer this to menus drafted up like telegrams “Hake | Spinach | Espelette | Lavender”.
Yet, I wager most agree with Prue (some are my family), but the reality is nuanced.
In my view, the service should ‘read the room’ and ascertain whether a solo diner wants an all-night tantric romance or to get in and out in one hour. The best teams will read you like a book.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal Dubai issues tarot-styled dining cards to signal you want to be left TF alone or receptive to an immersive, full chapter and verse experience from the pentacles on the ceiling to the dry-aged turbot’s true intentions with the dill oil.
Dining cards won’t work everywhere, but dix points for effort. In the meantime, maybe service teams could ask their diners somewhere after the “still or sparkling” and before the allergies enquiries, and, oh, you should disclose your allergies, right Dan O'Regan?
MOOD.
Eat.
Piehaus in Alserkal Avenue opened with a bang and not a whisper. The good people behind one of my favourites, 21grams, bring us buttery, flaky phyllo as a base, topped like a flatbread with everything from spicy potato harissa to chicken gyros to even sweet dessert offerings. Salads, tzatziki, burnt aubergine hummus, and more are also available.
Cold brew coffee is becoming head-scratching expensive in Dubai. Where 42 dirhams stunned me, I was floored by another restaurant selling (what looked like a smaller glass, not sure) for 45 dirhams. To be clear, these were not the last beans in the Middle East and none of them were excreted through some weasel. That’s $12, £9 or €11, more or less.
A word about Gerbou, a place mentioned before in SFTW. Having visited the supper club teaser, I then slipped in for breakfast a couple of months ago, but this was my first sit-down lunch here, with Sanjay Varman and co.
Overall, quite enjoyable.
Most dishes were not only approved but inhaled: the mezze board, lamb bayladi and the Bahraini loomi kebab. We even ordered dessert despite edging close to gastric collapse: a modern honey cake, nothing like the beloved Spinneys version and a coconut creme brûlée with palate-cleansing curls of pineapple carpaccio. Those highlights offset the lowlights (a non-plus pumpkin burrata, an arguably salty chicken salona), but while waddling out of Gerbou, I ask: when am I coming back here?
Location is my headwind. Nad Al Sheba? I don’t know her. I have no reason to be in this part of town, which puts Gerbou in high bar territory. It means I am driving passed other closer restaurants that I also know and love.
Some doubted Gerbou’s authenticity. Personally, I find that a reductive and boring conversation. (Easy for me to say when I’m not Emirati or Khaleeji, perhaps.)
Why? Progressive dining is disloyal to authenticity. It intentionally turns the page. It moves the culture forward.
I am more interested in asking whether Gerbou is audacious enough. What else is in the tank? What didn’t make it to the menu? Is there a radical 6-8-course tasting menu that inspires a new era of Khaleeji cuisine? I would drive quite far for that, and I could drive back because Gerbou is unlicensed.
Today, Gerbou’s chef Ionel Catau cooks with skill, yielding the kind of hushed nom-nom approval that slinked our table into a silence of satiated approval. I liked what I ate. The whole table did. I would eat more, but I just don’t know when. Maybe winter.
Write.
As for many, August was a quieter month for writing. I published Eat Like a Local in Cairo, which people ate up on Instagram. This was a follow-up to my Cairo Food Week article. Gentle reminder: CFW 2025 kicks off again next month!
The Lighthouse floated towards the middle of my choice of restaurants in Dubai Hills. The incomparable Matt Broderick kindly-penned words about the Rosewood Abu Dhabi for EatGoSee’s A Look Inside series.
I spent last weekend in Abu Dhabi at the W Abu Yas Island, more on that soon.
August’s Top Substack Reads.
As someone with a foot in two worlds, the two stages of mastery for those with many passions by Joel Uili was a fascinating read.
A fun read about the death of lunch and worshipping false farm gods by Normal London Bloke
A dissertation on the current state of criticism by Rebecca Thimmesch
Calling time on (poor) Best Of lists by Dan O'Regan
Flavio’s stories about his wife discovering Italian food dish by dish had a certain nostalgic ‘passing through the generations’ quality, by Flavio Massignan
The Usuals.
You can find out more about me here, together with my Substack page. My Dubai Restaurant Guide is here. There’s one specifically for Dubai’s best breakfast spots and a deeper dive on the best spots in Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Dubai Hills (a Dubai dining IYKYK hotspot).
Liam is a restaurant critic, food and travel writer based in the Middle East. He owns EatGoSee and contributes to other publications. You can find Liam on Substack, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky or Facebook.
Just catching up with this one! I loved Piehaus - such a lovely experience. As for Gerbou, I do love what they’re doing and Ionel is lovely. Gerbou also never claimed to offer traditional Emirati food, and the flavours are all wonderfully there. I do want to shout out their design and the details they’ve thought about, including repurposing fallen ghaf trees.
As for writing, it’s SO hard - especially when life and (paying) work gets in the way. I struggle further as I write for a living, so sometimes writing for fun is … not fun. I’ve just tried to be kind to myself. Recently I’ve started dictating my posts so the words are all transcribed, then I sit and edit… that’s actually helped me quite a bit!
Thanks for the double mention Liam!
In response to your question of time in regard to writing and working full time. The simple trick is to have cripplingly unhealthy approach to work-life balance (I drafted an article in my break on a 14 hour double shift yesterday).
I also don’t have kids, which I suspect helps immeasurably.
And yes, always declare your allergies (especially the guy to came to my French restaurant yesterday with an undisclosed dairy allergy).