Tasca restores joy in Dubai's brunches
It took the Portuguese, a birthday and a slather of sophistication to Make Brunch Great Again.
I could blame my abstinence from Dubai’s brunch scene on a newborn or the pregnancy that led to him (my wife’s pregnancy, not mine), but the truth is most brunches bore me rigid, and I enjoy food far too much to endure its lacklustre trappings.
For the uninitiated, a “Dubai brunch” disavows quaint notions of poached eggs and hollandaise in favour of breathless displays of quantity over quality that would make Bacchus choke.
In researching this piece, I thought Zuma was my last brunch—a retina-piercingly expensive affair inside a venue that could be mistaken for a Qatar Airways lounge in the mid-90s (and people say daylight is the best disinfectant).
It turns out that Josette was my last brunch just over a year ago. There was nothing wrong with Josette’s brunch, but I couldn’t muster any excitement about it. I did not write about it because there was little to say. My enduring memory is that it’s all rather pink, like Piazza Duomo (but not as good, except for the crème brûlée which was sublime) and—here’s the rub—I *curls toes* cannot stand dinner and a show. Live renditions of Edith Piaf inflict an Ozempic-effect on my appetite.
Dubai’s brunches are either party or pricey, with little in between. For the record, I enjoyed Zuma (super pricey); before that was my beloved Alici—back in 2020, when COVID felt like a small price to pay for four hours on its sun-drenched terrace.
Today, a friend’s birthday lingers, and the short story is that Tasca stood out on a short list of threats venues.
Why?
My brunchophile friend Sarah waxes lyrical about Tasca. A Mandarin Oriental address is an endorsement of sorts. It has 1 Michelin Star—no bad thing. Then there’s Chef Jose Avillez, and no matter how many times I’ve met Jose (the poster boy for modern Portuguese fine dining) or stomped around Lisbon, I have never stepped foot in any of his restaurants, including his two Michelin starred Belcanto.
Head Chef Jose Barroso holds down Tasca, the Dubai fort of Jose Avillez’s expanding Portuguese empire. Jose challenges preconceptions about Portuguese food with skill and storytelling, or so was my impression during a collaboration with Tresind Studio.
Portuguese food is the less formal and, well, less revered cousin to what the Spanish toss around a pan just over the border. It is homely, rustic and simple; it feels accessible and sincere. If you are a stranger to Portuguese food, start with fish soups stained rust red with tomatoes. Order succulent rotisserie chicken spiked with piri piri, a Mozambican chili adopted wholeheartedly by Portugal (then commoditized by Nandos). Saunter along the River Tagus towards Belém until you smell fresh sardines kissing a hot grill and chase it down with brisk Alvariñho. March to Chiado’s Manteigaria for brilliant yellow, creamy natas encased in buttery pastry. I like mine dusted with cinnamon.
Tasca’s brunch, how is it?
Tasca’s brunch manages to thread a few difficult needles. This is Portuguese food primped for a discerning Dubai audience. The 13-dish brunch menu features a cherry gazpacho with lime foam, blushing garlic prawns that you won’t want to share and a tempura cod cake as homage to Portugal’s love affair with all things salted cod. Grilled slivers of Portuguese chorizo are buttressed by a pale spicy emulsion. Planks of charred garlic bread land in case filler is your thing.
Mid-munch, I look around a restaurant of a mostly thirty-something-plus crowd decked in Massimo Dutti, summer dresses and heels. Like Alici, it’s all quite civilized. No DJ demanding I put my hands up (although the live singer rang a little Carnival cruises at times). No frozen slushies masquerading as daiquiris. No ma’am sirs. Just tables of cold Pé Branco, red sangria and Funchal, an elixir of vodka and passion fruit—one of the seven cocktails available on the brunch menu.
Wagyu piranha with that Brazilian miracle, feijoada, and garlic rice arrives with an Algarve tomato salad that reminds me of last month’s summer with my parents. There’s charcoal grilled sea bass dribbled in herb oil for Ms EatGoSee who does not eat red meat.
Tasca guilds the lily enough to feel special without being over the top. It’s bring-my-40-something-friend-for-his-birthday good, not propose-to-your-partner good. Go to Ossiano for that.
We finish with a shot of Lisboan Ginjinha, a sour cherry liqueur, a lush, rich pastel de nata that cracks and oozes, together with a bowl of olive oil pudding with strawberry sorbet. It’s as perfect an end as you can hope for at brunch. (Plus espresso martinis.)
Tasca, would I return?
Price-wise, Tasca punches at AED 550 per person, which means AED1100 for a couple before taxis (and baby sitters). It seems the good brunches cost that these days. It is AED750 for the champagne package, but candidly I don’t think you need it. (Sorry Jose duo).
Yet, Tasca’s brunch offers good value especially once you scan the a la carte menu where prices spike, as expected in a licensed, Mandarin Oriental-hosted restaurant by a famous international chef with 1 Michelin star here (and more abroad).
Yet, rarely does a brunch make me want to come back for the a la carte, and Tasca achieves that. The generous crab Cascais sings of sweet crab meat and caviar’s salinity (AED 135) and the milk-fed veal cheeks make me want to change my Instagram name to just that (AED 230).
Tasca, who should come here?
People who come to brunch for the food. Portuguese food lovers (or the Port-curious) that want a taste of it, but a refine version. Diners outside of their twenties looking who want to eat well and drink enough without going overboard. Anyone prepared to pay for a special brunch.
I was comp’d brunch at Tasca—unbeknownst to me at the time—because someone on our table arranged it with a PR. I went with the full expectation of paying, and gladly paid for it I would. However, it’s important to me that you know what happens ‘behind the scenes’ so I share this in full disclosure.
Liam Collens writes for various publications in the Middle East and Europe. You can subscribe to Liam Collens on Substack or follow Liam on Instagram, Threads or Facebook.
I haven't indulged keenly in a brunch in years. But this looks quite fun. Would you be interested in going to the restaurant when not brunching?
This sounds amazing, haven't been to a brunch in a while (I can't remember what the last one was either). I'd only been to Tasca when it opened, but this might be a great way to return. Thank you!