Yes, what was originally to be called the Burj Dubai has featured heavily in recent promotions surrounding the latest Tom Cruise action flick Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, since some so-called death-defying stunts were filmed with Mr Cruise hanging off the top of the tower for some inexplicable reason.

The production company probably didn’t have any financial incentive whatsoever that influenced their decision to incorporate this building into the plot in some way.

The tower itself cost over £1 billion and had its name changed after Abu Dhabi’s President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan came to the aid of Dubai, when it was hit by the global financial crisis. Naturally, this assistance came with quite a few conditions and one of those was that the world’s tallest building be instead named after the Sheikh who had just bailed it out.

The restaurant is 122 floors up

But back to the restaurant. The menu hasn’t changed very much in the 12 months that it’s been open and one of the first things you’ll notice is that the sky-high view is matched only by the equally sky-high prices.

Grill bookings are subject to a minimum spend of AED350 (£60) per person for lunch and AED500 (£87) per person for dinner. But trust us when we say you won’t have any problem with this.

The décor inside is tastefully designed with a glass and mahogany theme in both the lounge and grille and just over 200 covers in total. However, actually getting to the restaurant requires a titanic effort.

Like much of the Dubai, the surrounding area is still something of a construction site. That, coupled with Dubai’s signature badly-signposted tangled mess of freeways and flyovers that whisk you miles away in the opposite direction should you accidentally take a wrong turn, make actually getting to the Burj Khalifa extremely frustrating.

The view from the North-Eastern corner with the emirate of Sharjah in the distance

It doesn’t end there. Once you’ve actually parked – more than likely in one of the many neighbouring hotels – you still have to get to the actual building. One must first walk through the Downtown district to the Dubai Mall, then through the Mall, then you’ll need to work your way through the crowds that have amassed to visit the observation deck…then you need to take a dedicated exit, then walk outside to the Armani Hotel entrance on the ground floor of the Burj Khalifa, then take a lift about two floors up and then you can finally get into an express elevator that will take you up to the 123rd floor, where you walk down a gentle winding stair case to arrive at the 122nd floor and the reception for the restaurant.

Once you’re finally sitting down you can then pay £22 for a large gin and tonic.

The very best views, ultimately those that face North-West out across the Arabian Gulf, are reserved for private function rooms, otherwise the best view is the North-Eastern corner that overlooks the top end of Sheikh Zayad Road, the Dubai Creek, Port Rashid and Sharjah. Otherwise you’re just facing a lot of mostly empty desert.

The view South-West, looking back down the Sheikh Zayad Road towards Abu Dhabi and incorporating the Burj Al Arab and what’s left of the doomed World project is taken by the other side of the restaurant in the lounge area.

The website also stresses a dress code of “dinner jackets and smart jeans with closed shoes” for men and “semi-formal or cocktail dress” for ladies, but we saw none of this. Which was a shame. It basically translates to no shorts, no sandals. And no children under the age of 10, which one would expect in an establishment of such high reputed esteem.

The lounge dining area of the restaurant with just under 100 covers

The service was, for the most part, excellent. The headwaiter was French and the menu itself had undeniable French flavour to it.

The menu we chose from was titled the winter menu. The one that appeared on the website at this time was apparently the autumn menu. When we spoke to an official representative, they got confused when we asked why the autumn menu was online when the winter one was actually in use and ultimately couldn’t explain this oversight. There is however, not a great of difference, with only about 25% of the selection actually changing.

Travel Snitch

It’s with childlike anticipation that I enter each year never quite knowing what eye-opening food experiences, restaurant discoveries and magical ingredients will enlighten my year.

2011 has been exceptional, which is an odd thing as I’m no spring chicken and one would imagine that having seen so much already it would be tricky to be inspired. I actually think that years give us the knowledge required to become exposed to such thrills, as well as just disguising grey as distinguished.

My cooking method of the year has to be salt baking. The simplicity of egg whites and salt combined creates a crust that draws moisture, protects and adds depth of flavour. We have successfully applied this to beetroot, celeriac and other roots as well as the more traditional Sea Bass and Bream.

Food Festivals are two a penny now, but last year we strategically only participated in Pylewell Park and Jamie Oliver’s Big Feastival. Both where fantastic on all levels and we can’t wait to do it all again in 2012!

I have been watching with professional interest and admiration at the way Polpo and its siblings have opened and grown. I have eaten at most of them and I think Spuntino has to be one of my favourite places to just catch up and eat. I had a Muscavado Cheesecake there that would put most of the top ten to shame. More of the same I say.

When it comes to ingredients, there are many but my highlights would have to be the beef from the Long Horn Heifer. We selected this animal for our Beef Fortnight. It was simply the best all round beef I have cooked with. We also forged what I hope will be a long term relationship with Clarence Court; their eggs are in a different league. The foraged pears we used in September where a revelation alongside Kent cobnuts.

Most recently we started using the first Grade A mussels to be produced in English waters, sourced from the Fowey River from Flying Fish; simply incredible, consistent and so plump, and finally we began using fresh DOP mozzarella from The Ham & Cheese Company back in June and have not taken it off the menu since, I love it.

Drinks wise, wheat beers have been high on my tipple list. I have frequented The Experimental Cocktail Club and am a big fan of the ethos, drinks and mark up…but seriously, great place. I also drank at Schumann’s bar in Munich, one of THE original cocktail bars; it more than lived up to its reputation.

With the ‘Chef’s Cellar’ taking off in the way it has, I have been lucky enough to taste more serious wine this year than ever before and I had the honour of a sip of Haut Brion 1989. I’ve tasted a stonking 2004 Barolo – Roberto Voerzio, Rocche dell’Annunziata Torriglione, silky ripe red fruit with a touch of spice.

A great 2007 Cote Rotie by Jamet that I strongly recommend with roast Red Grouse (which were also great this year by the way). Last but not least- a mineral and delicate 2004 Meursault-Blagny from Domaine Matrot; that happens to be the birth year of my son…subsequently a bottle has found its way to his future birthday trove! I also had the pleasure of sampling 25 vintages of Chateau Angelus in Magnum, which was incredible, and for me 2000 and 1989 both stood proud.

Chateau Gloria 2003 has to be the discovery of the year; great value for money, drinks splendidly and lends itself to my food really well, so much so that I bought a case for home. We also sell this by the glass through our newly acquired (and much loved) Enomatic machine.

My Dishes of 2011, in order:

Our Apple Crumble Custard Tart at Trinity
Crab Noodle Broth to share at Hunan
Meat Fruit at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Check out some of the previous posts written by Adam Byatt to feature here on B Times –

Adam Byatt: Picnic Food & Trinity Mackerel Ceasar Salad Recipe

Adam Byatt: Yorkshire Puddings

Adam Byatt: English Cherry Pavlova

Bibendum Times

Two weeks ago I took the step off the restaurant floor and into the vineyard to work as the sales executive for Hush Heath Estate.

I didn’t think it would take long for me to feel the urge to get back in the cellar, but maybe didn’t quite intend that it would only be two days before I found myself back in a restaurant serving wine. The event that caused me to dust off my Laguiole and polish my shoes again was the fifth birthday of my old stomping ground Trinity. So happy birthday Trinity, five years in this topsy-turvy restaurant world is no mean feat and I’m sure you’ll continue to go from strength to strength.

During my time at Trinity I worked with some incredibly talented people so it was great to catch up with old comrades and meet the new generation. It’s great to see things that we worked together on tweaked and improved, there are some great incremental changes. For example the move from espresso coffee, to French Press coffee from Square Mile is something I believe to be a really positive development.

One such talent which I worked alongside at Trinity was Tom Sellers, a passionate chef hailing from Nottingham who had gone from Adam Byatt’s kitchen to Tom Aikens. Then across the Atlantic to work in both of Thomas Kellers 3* operations Per Se and The French Laundry and finally back to Trinity. Tom was always full of banter, and always pushing a new dish across the pass. He seemed to thrive on the intense environment and his dishes took influence from each of the great chefs he had served under.

Even though he was only 22 he kept telling me he would open his own restaurant by the time he was 25! Well it does seem Tom is one step closer as plans are afoot to open his own place ‘Story’ in 2012.

As a precursor to this Tom is doing a two day pop-up ‘Foreword’ in collaboration with The Rebel Dining Society in Bethnal Green. No sooner had I stepped off the floor I’ll be back on it again serving the 2010 vintage of Hush Heath Estates Skye’s Chardonnay with his first course of ‘Scallop, cucumber, horseradish and dill’.

Here’s a note from Victoria Ash assistant winemaker at Hush Heath estate on the wine -

“Skye’s English Chardonnay is the very essence of Hush Heath – unfiltered, unfined and unoaked.  It’s our 2010 Chardonnay straight from the tank to the bottle, with crisp acidity and a weighty minerality.  This was the first wine ever bottled at the estate, displaying the quality and promise of wines to come.”

It should be an exciting night and I’m very much looking forward to seeing the influence Rene Redzepi will have had on Tom’s cooking after his recent stint at Noma in Copenhagen. Most of all I’m looking forward to seeing how the guests respond to our English Chardonnay!

Follow Tom Sellers and Hush Heath Estate on Twitter –

Tom Sellers – @tomsstory

Hush Heath Estate – @balfour_rose

Bibendum Times

In a recent trip out of London AA Gill took to describing Sheffield as ‘a pugilist, a tough guy dressed in the couture of sweat, smoke and muck.’ Certainly Sheffield’s past is coloured with a dull grey palate of steel and coal, and most people’s enduring recollections of Sheffield will have something to do with Robert Carlyle and a rather questionable wardrobe (or lack of it.)

However look beneath the grey exterior and there has always been a beautiful side to the city. Move away from the WWII bombed centre and you end up in expansive leafy streets, with sprawling Georgian houses. The beautiful countryside of the Peak district is only a stone’s throw away, thus an escape from the bricks and mortar only a matter of minutes, not hours.

Until recently though, the outsider’s perception of Sheffield rang true when it came to pleasure of the gastronomic kind. With a few exceptions, most would be forgiven for passing over the opportunity of popping into the city for dinner on the road up North. Not so anymore. A wave of new operators has reignited the fire that used to burn bright in Sheffield, this time in the Kitchen. Thus the good lady and I hopped on a train on Friday evening and headed for the Milestone’s pop up restaurant to see exactly what this new Sheffield has to offer.

We were met with a lively aperitif of Bisol Jeio Prosecco and preceded to our allocated table in a marquee at the head of Sheffield’s main shopping street. The wine team of Marc Polledri and Marc Farrell had put together a cracking list of wines, some sourced directly themselves, alongside some super Bordeaux from their main suppliers and a few interesting numbers from around the world.  A refreshing amuse of lemon grass and ginger opened the taste buds, and we swiftly moved onto a beautifully cured salmon with foraged wood sorrel. This was matched with a glass of Chateau Bonnet Reserve Blanc, which had me wondering why we don’t sell more of this sort of wine from Bordeaux?

A main course of some of the most delightful piggy treats I have encountered for a long time was matched with a delicious Pinot Nero from Alto Adige. Any restaurant that makes their own meaty sausages, plus rich, well seasoned black pudding, served alongside crispy, lightly salted pig skin with just the right amount of golden fat left on, has me won over!

The dessert selection was also super; the pairing of chocolate and beetroot went exceedingly well with Chateau du Levant Sauternes, much to my delight and amazement. We were thus only left with the task of 1. Paying an exceedingly reasonable bill (£35 a piece for all 6 courses) and 2. The difficult task of staying awake long enough on the train so as to get off at Leeds and not end up crossing the Scottish Border.

Not content with resting on their laurels after the success of the pop up however, the team at The Milestone are about to embark on a dramatic week in celebration of British fish. Starting on Monday 25th July they will be removing all meat dishes from the menu (pork belly does make a sneak appearance but playing second fiddle to a coley fillet) and running a completely pescatarian menu for the entire week.  As always the team are making sure there is a superb offering of wines to go with all the courses, and will be serving everything recommended with the menu, by the glass or half bottle for sharing.

The Pugilist, it seems, is ploughing his trade in other areas. The sweaty, mucky couture still remains. Yet the effort and toil are plied in the kitchen and the cellar, not the steel works. More trains to Sheffield I think.

Read all about this week’s celebration of British fish, plus more from The Milestone on their website.  Or follow them on facebook and twitter.

Bibendum Times

Every now and again I seemingly stumble on a great little independent wine shop, a funky boutique wine bar or an amazingly cosy restaurant. Though what if I told you I had found all 3 rolled into one in the heart of the City, on Bow Lane? Now the Enoteca concept is not entirely new, but finding a place that strikes a great balance between wine shop, bar and restaurant isn’t easy. Though the chaps at Planet of the Grapes are keeping it all very simple and the message bright and clear.

Initially starting out with a wine shop on New Oxford Street in London’s West End, before going on to open a small bar in the City’s Leadenhall Market. Here, they sold wines off the shelf to passing trade or offered them the opportunity to sit and drink the bottle in the bar for a £10 corkage fee. Without a kitchen of any size to speak of, they offered cold platters of meats and cheeses along with the odd homemade pork pie to those requiring sustenance to soak up the fine plethora of booze they’d been busy drinking!

The fact a customer could choose from such a selection meant there was nearly always a wine to suit your mood and style – plus you weren’t obliged to pay the normal restaurant mark up on the price tag. Even with the £10 corkage sitting in and drinking the wine in the bar worked out as real value for money. Though the new site in Bow Lane adds a further dimension to the offering – a kitchen big enough for a giant chef Cameron Emirali (formerly of the Wapping Food Project) to swing a fairly large cat. So now they have added a small, ever changing food menu to their armour, I thought it my duty to go and check it out!

To start I went for the Ham Hock and Foie Gras Terrine paired with the Morgan Double LL Chardonnay 2008 – the slightly salty chunky ham melting superbly into the rich foie gras centre with some cornichons and pickled garlic for some added bite!

For the main – it had to be the Devonshire Sirloin Steak with hand cut chips! Cooked medium rare (the Chef’s recommendation  – thankfully the way I like it – I don’t think many argue with Chef) its is simply sublime with Nicolas Catena Zapata 2007 – Argentine wine complements steak like no other in my opinion. The steak was cooked beautifully and just slipped apart as I ran the knife over it – perfect. Instead of dessert I decided to finish on one of the great selection of Meantime beers they also stock, as I’m rather partial to those and don’t have a very sweet tooth.

With a great atmosphere, knowledgeable staff, extensive, great value range, quality dining and quirky ‘celebrity drinker’ caricatures adorning the walls – it’s a must. Basically, get yourself down there. Awesome!

Planet of the Grapes
Bow Lane
74-82 Queen Victoria Street
London
EC4N 4SJ

020 7248 1892
10am-close Mon-Fri

To find out more on Planet of the Grapes, find them on both Facebook and Twitter. Or check out their website

Bibendum Times