The Scene @ Pier 7

Simon Rimmer's restaurant, The Scene at Pier 7 appears on the Dubai social media platforms with accolades and high recommendations. A celebrated British chef the menu he conjures up for The Scene is exciting and promising tempting us to venture out on a Saturday for dinner. Occupying the entire 4th floor of Pier 7 the restaurant is expansive with an outdoor terrace, which overlooks the Dubai Marina, envelopes the restaurant. The welcome was polite with the decor minimalistic and one could not help but notice a couple of buckets on the floor designed to catch the dripping condensation from the air conditioning vents.  

As stated the menu is well thought out and the various themed nights with dedicated menus caught our attention. For Saturday the themed roast caught our attention and we opted for the braised leg of lamb with a nice medley of vegetables and roast potatoes. The meat had been deboned and came in the form of a patty supposed to be resting on red cabbage and a Yorkshire pudding with gravy and a mint sauce. The potatoes were crispy but certainly were reheated. There was scant sign of the red cabbage, but these oversights were well compensated for by the delicious lamb. 

The service was polite and prompt and for what is considered a busy night for the Dubai night scene, the restaurant was moderately busy. One got the impression the placement of the restaurant struggles for an identity with the feel for a British pub with food and yet assuming some of the poshness which some eat places in Dubai scramble to find. Clearly one will need to explore the other themed nights to get a more definitive idea of where to place this enigma of a restaurant.

Pros:

• Exciting menu offerings.
• Food good but not excellent.
• The themed nights seem very interesting.
• Outstanding views.
• Attentive staff.

Cons:

• Food good but not excellent.
• Potatoes seemed to be reheated.
• Maintenance needs to look into the dripping water from the AC ducts.
• Male toilet needs attention as the smell was not pleasant. (ladies toilet was fine).

Overall Verdict: A bit of an enigma and a few more visits will be needed to establish a clear feel for the restaurant. Will try the Monday theme for sure. The food is promising but we did not see the full extent of the promise of a great meal.

Advice. When people make a booking it would help to send them a location link to the valet parking. We followed the Google maps and ended up at the Crown Plaza parking.