Matters of the Spirit: From bars that make it to the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars to those that rock cocktail experiments, this Dubai bar-hop is perfect for the party season!
The name Jimmy Barrat is rightfully famous in the bar world as the man — who amongst other things — built the bar program for Zuma globally and helped catapult Zuma, Dubai, into the World’s 50 Best Bars.
So, it was a shock to the bar world — and to Zuma — when Jimmy decamped along with several members of the Zuma bar team to set up Ergo, also in Dubai. I hear this back story from my ex-colleague Rakshit Khurana, who joins me at the Zuma bar, a little over 10 minutes after I’ve walked there from the nearby Metro station.
1. Zooming in on Zuma
The door at Zuma is welcoming when I tell them I’m just here for a drink and the elevator whisks me up to the second floor, giving me a bird’s eye view of the diners on the first floor and the large open kitchen, truly a visual treat.
At the bar itself, there are no tables to be had, so I settle at the bar counter, and Rakshit when he joins me marvels that I’ve got a space, considering that you’re often three or four deep at the bar, and jostling for a drink.
It’s a beautiful rectangular bar, filled with beautiful people, who are even taking selfies near the restroom, that’s how stunning Zuma is.
The bar menu is extensive and divided into four parts: Aperitifs with Style, Classics with a Twist, Memories of Dubai, and Zuma Heritage. With more bars beckoning and this being my first drink, I chose a Japanese Paloma (AED 66) from the Aperitif section, a twist on the traditional Paloma with yuzu and hibiscus cordial joining the usual ingredients, and a half rim of Himalayan salt. Rakshit joins me in the same and we’re soon sipping on a delicious and refreshing cocktail.
One of the pleasures of travel is to catch up with old friends, and Rakshit was truly one of Tulleeho’s best and brightest before he decamped to Dubai. I could ask for no better guide for my bar crawl.
2. Of a Martini in Dubai’s Marea
Talking of catching up with people I know, our next stop is Marea, a short walk away where I meet Cindy, one of India’s outstanding bartenders, formerly at Delhi’s Hoot’s. She’s not letting us leave Marea without an expertly crafted Martini and Manhattan, with a side order of crispy Calamari.
As we walk out of Marea, an Italian restaurant that also has Tides, a bar in the basement, Rakshit informs me that in Dubai, it’s quite normal for a bar and restaurant, both under the same ownership to go cheek-by-jowl. The bar is a venue to keep the party going after a meal at the restaurant.
3. Stars, constellation, and the Galaxy Bar
I’m keen after Zuma to see if I can visit Galaxy Bar, which along with Zuma and the Bulgari Bar at the eponymous hotel are the three entrants this year from Dubai in the World’s 50 Best Bars. It’s still early in the evening though, and Galaxy is more a party bar says Rakshit, but we decide to take a chance as we’re crossing it, and lo and behold, the entry ropes are whisked aside and we’re bid to enter.
Galaxy is part of the Tashas Group and the sister bar to the Greek-themed Avli next door. It’s a small, beautiful bar and is also — as far as I know — the world’s only bar that devotes a large part of its cocktail menu to the Greek spirit Metaxa.
The bar counter is more fun to be at than a couch and that’s where we sit and talk with Coralie Doillet, a French bartender. The ceiling is dotted with stars, and I’m told that these correspond to the Scorpio Constellation. The bar itself where we are perched on bar stools has eye-catching marble rings behind it and the overall effect is that of a beautiful jewel box. I choose a cocktail called Globetrotter, an Old-Fashioned style drink, with Metaxa 12, Cointreau, Pedro Ximenez Sherry, Tonka Beans, and Coffee Mist.
4. Just jammin’ at Jass Lounge
From Galaxy, Rakshit recommends we head to the Jass Lounge, also in DIFC, to end the evening (or so I thought!). I’m a sucker for live Jazz, and we’re in luck as there are two bar stools free. A small 40-seater bar, all the seats are packed, and a four-piece band is having away at it. A cocktail to end the evening (Ha-Ha!) I say, and the bartender makes me Nearness, with Bulleit Rye, Lemon, Angostura, and Malbec milk punch.
I’ve had some amazing times at Jazz bars around the world from Bangkok’s the Bamboo Bar to a bar at the Sofitel in Singapore, and each time I visit one I grow nostalgic for the Jazz Bar at Delhi’s ITC Maurya. It seems to me an opportunity going begging for a 5-star hotel in India to create a really good Jazz bar.
5. The amazing Amelia
As I reluctantly exit the Jass Lounge, Rakshit asks me if I want to go to Amelia, another bar that I’d been recommended, and which is a short cab ride away. I’d always been fascinated by the tale of Amelia Earhart, the American aviator who after being the first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean disappeared in 1937 after setting off on an ambitious global flight.
Amelia, the bar is originally from Beirut and now has a Dubai edition. When I get time or opportunity, I must probe over what drove a Lebanese restaurateur to create a bar named after her.
Visually Amelia is spectacular, and the words I choose to describe it will fall short. A massive biplane with propellers rotating hangs over the bar and right across the room the DJ is spinning his tunes. The room is packed with customers, and it also happens to be Industry night for the bartender fraternity in Dubai, who are thronging the long bar counter.
As I stand at the bar, Rakshit points out to me behind the bar a terrarium with a small barrel housed within. The barrel, he tells me, has a classic cocktail called the Vieux Carre aging in it (the cocktail was created in 1938 by Walter Bergeron, the then head bartender at what is now the Carousel Bar at the Monteleone Hotel, New Orleans, and named after the French term for New Orleans, Old Square). Intrigued I ask Alain Achkar, the Lebanese beverage manager for the science behind this particular cocktail experiment.
It’s inspired by nature, he explains to me as he ushers us behind the bar, and draws out two shots of the cocktail for us to taste. ‘Forest aging’ he calls it, with everything in the terrarium 100 per cent real, “from the mushrooms, the soil, the wood branches, the running water to create oxygen, the mist to keep high humidity for the mushrooms, the rocks, the moss, the plants, and the light”. The aged Vieux Carre also pairs magically with the umami flavours of the Shimeji mushrooms planted in the terrarium. A perfect magical end to the evening.
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