Ah, Chameleon. We here at TOAD are huge fans of the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, and Chameleon always manages to impress. This is a great spot to either end or start your night at, and is a lovely venue to take visitors to – if you are so inclined.
Chameleon’s interior is bright and almost futuristic. We are met with gold pendant lighting, a black marble bar and sparkly sofas studded with rhinestones. Drinks match the chic surrounds and the creative bartenders skillfully blend up some spectacular and creative concoctions with plenty of flair.
All that aside, we were there to eat and eat we did. The bar menu offers many tasty options and is well thought out. The food goes beyond your normal bar snack fare and could almost be described as high-end bar food. We started with the chicken skewers which were delicious, they came topped with a tasty herb dressing that we wolfed down. Next were duck spring rolls that were moist and had a very generous serving of meat in them. They were complemented with a sweet mango chutney which was deliciously chunky and divine.
Next up, we ordered the Marco Pierre White steak which appears on the menu because Chameleon shares a kitchen with the British super chef’s nearby steakhouse. We wondered how a piece of meat could be in any way sharable with our fellow diner and readied ourselves for a fight, but were impressed to find the Black Angus strip loin was presented in chunks on an inventive six-pronged dish, with three tiny bowls of mustard – wasabi, French and wholegrain – for dipping this delicious steak in. It was as flawlessly cooked as you’d expect anything from Marco Pierre White to be, and we did end up fighting for the last piece. To accompany this knockout dish we couldn’t help but order the truffle oil fries. They were crisp, crunchy and absolutely delicious. In our opinion these are the best fries in the capital. They went really nicely with the steak and again we finished them off quickly, still wanting more.
It is the small touches and the excellent service that make Chameleon special and stand a head above the rest. Make no mistake, you’ll need a stash of cash to eat at here regularly. However, if you have some to spare why not splash out for a birthday or a special treat. It will be money well spent.
The bill (for two)
MPW steak Dhs120
Chicken skewers Dhs65
Duck spring rolls Dhs 85
Truffle oil fries Dhs65
Total (excluding service) Dhs235
