Some good dishes but let down by poor service.
Hawksbill isn’t a huge restaurant – especially when the terrace is closed for the summer – with just a handful of nicely sized tables spaced a little close for comfort around a room that is reminiscent of a hotel lobby. On the night we visited there were three other tables occupied, which made it even more puzzling that we were pretty much ignored, left to seat ourselves and had to approach the only member of staff in the room after ten minutes to ask to see the menu. We then had to wait further still while he finished chatting on the phone before he actually brought the menus over.
The menu itself isn’t vast, but it covers a multitude of cuisines and dishes to suit all palates and purposes – whether you want a snack or you’re having dinner. There are pizzas and pasta dishes, sandwiches and a host of substantial dishes and desserts.
We elected to share a starter of bruschetta – and it’s a good thing we did because it is a huge portion.
Five pieces of toasted baguette were piled high with a delicious mix of ripe tomatoes mixed with goats cheese and basil, all drizzled over with a sticky balsamic vinegar glaze. The sharp goats cheese married so well with the sweet tomatoes and fragrant basil that we fought visciously over the remaining piece before grudgingly agreeing to split it. Between the two of us, the entire plate was inhaled in a matter of minutes. As we settled down for our mains, we endured yet another lengthy wait.
From the sandwiches menu we ordered the Saadiyat burger and then we hopped over the ‘meals’ section and selected the Sri Lankan prawn curry. The burger came with cheese, pickles, lettuce and tomato with a rocket salad and crisp fries on the side. The meat was delicious – well seasoned and cooked through, as requested, without being charred or dry. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the wholegrain bun which was stale and left the other elements of the burger fighting for their share of the palate. We would have discarded the top of the bun, but we had already smooshed it down into the cheese and we could not sacrifice such an essential component so persevered while enjoying the rocket salad, which was peppery and fresh, and the fries which were delightfully crisp.
The Sri Lankan prawn curry was a triumph. This was a genuinely authentic tasting curry, with lots of prawns, onions and tomatoes in a rich yellow gravy that was packed with curry leaves, mustard seeds and other spices to yield a fantastically spicy and flavoursome dish. It was served with rice, a poppadom and a divine coconut sambal.
By the time we had finished our mains, we were sadly so fed up with the service (our condiment plate for the burger arrived with a mini ketchup that was clearly almost finished and we had to ask for a new one) that we decided to ditch dessert and call it a night. Though the majority of the dishes we sampled on our visit were, in fact, excellent, we won’t be hurrying back to Hawksbill.
The bill (for two)
Bruschetta Dhs48
Sri Lankan prawn curry Dhs80
Saadiyat burger Dhs75
Total (excluding service) Dhs203
