Four star hotel Novotel Abu Dhabi Gate feels somewhat out of the way from the hustle and bustle of the city, ideal for passing businessmen that want to be within close vicinity of the airport. Appetisers overshadow the mains, but the menu is packed with Italian favourites and the ambience is relaxing and makes for a cosy evening meal.
We’re greeted by friendly staff with beaming smiles and led through the spherical inside seating area, past the open kitchen to the chilled outside area where a few locals are dotted around enjoying the gentle ambience. Our Italian culinary experience will be enjoyed alongside the beach with floral garden views.
We peruse the menu and are impressed by the gourmet sounding antipastis; bresaola and melon with rocket and balsamic reduction, and the octopus salad with caper berries, celery and saffron stand out.
Wanting to start our meal off with a light bite, we opt for the tuna carpaccio and the asparagus salad. The smoked tuna carpaccio comes served with mache salad, wild berries and vinaigrette. We squeeze lemon juice onto the salad which compliments the tuna, making for a refreshing appetiser. The carpaccio is delicately sliced and has a melt-in-the-mouth sensation.
The Tuscan asparagus salad comes with onions, caper berries and tomatoes, with a perfectly poached egg perched on the top, and is a thoroughly enjoyable starter.
Rissotos, pastas, pizzas and secondis form the mains, including the tempting herb crusted lamb rack and beef tenderloin, but we want to see if the restaurant gets the basics right, so we choose to have a calabrese pizza and a lasagne with a side of steamed vegetables.
Unfortunately, the steamed vegetables come out cold – perhaps a result of being sat on the side for too long – and are a little on the undercooked side. Our lasagne, however, is piping hot, but as we dig deeper into the dish, we can’t help but compare it to others we’ve had elsewhere, and this one falls well short. It is quite salty and doesn’t taste as if it had been made fresh in the kitchen.
The calabrese pizza – tomato, mozzarella, spicy beef salami and sweet peppers – is of a good size for one person and is generously topped with peppers, but it is not likely to live long in the memory. The thin base becomes soggy from the amount of juicy peppers – we would like to see a more balanced proportion of meat and cheese.
Appetisers and ambience aside, for Gabbiano Restaurant & Bar to offer an authentic Italian culinary journey, the basics need to be improved first.
The bill (for two)
Tuna carpaccio Dhs62
Asparagus salad Dhs52
Calabrese pizza Dhs72
Beef lasagne Dhs76
Steamed veg x2 Dhs60
Total (excl. service) Dhs322
