Pierre Gagnaire Revamps CHOIX Dubai

CHOIX has a new seasonal menu. And no, the team hasn’t simply moved one pastry and called it an update.

The all-day French restaurant at InterContinental Dubai Festival City launched its latest dishes on 14 September, with Omani shrimp spaghetti, roasted-ricotta lamb and a baguette carrying enough Comté to qualify as lunch.

Pierre Gagnaire’s name gets top billing, but he isn’t standing behind the counter making your croissant. He sets the culinary direction, while Chef Mathieu Balbino leads the Dubai kitchen and handles the day-to-day cooking.

Right. Introductions done. Let’s talk about the spaghetti.

What’s New?

The dish we’d order first is the spaghetti with marinated Omani shrimp. It brings a local ingredient into CHOIX’s very French world and gives us a solid reason to look beyond the pastry cabinet.

Then there’s the lamb chop with roasted ricotta, star anise, blistered tomatoes and basil, served with mild curry pilaf rice. Not exactly a light lunch. That is also not a complaint.

The rest of the menu includes artichoke salad with pine nuts, grilled aubergine with salted anchovy and redcurrants, and cumin lentil velouté.

For something more casual, there’s a French baguette filled with Comté, gherkins, mustard onions and spinach. Casual by Pierre Gagnaire standards, anyway.

Prices for the new dishes weren’t included in the launch announcement, so check the current menu before doing any serious bill maths.

Who Is CHOIX For?

CHOIX sits on the lobby level of InterContinental Dubai Festival City, overlooking Dubai Creek. It opens daily from 7am to 9pm, which makes it considerably easier to visit than somewhere demanding a tasting menu and three weeks of planning.

Come for coffee and a croissant. Stay for lunch. Use the new menu as an excuse for dinner.

Its Parisian afternoon tea also continues daily from noon to 6pm, separately from the seasonal dishes. The hotel is currently advertising it from AED99 per person.

That flexibility is the point. A restaurant carrying a three-Michelin-starred chef’s name can sound like somewhere reserved for anniversaries and very successful quarters. CHOIX is less demanding.

This isn’t a full reinvention. It’s a reason to go back. Gagnaire sets the direction, Balbino runs the kitchen and the Omani shrimp spaghetti gives us a clear first order.