DownTown Café recently opened a new branch on Sheikh Zayed road, a stone’s throw from Financial Centre metro station, in the Abu Dhabi direction. The other branch in Karama has been functioning successfully for quite some time. This new outlet has pretty indoor and outdoor areas. The indoor area maybe a little small compared to the Karama branch but the two huge outdoor areas makeup for it. When I arrived, the outdoor areas were lit up as if at a wedding and it was a pretty sight. There is a game and book corner inside to while away when waiting for the food to arrive. The staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about what they serve.
DownTown Café serves Indian, Italian and other International cuisines and also whips up some freaky shakes. The first drink I tried was Abood, a mix of honey dew melon and mango and ohh my gosh!!! It was the best ever!! Not exaggerating, it was the best!! My friends told me that it’s a well-known one among the “UAE kids” but it was my first date with this beauty. Some of the other shakes I tried were Avocado Milkshake, can never go wrong with one, Passionfruit Mojito and Monster Shake. Those who like passionfruit will definitely like the passionfruit mojito. The Monster shake is undoubtedly a monster in terms of size and the amount of chocolate. It was creamy and dense and I so wish I could have it again now 😊
The first dish that I tried was Chicken Dynamite Fries. French fries mixed with delicious minced chicken and topped with cheese was as good as it sounds, if not better. The same can be had with potato wedges instead of the French fries. Next up was Cowboy Burger served with French Fries. It may look like a regular burger but the freshness and flavour is amazing and is due to the fact that the beef patty is made in-house. The chicken and meat Sliders tasted delish too.
Then we tried Indian and Arabic dishes. No meal for an Indian would ever be complete without Biriyani and DownTown café has a special chef from Hyderabad to prepare this infamous Hyderabadi Biriyani. Though the chicken pieces were tender, I felt it lacked flavour. The Arabic grill on the other hand was juicy and flavourful. It came with quboos, hummus, moutabel, fries and a small salad.
What came next really blew me over. Named the DT Flakes and Flames, it is basically a pasta dish with pink sauce. Looked simple but tasted exquisite. It was extremely spicy but made me want more. An absolute must-try. Next up were two prawns dishes. Crunchy Cocktail Prawns that were similar to dynamite shrimps and as the name suggests was crunchy and packed with flavour. Spicy Prawns with Sweet Potato Mash was decent though not outstanding.
For desserts, we tried Nutella Pancakes and Avocado Cheesecake. Both were delectable and I would highly recommend the avocado cheesecake.
DownTown Café is indeed a hidden gem!!! It can’t get any better, as they say!!
Lizbethology 