Brooke Chenoweth flew out to Dubai for an eye-popping dinner at the recently revamped At.mosphere restaurant at the top of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building
The interior views are as jaw-dropping as the exterior views at At.mosphere Lounge.
Located on the 122nd floor and 442m up at Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, dinner at the newly refurbished At.mosphere begins with the world’s fastest elevator ride. If that doesn’t take your breath away, the view as you descend the grand staircase into the restaurant surely will.
The spacious venue features both a fine dining restaurant and a separate lounge and bar, both with their own stunning decor and French-inspired menus. The views over the Dubai skyline (and straight down) are jaw-dropping, but the interior offers serious eye-candy as well. It’s glamorous Art Deco meets lush European garden, opulent and elegant, but refined and welcoming.
While the restaurant is slightly more formal for fine dining, the lounge is a little more relaxed and features oversized sofas and velvet armchairs, with plenty of cosy corners. Both have floor to ceiling windows and you can’t help but be drawn to that view, whether you have a window seat or a banquette by the bar. But for fans of quirky interiors and great design, there is as much to see inside - we took just as many photos of the wallpaper and furnishings as we did of the view!
The stunning refurbished restaurant at At.mosphere.
The food is of course, the main attraction, and the French-inspired menu doesn’t disappoint. While At.mosphere serves breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner, we visited after the sun went down and the city stretched out and sparkled beneath us. Dishes take advantage of Dubai’s position as a global dining hub. With starters such as tuna tartare topped with a perfectly cooked quail’s egg, and a creamy burrata salad - both paired with champagne - we were left wanting more.
Our mains were a perfectly cooked, melt-in-the-mouth beef cheek with vegetables and lashings of fresh truffles, and a duck confit that was on point. Wine pairing for each dish was perfectly tailored to our tastes and we loved that the servings were generous without being too big to finish.
Dessert was a spectacle as the decadent ‘chocolate extravaganza’ was melted at the table with hot chocolate sauce. The fruit salad and lemon sorbet was fresh and sweet enough to take the edge off my annoyance at not ordering the chocolate.
A final surprise from the kitchen was a palate cleansing gin and raspberry shot served in the most insta-worthy fashion complete with billowing dry ice.
We ended the night with a cocktail in the bar, where the resident mixologist has created a menu that’s inspired by the local spices; a speciality being the smoky sumac negroni. For the non-drinkers there’s a very decent selection of mocktails to choose from too. Seated at the opulent bar you also get a great appreciation for the view away from the windows.
Even the loo has a view.
Both the restaurant and bar and lounge have a strict dress code, and there are age limits for certain sittings. A great excuse to get dressed up and leave the kids at home if you’re lucky enough to be in Dubai.
At.mosphere Restaurant
Breakfast is served 7 to 11am, children under five years receive a complimentary a la carte dish, dress casual; Lunch is served 1 to 4pm, minimum age of five years, dress 'smart elegant'; Dinner is served 5.30pm to 12am, minimum age of eight years, dress 'smart elegant'.
At.mosphere Lounge and Bar Breakfast
Breakfast is served 7 to 11am, children under five years receive a complimentary a la carte dish, dress casual; High Tea is served 12.30 to 4.30pm, minimum age of five years, dress 'smart elegant'; Dinner is served 5.30pm to 2am, minimum age of 21 years, dress 'smart elegant'. At.mosphere, Burj Khalifa - 122nd Floor - Downtown Dubai - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
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