Weekend was here and so was a friend’s birthday again! Now the scene was like this…We were tired of clubbing and wanted to party sober for the night…And in Dubai, no bling scene? Aaah, excuse me?? not happening! But Anubhav went on and on….“Buddha bar is the shit! Let’s do it folks! I’ve been to the one in Delhi and it’s a super chilled out place” and phew yes! We finally decided to take a peek at ‘what da hell was this Buddha Bar’….! In the midst of magnificent Dubai, and located in the new Grosvenor House Hotel complex, the lavishly set Buddha Bar makes your heart skip a beat!
Burly guards stood by the entrance, strictly checking for couple entry and making sure they were extremely polite though, not to offend their pretty female guests 😉 The most breath-taking part is when you cross the huge wooden doors…A spectacular and mind-blowing ambience dotted with expats and locals alike, adorned in their diamonds and cigars, engaged in little murmurs and upbeat music playing in the background took our breath away! Tired of clubbing, this place was the perfect fit for all us lazy bummers who wanted to just chill for the night, have a couple of drinks and let the mesmerizing music flow in our veins.
We chose the bar, yeah a kickass bar next to the sprawling dining area packed with people full of life and swinging in and out with their cocktails. The dining area welcomes the South East Asian taste buds. What I hear of the food is that it isn’t great, though it’s a customised menu to suite your taste. The three-dimensional restaurant, lounge and bar boasts of a lower and upper deck, the lower deck reflecting the light of the chandeliers off its floor-to-ceiling windows and the upper deck being a viewing deck to the rest of the world.
Sitting by the bar, drinking a glass of white wine; I stared at the ruby lit chandeliers that brought magic into the place. An ambience mystified by the presence of the gigantic (25 feet) golden Buddha idol and the romantic dim lighting trickled enchantment through my spine. WOW! I exclaimed!
- Location: Grosvenor House Dubai, Dubai Marina, Dubai
- Tel: 04 399 8888
- How to reach: Al Sufouh Road or get off at Dubai Marina Metro Station
- Cuisine: Bar Food , Thai
- Dresscode: Smart Casual
- Times: Open Sat-Wed 8pm-2am; Thu-Fri 8pm-3am
- Price: Dhs350-500
- Strictly COUPLE ENTRY
Highlights:
- Alcohol available, DJ, Smoking permitted
- The Crispy Fried Calamari, Sushi creations, Maaki rolls, Seared Tuna fish are are a must try!
- Servings are good and sufficient for 2
A few reviews on Buddha Bar:
“Good music, good ambience, good location, crowd between 35 -40, mostly expats, place to drink and enjoy music, capacity constraints”
“Really good, good selection of drinks, ambience was good but packed, few friends to go sit and chat, ambience like this is not common in Dubai, a nice chilled out easy night for drinking, place is very photogenic”
“High end dining place, u feel nothing will go wrong with u with Buddha looking over u which gives u a very earthy feel except the bill! Take a table and have a glass of wine”
“Brilliant place, nice, no tension, u can have a conversation and a couple of drinks, peaced out, positive vibes u get, good food. Not a clubbing scene”
Splurge! 