REVIEW: Lunch at The Hamptons Cafe

Emma is not a morning Bear.

I don't do mornings unless I have to.

If there is a legit reason to be up before the sun then I can manage that. Valid reasons include

1. holidays
2. holidays
3. holidays

I therefore thoroughly impressed myself by making it to an early morning yoga class ON A WEEKEND with Mr G.

After conquering our Bikram session, like true morning bosses, we jump in the car, aka the 'G mobil', and set off to reward our healthy yogi bodies with an epic breakfast. We swing round the marina and pick up Yorkie from her place and try to decide on a suitable venue worthy of our presence.

Yorkie: My friends have been raving about this new place called 'The Hamptons'

We 'google map it' and find that 'The Hamptons Cafe' is a 15 minute car ride from marina.

EHH: Umm.... that's far guys.

Yorkie: It's not.

EHH. Yeah you are right. Lets go.

We head down the Jumeirah Beach Road and pull up in front of a three storey white building supporting a quaint little sign that reads 'The Hamptons Cafe'

Hamptons Cafe, Dubai

“We are here!!!!” I shriek! And throw myself out of the 'G Mobile' and into the desert sun (I really hate being in cars)

The building is super cute with an old fashioned wedding car sat outside. #picturetime

Me on the outside of a car

After my photo shoot we head inside and are immediately intrigued by the deco. If you spend any longer than 6 months in Dubai you will understand how hard it is to be impressed by anything here. We are inherently spoilt on views, service, and pretty much anything else your heart could wish for.

The Hamptons has a clean white nautical theme is a stark contrast from the usual slick glitzy venues. Smiles from Mr G and Yorkie echo my thoughts - Its so pretty in here! 

We head up one level and are seated at a quaint table by the window and are promptly handed iPads with digital menus. I'm a nerdy tech lover, but if you can't order via an ipad I see little point of them. I'm also not a fan of pictures on menus ...however, the photographic quality is impeccable and the visuals are actually making me hungry. There is a breakfast section, sandwiches, salads, many main courses and desserts. I'm having a hard time deciding. It all looks so good. 

High tech menu time

We order drinks and the presentation is too cute for words.

Jasmine Green Tea. Note the cute egg timer on the left

Coffee for a captain?

Then disaster strikes! We are informed they are only serving from the breakfast menu until 12:15pm That's 25 minutes away! 

AHHHH!

After much (read MUCH MUCH), debate we had all selected dishes not from the breakfast section.

We just did 26 jedi bikram poses in a 40 degrees studio. Do you not understand we want to eat, like, NOW!?

Drats.

We rationally decide to order some bread to tide us over.

A beautiful selection arrives with butter and preserves and they happily served our request to toast a few of the slices with absolutely no fuss.

I take the spare time to explore the venue. First the bathrooms...

Judge a place by the bathrooms?

I then head up to the top floor and the view is beautiful – a panoramic view over the white villas of Dubai with a desert background. #pretty I take some pictures. I come back down and Yorkie decides (after seeing my picture slideshow) we should relocate upstairs as it's surprisingly empty. The waiter then informs us that all tables are reserved. God damn regulars and their 'in the know' knowledge. #nexttime #forsure

Beaten to the best tables

The Hamptons Café describes itself as a venue with “informal, casual etiquette serving creatively fine cuisine with a touch of gastronomic audacity.” with food “rooted in the European and American vein with an underlying touch of the Hamptons casual refinement. These sentiments ring true and are reflected in the food, the venue and also the dress code of their staff.

Mister Manager

After my exploration I sit back down and catch up on the latest with Mr G and Yorkie. The food eventually arrives. The wait was a little longer than seemed necessary (even after the 12:15 lunch time wait) and we were so hungry that ever time the kitchen door opens we were whipping our heads back and forth like tennis crazed Pavlovs dogs.

However, it was well worth the wait...

We drank:

Banana Strawberry Smoothie

Iced Black Americano

Jasmine Green Tea

Skinny Cappuccino

We ate:

Air - dried Spanish beef crostini with aged parmesan, home made onion marmalade, rocket and blue cheese cream

Italian burrata crustini, cherry tomatoes on the vine, home made basil pesto & rocket

Buttermilk fried chicken with home-made slaw and triple-cooked chips

Sweet potato wedges

The ingredients in both crostini dishes were exceptionally fresh and complimented each other beautifully.

I feel icky when I eat too much bread so I ended up scooping my topping off the brown whole wheat toasted crostini. I curse myself for not ordering an entire buratta on its own as the cheese was so creamy and delicious with the basil pesto.

My burrata crostini

Spanish beef crostini

Yorkie loved her air dried Spanish crostini which was picture perfect when it arrived. The buttermilk chicken had a crispy flavorsome batter coating the succulent pieces – and was of such an epic portion Mr G couldn't finish it. I took him up on his offer of a taste and quickly crowned it the winning dish on the table.

Buttermilk Chicken

I would recommend ordering a few dishes for the table, especially if you go for main courses, and sharing them. This way you can sample all the beautiful dishes The Hamptons Cafe has on offer. Or ... you could just come more than once – which is exactly my plan.  

The damage

The Hamptons Cafe

Um suquiem 1, Villa 12, Road 8, Dubai

Web: www.hamptonsdubai.com/

Facebook: TheHamptonsCafe

Twitter: @HamptonsCafeUAE
Instagram: @TheHamptonsDubai

Opening times: Sunday - Saturday 8am - 1am 

Top tips to survive the heat & humidity

Dubai is hot right now. And the heat is only going to get higher.

If I was back in London I would be thinking about investing in woolly tights and knee high boots this time of year. My friends FB statuses have already confirmed that winter has already hit the UK.

Anyway … back to the desert. I've been in Dubai for over a year now and I still struggle with the heat. Arriving to meetings in a sticky drippy mess is not cute – and neither is rocking up to the club with a haystack bouffant.

However, there are a few things that have helped greatly in the administration of Emma Haylan Hall's life.

Here are my top tips for dealing with the heat and humidity

Evian Mineral Water Spray

What type of peasant would dream of anointing themselves with anything but Evian I hear you cry? My thoughts exactly. I laughed when I first saw this product but it's actually darn spritzing good. I quick spray from this aerosol rapidly cools you down – and doesn't play havoc with your make up. The pocket size makes it easy to slip into your purse or man bag and is a great item to take with you to the beach and pool.

Uber

It's not that I'm lazy and refuse to walk further than my apartment entrance but cabs are hard to flag down in the marina these days. Especially on a weekend. Can't think why #cough tram traffic #cough All it takes is 5 minutes in this heat and suddenly your well put look is just, well ...a bit sticky. Download the uber app and your location is pin pointed on a map to available drivers near by. With one click, your driver is booked. You can even see their location on your smartphone screen. Perfect. I can step from my air conditioned lobby, into a swish clean Lexus and know that the sat nav clad driver knows exactly where he is going.

Mitchum Invisible Roll On

I haven't deviated from this brand for the last 15 years, as I've yet to find a deodorant that keeps you as dry and fresh as Mitchum does. I can't find it in Dubai so I always bulk buy when I'm away. I have friends who swear by it too. On a weekend away my roomie, busted out of the bathroom clutching my Mitcham, like it was contraband, and demanded to know where I purchased it from. If you haven't tried this brand, I would wholeheartedly recommend it.

Lush Popcorn Lip Scrub

This is one of my beauty staples and would certainly feature in my desert island package should I ever be marooned. My lips really suffer in extreme heat, becoming dry and sore really easily. To keep them soft and chap free I exfoliate every other day with this scrub then apply my lip balm. Its also all natural – so you can lick it off should you need a sugar fix too! #twobirdsonestone

Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-frizz Serum

Back in London I could easily rock the 'beachy bed head' look just by air drying my hair. Not so in this humidity - 5 minutes outside and I have an unruly mane that would rival The Lion Kings. It took me a while to find a product that worked and didn't weigh down my hair or make it greasy. This does the trick – and also smells yummy.

Iced Lemon Water

My favourite refreshing drink is super simple. It's just water, the juice of an entire lemon and as much ice as you can cram into your glass. It's the first thing I drink in the morning as it really makes me feel hydrated after the nightly air con dries out my throat. The cold ice also works as a great wake up call – you caffeine addicts should give it a try. If I'm out for the day I will freeze a bottle of water with lemon slices in it. As it defrosts you will have your ice cold drink on the go and be able to stay hydrated whilst in the sun.

If you have any tips on how to stay cool in the heat please post them below!