I’d like to say I’ve heard a lot about Bagatelle since it opened at the Fairmont, but it would be more accurate to say I’d seen a lot about Bagatelle. Which led me to the issue of not knowing how to pronounce it’s name – is it Bagatell? Or Bagatelly? Thankfully I was able to make my reservation over email which avoided all need to pronounce the B-word and avoid any potential embarrassment. (In case you’re wondering, our visit did in no way clarify things. I still have no idea how to correctly pronounce it.) I was also thankful that it was well signposted so I didn’t have to ask anyone for directions to Bagate…you know.
Cream walls with blue velvet accents set the stage for the main focus of the decor at Bagatelle, the art (if you fall in love with a particular piece, you can purchase it – the art is provided by Opera Gallery, a leading contemporary art gallery based in DIFC). One particular Madonna piece inspired some heated conversation as to whether it’s cool or horrendously uncool to attend a Madonna concert – just so you know, my opinion is the latter (sorry my dear @atozaatar) and a giant heart-shaped box of chocolates had @shesaidyes snapping up a storm. We settled into a huge circular booth that afforded plenty of table space for snapping pics and plenty of opportunities for people watching too if that’s your thang (points for white tablecloths too).
Some great sourdough kicks off proceedings, accompanied by utterly fabulous olive oil (where do they get it from??) and after rather a lot of confusion about our salt shaker having pepper in it, we dive into the menu proper. To say I was delighted at the huge amount of truffle on the menu was an understatement. Being a French restaurant there was plenty of beef too, steak tartare and steak frites going on the must order list. Seafood lovers will be in heaven here with a large proportion of the menu falling into this category – our fish-loving dining companions were kept well sated.
