Does a place where adults get to have all the fun appeal to you as much as it does us? Thought so... Mare by Bussola is the newest – and chicest – alfresco destination on Dubai’s ever-expanding culinary scene, a beautiful pool-restaurant-beach club tucked into a bucolic corner of The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina. Palm trees, fringed lampshades and lashings of rattan furniture come together to create a secret enclave for a more grown-up and sophisticated crowd. An oasis where friends gather to sip cocktails over seafood and parents can escape the kids for a while.
Laid-back with undercurrents of Mykonos party vibes, with live DJs spinning from midday to after-dark, the sunbeds that wrap around the private pool invite relaxed days requiring little more than swimming, sipping, socialising, sunbathing and sleeping. Waiters on hand with cold towels and ice-lollies mean energy can be saved for when the tempo turns up and the wooden deck becomes a dancefloor.
As beachy as décor comes, the restaurant brings the seaside setting to the table, in muted ocean blues and white linens. Hidden alcoves enveloped in foliage create more clandestine corners for private rendez-vous, whilst the rest of the restaurant centres itself around a stately olive tree, that conjures up the Mediterranean imagery all the more.
The Med inspires more than just décor, with gorgeous ingredients vying for attention on the plate. The menu walks you through Italy’s vibrant cuisine, from sea-fresh catches to flavour-packed pastas. With each dish the creative brainchild of Milan-born chef Simone Montanaro, being faithful to his country’s food is paramount to what gets sent out the pass. “I am Italian, so I want to stay Italian and deliver authenticity.”
His 10-year career has seen him cook in kitchens from Italy to Singapore, the Maldives to the Middle East, before joining The Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Spa last year to oversee the renovations and menu at Mare by Bussola. Simone’s heritage infuses what he plates, heroing traditional Italian ingredients, from Tartare di Gamberi Rosa – with pink prawns from Mazara del Vallo, stracciatella cheese from Puglia, lemon from Amalfi and olive oil from Andria – to Fusilloni alla Norma, where the pasta and salted ricotta hail from Trentino and Lazio. Renowned for their full-bodied flavours, the Italian ingredients explode onto the plate creating magic from sight to bite. “I’m proud to have created a menu that is undisputedly Italian, and even more undisputedly, full of flavour,” says Simone. “Mare by Bussola is a little slice of Italy that offers the perfect backdrop to feeling that authentic Italian seaside and sunshine, and the dishes are a reflection of that.”
Other essential dishes to try are the elegantly-presented seafood platters and oysters served on a bed of seaweed, to divinely creamy dishes from the burrata and fresh tomato salad, to a traditional tiramisu, with savoiardi biscuits from Verona dipped in espresso and black rum.
When you’ve had your fill of food – or to accompany your afternoon by the pool – you can dip into Mare’s cocktail menu, sip wine or smoke shisha. With its setting beside the beach, sunset comes to you, framed by pretty views over Dubai Harbour and Ain Dubai. After the sun goes down, the volume goes up and the after-dark crowd comes out to play, swapping sunshine vibes for a party mood.
With Mare by Bussola squirrelled away in its own little corner of the hotel grounds, it’ll feel like your own secret beach club sanctuary whatever time you visit. A sun-kissed or starlit love letter from Italy.
RESTAURANT:
WHAT: Mare by Bussola
WHERE: The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, Dubai
TEL: +971 56 994 7429