In a city renowned for unique experiences and world records, nothing says ‘Dubai’ more than dining in an aquarium. So team DSCVR ventured into Atlantis, The Palm’s subterranean dining room, to find out what it’s like to dine underwater at one of Dubai’s most in-demand restaurants.
As we approach the Instagrammable Lagoon filled with marine life, Ossiano gives absolutely nothing away regarding the dining experience that is about to unfold. Ushered into a golden elevator, we descend into the depths of the restaurant, where we’re greeted with an underwater paradise.
The Vibe
Moving through the dining room, we’re surprised at how intimate the restaurant space is despite the sheer number of tourists that pass through the gilded halls of the Atlantis on a daily basis. Though most diners will likely be inclined to select one of the tables pushed up against the glass walls of the aquarium tank, we’d suggest sitting one row back to fully appreciate the spectacle on display.
While we gawp at the floor to ceiling windows offering views into the underwater world that’s home to 65,000 marine animals, including rays, sharks and a whole host of aquatic species, we can’t help but feel a little guilty to be working our way through Chef Gregoire Berger’s seafood-heavy menu while large shoals of fish dissipate throughout the dining room.
@dscvr.ae Dine beneath the ocean at Atlantis, The Palm! 🦈🐠 #dubai #indubai #dubaidining #experience #discover #fyp #fypシ #dscvr ♬ Heaven Takes You Home – Swedish House Mafia & Connie Constance
The food
Offering a progressive fine dining experience paying homage to the riches of the ocean and coastal land, Ossiano’s whimsical tasting menu is guided by Berger’s lifelong respect for seasonality, terroir and sea foraging, with all ingredients sustainably sourced from the oceans or within 50km of a coastline.
Each of the eleven courses – or waves as they’ve been appropriately coined at Ossiano – offers a sensory experience to match Berger’s avant-garde approach to food.
While we don’t want to spoil all the surprises that the Ossiano team have in store for adventurous diners, you can expect to eat jellyfish and a divisive truffle cheesecake, beautifully designed to resemble a black truffle.
Standout dishes include a delicate whelk shell on a bed of sand, filled with umami dashi and served alongside a sourdough and seaweed butter. Elsewhere, the Brittany brown crab with fragrant kari gosse and bouillabaisse essence is as near perfect a dish as you’ll find in Dubai. As expected, the seafood delivers, with a toothfish (often found at depths of up to 3000m) offering a beguiling black colouration that surprises when the delicate flesh is revealed.
With an excursion into the kitchen for one course, dining at Ossiano brings you into Berger’s world. From a course of burnt leek filled with clams and served in a cast of the chef’s hands to yuzu marshmallows toasted on a tabletop small flame and langoustine served with a potato baked in edible clay. A meal at Ossiano is a trip into Berger’s wonderful world.
The verdict
Ossiano’s impressive tasting menu is enough to draw your attention away from the aquarium, making it a bucket-list destination that is worth every dirham despite a somewhat hefty price tag.
As sharks prowl the waters and rays glide effortlessly overhead, the aquatic adventures of the marine life are enhanced by a unique dining experience anchored around strong service, exemplary food, and the feeling of dining on the ocean floor.
With the MICHELIN Guide revealing its first Dubai selection in June, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Ossiano taking one of the coveted stars.
Ossiano’s menu of up to 11 waves is priced at AED 1,095 per person (food only).
DSCVR: Ossiano is open daily from 6pm to midnight. Atlantis, The Palm, Crescent Road, Palm Jumeriah, Dubai (04 426 2626). @ossianodubai
