Keeping things Fraîche

There’s nothing quite like an internet outage to throw you off track in the first few weeks of launch, yet faced with just that, Team TMN had to think fast on our feet. Should we call customer service and wait endlessly for help, or roll up our sleeves and tackle the problem head on? After a brisk team brainstorm, we concluded there was only one thing for it… run for the hills and take refuge in the hottest new (Wifi-enabled) lunch spot in town.

What: Fraîche Café & Bistro, Jumeirah Lakes Towers

Where: Swiss Tower, Cluster Y, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

When: Opening hours are from 8am to 10pm, seven days a week 

The promise: “A modern, yet homely café & bistro delivering fresh, high quality and soul-satisfying food at affordable prices”

Did it deliver? Hot, bothered and quite visibly flustered we flung through the doors of Fraîche Café & Bistro, to be welcomed by a rather calming and relaxing vibe. As we looked across the spacious, airy and open-plan eatery, we noticed something quite different from the norm… a venue not designed with maximum covers in mind, but instead, generously spaced tables and couches offering peace and privacy. Internet restored, Team TMN went straight back to work – well, as soon as our food order was taken, obviously.

Menu choices were limited, but in a strangely welcome way. While not overly hungry, our waitress recommended the Poutine for starters – a traditional Canadian delicacy, so she said – so who were we to argue? We ordered a portion to share, followed by a selection of mains including the Ox-Cheek Cottage Pie, Twice Cooked Lamb Shoulder, Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breast and the Butternut Squash Risotto. Drinks arrived swiftly and we barely even brushed on work before our starter arrived. With scenes akin to feeding time at the zoo, it seemed our eagerness to ‘share’ our starter simply demonstrated our terrible misjudgment on how good chips, gravy and cheese really can be. Mains followed which certainly didn’t disappoint – each dish was perfectly cooked, brimming with flavour and left us with a warm fuzzy feeling. While all were extremely tasty, the lamb and cottage pie proved to be the standout favourites.

The Verdict:  Not only did we rescue an afternoon of work, we also discovered a hidden gem buried amongst the abundance of towers within JLT – and lucky for us – just minutes away from TMN HQ. Every cloud…

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