dunes cafe - shangri-la

this used to be our favourite go to restaurant, and i ve been there over 50 times.. until last time we visited, we were shocked by how inattentive inconsistent and unprofessional the waiters were. first no one asked us if we wanted anything, we were ushered to the table and they seem as if they forgotten about us. we had to stop one of the 6 waiters who were focused on one table in the corner of the restaurant just to get our drinks since it's a buffet.. was very disappointed and will never go there again.. it shows when the employees change it seems that thequalityof the service changes too! not good for business!

enjoyed a very nice iftar buffet. not many main courses but very goodqualityfood. i definitely ate 3 times the cauliflower 65, it was great! good spot for a group of friends

we had xmas buffet at dunes cafe. it was a very highqualitybuffet, everything was super fresh, particularly the seafood, oysters, lobsters, prawns... what a feast! they also had a very wide range of hot dishes, i loved the beef ribs which was so tender and moisted. my family were so satisfied with their desserts, lots of different sweets, good job for the pastry chef! coffee was nice too:) i had some south australian white wine to pair with my food which was delicious. we all enjoyed our meal, and the staff were lovely and they sang in a choir like angels! best xmas buffet for sure, we would love to come back in the future.

an absolute ooh la la experience at breakfast! gorgeous spread, amazingqualityof food, mouth watering preparations! what else could one ask for early in the morning! i was especially very fond of the variety of honey they had!!

i had lunch here a couple of times and i've recently tried their singaporean food festival, where shangri-la brought in chef raymond ying from singapore to prepare some delicious singaporean dishes to incorporate in the buffet. for only 150dhs, i found it well worth it as thequalityof food was not only authentic but delicious. the service was good and the casual yet professional atmosphere made it suitable for both friendly lunches and business meetings. i enjoyed trying some different dishes from singapore such as the laksa, the chicken curry, and my personal favorite was the singapore chili crab with mantou bread. that dish alone elevated the whole dining experience to a new level. if i was to only eat that dish, without trying anything else from the large buffet, it would have been enough for me as it was perfection!

if you're nearby shangri-la and looking for a decent buffet for lunch, i suggest you try dune's cafe, especially during this singaporean food festival, which unfortunately ends on the 29th of september.

this has to be the best breakfast i have had in dubai. the variety of food and thequalityis exceptional. the service is excellent. i cannot fault it. there are so mamy choices for all dietary needs. ketone friendly. the only sad fact is that we can't eat more of the lovely food on offer 🤣

we visited on seafood night and we among the first tables to be seated on that night.

nice selection of prepared cold and hot seafood including oysters, crab legs, cocktail shrimp, maki, salads, shrimp stuffed fish, vegies, fried wontons, fried shrimps, etc.

the better food is of course the cook to order. we had a mix grill of zubaidi, seabass, king fish and shrimps. the food was grilled exactly right and the seasoning was very minimal which emphasized thequalityand the taste of the ingredients. we also had a large plate of salmon, tuna and spicy tuna sashimi made to order.

the desserts bar had a nice variety that was served with espressos and lattes.

recommended for the quiet atmosphere and good service as much as the food especially when compared to other buffets where service might become an issue.

the service was quick and attentive, especially with the water and drinks.

i was there along with my colleagues recently for an iftar. all of us completely enjoyed the fare especially the lamb ouzi and other lamb dishes, as well as the grilled dishes. the deserts were sumptuous and they also had a huge selection of salads and pickles as well over a dozen odd varieties of bread. thumbs up to the service and also the hospitality.  the staff are very attentive, prompt, well-trained to take care of guests. over all a great venue. thequalityof food and service definitely was remarkable.

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dune's cafe is shangrila's restaurant that offers breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet. i attended the lunch buffet and there was a good selection of food but thequalityis not there. for example, the mussels tasted like they were just defrosted and they just give you some sauce to dip yourself. if i wanted that, i could have just went to the store to buy some sauce and mussels, there is no need for me to go to a restaurant.

not a lot of people visit there for lunch so if you get there early enough, it is almost like they made the buffet for you.

while there is a lot of items to select from, they don't put too much effort as i mentioned earlier. there was a scallop and crab dish, well i didn't taste any scallop and the crab was initiation (fake crab meat sticks).

there was an asian station where they make some noodles soup with a bunch of random ingredients like chicken and shrimp, but there was no flavour to the soup at all, so this goes back to the same as me going to the store and buying the same ingredients and making the same dish myself.

i thought the desserts were the highlights here today because they are presented visually exceptionally well and taste pretty good also.

the desserts were more exciting than the rest of the buffet.

having said all that i thought the selection and presentation were good so i give them a solid 3.5/5. i think the best night would be their crab night on wednesday and lobster on thursday.

we went there for lobster thursday night open buffet
the food was good quality. different lobster themed diahes were available. staff was friendly. and foodqualitywas great.
but for the price paid we wantes to have more variety of dishes. and at the end the stopped refilling some dishes.
having said that . they had some of the bestqualitydeserts. and very good service. i would recommended it to my seafood loving friends!!.

i have been here many times for medical seminars and taken the buffet. they have a remarkable spread in a somewhat limited space. mostly the food is of continental variety with separate sections of japanese, indian and arabic sections. very satisfied with the staffs andqualityof food. very popular amongst western expatriates. may be for that reason my indian tongue occasionally finds the dishes a bit underwhelming regarding the spices. but no issues. overall a very nice cozy place.
attended during the lobsterlicious week. absolutely fantastic and mindblowing menu with seafood. very tender and lovingly cooked. awesome. paella and crab pepper fries were good. the crab in garlic butter was simply spectacular.

----- 20 feb, 2014 -----

it is in the ground floor of shangri la. open sitting restaurant. live cooking available. it has mainly continental and indian cuisine with japanese section of sushi etc and some arabic salads. variety is not overwhelming.qualityis good. attentive waiters. in a small place they have remarkable arrangements of food and very nice ambience. quite popular amongst western expatriates. i have been there innumerable times for medical seminars and is quite happy with all the items. one small niggle- somehow the spices of the dishes leave one not fully satisfied. now, i don't know if it's my bias or there really is something amiss. anyway, a delightful evening can be nicely spent here with good food and good stuff.