Located in the colossal Address Beach Resort in Jumeirah Beach Residence, Via Toledo arrives fresh from Vienna.
Chef-patron Francesco Calo opened the original in Austria in 2016 — and its sister venue Dubai has been serving gourmet pizzas since June.
The niche Neapolitan-style pizzeria is a stickler for classic dough, yet elevates this humblest of ingredients to lofty proportions, with toppings such as Beluga caviar and Alba truffles.
The most decadent pizza costs a whopping Dh5,200 and comes topped with all the caviar and gold leaf your heart could desire.
What to expect and where to sit
Flanked by views of Ain Dubai and the magnificent sparkle of JBR, the restaurant is suave, much like its patrons. Seating is plentiful with options inside and outside. For the warmer months, reserve one of the booths from where you can people watch as if you were in an actual Viennese piazza.
If you want to be in thick of the action, sit in the central banquette, which is buzzing with conversation and eclectic music, ranging from Italian singer Vinicio Capossela to Roman rockers Maneskin.
The decor, all flown in from Italy, is plush with soft furnishings in blues and blushing pinks, plus marble statues and artwork derived from Renaissance masters. The art deco motifs and monochrome floors under an industrial roof remind me of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet, but with more pizzazz and a lot more pizza.
The menu
My dining partner and I delve mouth-first into the main event: the pizzas.
We start with chef Calo’s favourite, marinara doppio crunch (Dh120). This, we are told, is twice-cooked; first the dough is deep-fried in olive oil and then it’s put into the oven to dry out any excess moisture. The base is topped with fresh San Marzano tomato sauce, semi-dried yellow tomatoes, mountain oregano, capers and a basil emulsion.
The first bite is enough to make me a believer. This is perfection on a plate; the dough has the most incredible crunch and, because it is fried as well, only the top layer is deliciously saturated with the sauce, leaving the bottom thunderously crisp. The sauce is an amplification of San Marzano tomatoes, juicy and fragrant, while the basil emulsion is deliciously verdant. The capers add a playful burst of salt intermittently, while the intense mountain oregano will make you question the sawdust you’ve been sprinkling over your pies thus far.
Next we try the I collori dell’orto (Dh150), a vegetarian pizza topped with skilfully made creams of courgettes, aubergine, peppers, pumpkin and friarielli — also called rapini, a leafy green staple of Neapolitan cuisine. On the base sit fior di latte and pecorino cheeses. It’s a novel take on a vegetable pizza and is wonderfully flavoursome, although it would benefit from a little more texture.
The third pizza, the fantastically named alga di mare, is wholly unexpected and unfamiliar. The restaurant’s carefully created dough is topped with fior di latte cheese, bluefin tuna tartare, stracciatella and fried seaweed.
I am a little apprehensive of how these large flavours will coexist, but am soon taken in. The soft fior di latte is the stage upon which the meaty tuna dominates, only to be countered in every bite by delicate stracciatella, clearing your palate for a burst of umami from the seaweed.
Next we try the tartufata with summer black truffles (Dh290), coupled with ricotta. It is an undeniably delicious dish, but almost borders on safe as it follows the rapturous gourmet tuna pizza.
Our last dish for the evening is linguine alle vongole (Dh190), a classic that is kept authentic. The clams are soft, sweet and swimming in a silky sauce.
For the rare non-pizza lover, there are mains such as Neapolitan pasta e patate with langoustine (Dh135) and Australian Angus tenderloin (Dh420).
After a whirlwind of dough and other delicacies, we succumb to dessert. The cannolo scomposto with Alba white truffle crumble (Dh110), is aromatic, creamy with sweetened ricotta and punctuated with cannoli shells. My only grievance is it is rather hard to get to as it is served in a wine glass.
Standout dish
I am compelled to pick two pizzas. The twice-cooked marinara doppia crunch is revolutionary and its apparent simplicity sings once you taste the quality ingredients.
The alga di mare is, for me, the pizza of all pizzas and revelatory in its combination of diametrically opposed ingredients.
It all boils down to chef Calo’s perfected dough, aptly named intensa, which we are informed is so well developed and executed that it is “senza morso”, meaning it doesn’t really require the effort of biting.
It is important to note the alga di mare pizza will be on the menu from September; however, it can be ordered by calling ahead.
A chat with the chef
Chef Calo is from Puglia and, after working in the family business, founded Via Toledo in Vienna in 2016. He brought his concept to the UAE because, he says: “I was fascinated by Dubai.”
Calo says dough is his favourite ingredient to work and he loves to study and refine it on a daily basis. “My cooking follows a gourmet style, which absolutely does not forget Italian gastronomic tradition. It is a combination of tradition and innovation.”
The chef’s recommendations include: colours of the garden pizza for vegetarians; Australian Angus tenderloin, which is dry-aged for 150 days, for meat lovers; and crudite with caviar or caviale su tela pizza for seafood and caviar connoisseurs.
Price point and contact information
Appetisers range from Dh95 to Dh230; pizzas from Dh60 to Dh290; and desserts from Dh75 to Dh85.
The restaurant only offers a dinner service from 6pm to 2am. Reservations can be made by calling 050 545 9278 or visiting www.viatoledo.ae.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the restaurant
Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
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if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,000mm, Winners: Mumayaza, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m, Winners: Sharkh, Pat Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep - Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Gold Cup - Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
8pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nibras Passion, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ismail Mohammed
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EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
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Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
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