When it comes to kebabs, I’ve eaten them almost everywhere – with standards varying enormously.
The buzzing bazaars of Istanbul, the majestic sands of the Sahara and the back of a bus on a Dublin student night all spring to mind.
In the UK, they’re sort of a rite of passage on nights out, which don't end until after a pit stop at the local takeaway.
As a result, undoubtedly the most frequent setting I’ve devoured doner has been a Manchester kerbside, clinging on in the blistering cold while building up strength to get a taxi home at 4am. A most common sight indeed.
However, I have never had one 442 metres above ground in an elegant French restaurant that also serves lobster platters, oysters and a set menu dedicated solely to Wagyu. That was until I visited Atmosphere, Burj Khalifa’s famed restaurant in the clouds.
Where to sit and what to expect
The venue tucks itself into the world’s tallest building on floor 122 – and 360-degree views are naturally the main draw for guests.
My dining partner and I eventually find the skyscraper’s lobby having picked our way through Dubai Mall’s underground car parks, service roads, dead ends and loops (I took a wrong turn, don’t ask), and soon we’re zipping up the lift at 36kph. With a table booked for 5.30pm, the clock’s ticking to make the sunset reservation. Mother Nature won’t wait for my tardiness.
Thankfully, as the digital display hits “122” and the double-height doors open, the golden rays pour in and we're right on time for one of the greatest shows on Earth.
Staff briskly whisk us to a window table for the best seats in the house – although it’d probably be harder to find somewhere that doesn’t have a view of the sunset – and we soak it all in.
The venue is split in two, the lounge is west-facing and prime for sunset, while the restaurant faces east. Both have been renovated entirely and reopened recently. The style is distinctly 1920s Art Deco, with glass chandeliers, bespoke tiling and brass on almost every piece of furniture.
The lounge uses bold colours and vast walls of brightly coloured birds, while the restaurant feels elegantly grandiose, like stepping into New York’s Central Station.
There’s live music most evenings, with a violinist in the lounge and jazz nights on Thursdays.
The menu
In keeping with the refurb, the menu has had a makeover too. It’s French, but there are notable influences from around the world. In the lounge, small bites and appetisers dominate – expect escargot, beef tartare and duck rillettes alongside the likes of chicken bao, burgers and yakitori. There are also seafood towers, sharing steaks, caviar and oysters, plus mains of meat and fish.
The restaurant follows a similar theme, although more structured. It’s “three courses-style” instead of sharing bites.
Keen for a taste of everything, we pick from both menus – and take a seat in each to try them.
In the lounge, we’re served a quick-fire quartet of bites. The quenelle of delicately cubed bluefin tuna tartare has an avocado cream for company; the chicken baos are filled with deep-fried chunks and finished with strips of red chilli, fiery mayo and a peanut tamarind sauce; the beef and onion toastie is made using pillow-soft A5 Wagyu short rib; and the doner kebab elevates dinner in the world’s tallest skyscraper to even greater heights, but more on it later.
In the restaurant, we’re brought back to Earth with dishes more often associated with French fine dining.
Scallops are served on a bed of lobster bisque and cauliflower couscous, with dainty brioche squares to mop it all up.
The Wagyu rissole is sort of a giant croquette stuffed with meat and cheese, served with mashed potato and pea puree and earns high praise from my wife – “I’d eat seven before breakfast”.
The truffle fettuccine is a decadent, even over-rich, option for vegetarians. The simply delightful ribbons are so fresh they convince my wife to empty the kitchen cupboards of the dry stuff and dust off the pasta-making machine when we get home. She forgets by the time we do, thankfully.
The turbot main is served with buttery sauteed leeks and yet more divine pasta, this time in the form of sweet potato gnocchi. They’re served underneath a truffle foam, which looks light enough to simply float away with the surrounding clouds.
There’s just enough room for a cheese board – a meal in itself, I should warn – and the Atmosphere Extravaganza for dessert. The latter is a chocolate sphere that hides pistachio and dark chocolate cremaux inside, which is finished at the table with hot melted chocolate poured over it for a bit of theatre.
However, with views this good, there’s only one show I’m here for.
Stand-out dish
There’s something to be said for chefs who look at their menu and say: “You know what, we need a kebab on here.”
Unlike the versions from my Mancunian upbringing, where a heavyset grubby chap shaved bathwater-brown strips of “meat” into a pita and slathered it with “sauce”, these kebabs don’t need a health warning or an ambulance on standby. There’s no questioning of my choices before I even order.
They’re sophisticated, using pulled lamb leg for the meat, red cabbage for the crunch and freshly baked pita for the coat wrapped around them. There’s even a pot of sauce to dunk it all in.
Maybe it’s all the late nights they work, or maybe it’s the altitude almost half a kilometre up, but whatever the reason behind the chefs' boldness here I am a fan, and I hope they keep their heads firmly in the clouds.
Price point and contact information
While prices aren’t cheap – forgivable given the setting and standard – the lounge’s appetiser menu offers excellent value for those who forgo Burj Khalifa’s At The Top and come here instead. The observation deck is merely two floors above and tickets to enter between 3pm and 6.30pm cost Dh244 per adult.
Appetisers start at Dh95 and most are about Dh130. There is no cost to enter Atmosphere; visitors can even just pop into the lounge for a drink – although reservations are recommended. There is a minimum spend of Dh700 in the restaurant, which rises to Dh2,000 for a window seat.
Mains start at Dh245 ($66); sharing platters start at Dh890 ($242); and there are seven or 13-course tasting menus.
Atmosphere is open daily from 7am to 2am. Reservations can be made by contacting 04 888 3828.
This review was conducted at the invitation of the restaurant
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