There's another new restaurant coming to the Venetian Village within the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal. And, after a preview dinner giving us a sneak peek at the food, this is a restaurant I'm excited about.
The restaurant — Olives — is a brand from American chef Todd English. English, a decorated chef who has earned the respect of diners and critics alike throughout the United States and beyond, has several restaurant brands under his name. Olives is the first restaurant he's bringing to the UAE.
English was in Abu Dhabi for just two days this week. During his quick visit, he hosted a dinner as part of Gourmet Abu Dhabi. Along with a thoughtfully designed tasting menu, guests at the dinner got the chance to watch English work in the kitchen. It's easy to see the kitchen is where he's most comfortable. He's a quiet man (though we're not sure if that was, in part, due to jet lag). He's not showy, not gregarious. As he pieced together his dishes, he was deliberate, calm, exacting. There was no rushing around; no nervousness; no drama.
After graduating from culinary school, English honed his cookery schools in Italy in his early 20s. So while the food at Olives is Mediterranean, it has as strong Italian influence.
A first course of lobster and corn bisque, served with a generous amount of black truffle shavings was rich and complex with a healthy dose of lobster. We also had small raviolis stuffed with foie gras and served with earthy mushrooms and a quail egg. Other dishes included pan seared branzino (European sea bass) — a mild, white, flaky fish served atop creamy risotto with refreshing chunks of crab piled on top. We had an Australian gold Angus beef tenderloin that lived up to its name. Incredibly tender, this cut of beef was smooth, buttery and juicy. It takes a confident chef to serve a dining room full of foodies a medium rare steak without asking how they want it prepared — and that's exactly what happened. It was a testament to English's passion for food — and how it should taste. English is confident, but not cocky; he's simply going to serve you food the way he thinks it should be served. It's smart to trust him.
Throughout the night, the dishes were beautifully plated, adding a level of elegance and sophistication to the meal. English and his team will be back before the opening of Olives in May to train the staff and the chefs.
The head chef in the Abu Dhabi outlet has worked with English for more than 20 years. We're hopeful that kind of experience pays off in the kitchen and results in the same quality dishes you'd get if prepared by English himself.
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
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● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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EXPATS
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Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
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Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
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Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
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1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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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
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
