I was more impressed with the interior décor and overall ambiance, as well as the friendliness of the service than the actual food. Markette looks and feels very much like a cross between a European bistro, a rural café and…um, a kitchen. It’s cosy, homely and a pleasant place to enjoy a meal or simply a coffee with friends.
The Markette menu is extensive covering, in addition to their famous breakfasts and crepes, Asian, Indian, Mexican and even some regional dishes – a real Jack of all trades. Every meal however starts with a block of bread and some tomato pesto dipping sauce.
My double patty burger, which came with cheese, pickles, sauces (and God knows what else) and finally topped off with a fried egg, was huge, ridiculously so and aptly named Mamma Mia! There was no way of eating it without making a mess. And mess is what I made, going through no less than a half dozen tissues and a couple of wet wipes in the process. And that way only half the burger. I didn’t even start on the second half. The truth is that I didn’t like it. The meat patties tasted like something out of the processed-frozen section of a supermarket.
My sister ordered the fish and chips from the kids menu which basically turned out to be thumb thick, breaded fish fingers and fries. She didn’t like them all that much claiming they tasted too fishy. I thought they tasted quite good actually – much better than my burger, that’s for sure.
The third in our party ordered the Enchiladas and smiled and smiled through our moaning and griping because hers turned out to be the best of the three meals. And just to rub it in she allowed us to dip our forks in for a taste….Mmm, it was deliciously creamy and packed with flavour.
We also ordered a corn salad which interestingly is served with slices of seared corn straight off the cob – very cool. Although we ordered it as a starter (obviously), quite to my annoyance, it was served after our mains arrived and then only after I reminded them, Grr! That said, I recommend you try it. It’s very good.
Service, whist smiley, polite and friendly, was non-attentive. I actually had to get up to go and find my waiter on no less than three occasions – unacceptable. If I was not in the company of two ladies I would have called out the manager.
The Zomato reviews suggest Markette offers much more than what we experienced there on this visit. Two out of our party of three came away disappointed though. On the food side, perhaps it’s that they’re trying to do so many things; as I said above, a Jack of all trades, master of none. Perhaps they were just having a bad burger day. I’ve earmarked their Dubai Mall branch to visit next. So let’s see, perhaps I’ll have better luck there. But I know one thing from now, I won’t be ordering their burger.
Waste NOT. Want NOT.
Check out my collection of authentic Chinese restaurants in Enter the Dragon: https://zoma.to/uc/51-pezXn