Monday, June 13, 2011

The last weird UAE martini

I have written about my near fruitless search for a proper martini in Abu Dhabi before. It has been so many months since this photo was taken, I actually forgot about it, but the presentation was so awesome I am glad I stumbled across it and can share it with you.

This odd drink was served at a strange little rooftop nightspot called the Blueline at the Oryx Hotel. The Blueline has, as a colleague put it when he invited a bunch of us there, "some of the funniest decor, the best views and the most misguided bar food in Abu Dhabi".

And here you have it: A martini with both olives and lemon twist, served in a margarita glass, with a bendy straw.






















The martini wasn't the only odd thing about this bar. To sit around the pool, the hotel requires people to pay a cover charge of Dh30. When we went, there were only two other tables in the place. The service, much like the martini, was terrible. But if you must take this place in – and if you don't expect much in the way of sustenance, the view is the best in Abu Dhabi – sit inside. It's too hot for poolside now anyway, plus, you will be able to see your strange drinks and odd food much better up there.

The last time I wrote about the martini issue someone suggested that the bad martinis  I have been receiving were actually my fault, as I am simply ordering them in the wrong country. After this experience, I had to conced they were right. I've moved on to cocktails. Watch this space for my top five most delicious cocktails in the UAE, haram and otherwise. 

3 comments:

Gemma said...

Please tell me they do a good french martini out there?
Or strawberry daquiri
I'm such a girl...

Ann Marie said...

I don't know about a french martini, but I know you can get a good strawberry daquiri somewhere. And the margaritas at the Sheraton Mexican restaurant are amazing!!!

Anonymous said...

Haha! TRUE! I´ve never been able to get a decent Martini in the UAE :__

But I agree with you about the margaritas in El Sombrero :)

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