Christmas In February

Sean Connolly at Dubai Opera

“Am I going by myself?”. My Christmas wish to go to see Evita at the Dubai Opera has just been fulfilled as I unwrap my gift on Christmas morning. A ticket to the show lies in my hands. I love Christmas and I love musical theater. I would definitely go by myself but I suspect this time, it is my girlfriend who holds the other ticket. Jason will accompany me by request but he is happier to farm the experience out. In this, Diana is also happy this Christmas morning.

So a bit over a month later, Christmas comes again for Diana & I as we cast off the husbands and children to their own devices for the evening and dress up for a date with each other.  Diana picks me up in a taxi and we have booked for a pre theatre dinner at Sean Connolly restaurant.  I’m quite looking forward to this also as when I had a drink here in December, during the intermission for Danny Bhoy, it was added to my ‘must try’ list.

We arrive in time for a pre dinner drink. We are seated at the bar and Diana’s first choice (a lamington cocktail) is unavailable so she settles for a pina colada which turns out to be fantastic – both in presentation and taste. My negroni is also excellent, the best I’ve had for a while. The bar staff here clearly know what they’re doing.

We enjoy the atmosphere along with our drinks, it’s lively tonight, clearly quite popular already with the theater crowd, despite having only opened its doors late last year (September 2017).

As an Australian I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that the name Sean Connolly doesn’t ring a bell although on further investigation I realise that I recognise him and I do know of a couple of his other restaurants, including The Morrison Bar & Oyster Room in Sydney.

At 6:30pm we decide we’re ready for dinner and are seated in the open roofed dining area, a thoughtful terrace extension of the main dining area, no doubt somewhat useless during the summer months unless there is a hidden roof – which does not seem entirely unlikely.  The pre theatre set menu is presented to us and I’m somewhat surprised at the excellent sounding selection of choices for each course.  In the end I settle on the tomato tarte tartin followed by the chimmichurri skirt steak and the lemon meringue doughnut for dessert.  Diana has the same selection.

The entree is delicious.  Surprisingly sweet, the tomatoes are huddled together on the perfectly cooked disk of pastry and topped with olives and a mild fetta cheese.  The main turns up and we’re less impressed.  The chimmichurri steak is nicely cooked and the flavor is good but it is accompanied only by a small wedge of lemon and the duck fat chips that we ordered as a side come later and don’t work as well as an accompaniment as you might expect.  Halfway through we both discover a small pile of wilted spinach hidden under the steak but it’s too little too late and we both agree that the size of the portion could be sacrificed for a little more flare with the accompaniments or at least garnishes.  Certainly something else in the presentation would not go astray and a break in the flavor and texture of the meat would only improve the dish.

Thankfully we are equally delighted by dessert as disappointed with the main.  The doughnut is light (more brioche than doughnut), with a wonderful lemony tang and the generous dollop of cheesecake ice cream sandwiched in the middle is delicious.  The meringue on top is barley cooked – sticky and sweet.  Altogether it makes a harmonious sweet delight to finish off the meal.

Lemon meringue doughnut with cheesecake ice cream

We linger a little longer and make a visit to the cleverly incorporated bathrooms before making our way down to the stalls for the show.  In hindsight we cut it a bit fine and the lift is cordoned off for the second level as we descend but we are greeted with a smile as our tickets are scanned on the way in and have just a couple of minutes to settle into our seat before the show.

The show is pretty good.  The stage and set design is wonderful and the singer that plays the role of Che Guevara (Antonio Banderas in the 1996 movie version) is outstanding.  Madalena Alberto, the London based Portuguese singer who plays the First Lady of Argentina, Eva Peron, nails the headline act of Don’t Cry for me Argentina but I find some of the faster paced songs a bit pitchy and it seems as though she struggles with the sung phrases of the story, the end result making her sound a bit off key.   Still, the intermission comes along quickly and the rest of the story unfolds.  I’m glad I’m familiar with the story line and the songs as I think it may have been hard to follow otherwise.

After the show we return to the rooftop for a drink while the taxi line dissipates outside.  Diana has a coffee and I select a Floradora – a delicious cocktail of Tanqueray London Dry Gin mixed with fresh raspberries, lemon juice and ginger beer.  It’s garnished with a giant fresh raspberry and a couple of pieces of crystallised ginger and is almost as good as a second dessert.

After a bit more conversation and watching the Dubai Fountains from our perfect vantage point we decide it’s time to call it a night.  There is no taxi line now and we make our way back home to see how our husbands and children have fared during our absence.  My Christmas in February is done.  Only eleven months to go…..

Would I Return?

Yes.  I have seen several productions (including Les Miserable, Jersey Boys and Danny Bhoy) at the Dubai Opera already which opened in 2016.  Dinner at Sean Connolly is worth it for a special night out although pick your main carefully (or be prepared to order sides as well). Also, I hope to pick a night without a DJ next time – the music during our dinner was awful and it had not improved by the time we went back after the show for a drink. It was almost enough to drive us out.