ILA Restaurant & Cafe – Al Seef

ILA Restaurant & Cafe at Al Seef
ILA Restaurant & Cafe at Al Seef

Has anyone visited Al Seef? the new talk of the town. A new built to bringing back memories of Dubai’s heritage and contemporary areas which once was dominated by fisherman, pearl divers, weavers and tradesmen. The face lift to Dubai creek is a perfect blend between modern architecture and rustic memories of the past.  Restaurants are definitely one of the focal points at Al Seef. We visited ILA restaurant and cafe which excels in contemporary Arabic cuisine and a vibrant space for a meet up or leisure at Al Seef.

ILA Restaurant & Cafe interior
ILA Restaurant & Cafe chandlier
ILA Restaurant & Cafe Exteriors
view of the Creek from ILA Restaurant & Cafe, Al Seef
Inside ILA Restaurant & Cafe at Al Seef

Majority of the restaurants face the creek and same is the case with ILA. The structure of the building stands out and it’s an inviting one. They also now have a kids play area added in their restaurant which is a plus point as many restaurants around the area don’t have a dedicated play area for kids. We sat outside to enjoy the pleasant climate and views of Dubai Creek at ILA.

Drinks from left – Mojito(AED 28) and Sugar cane juice(AED 24)
Mango Strawberry smoothie – AED 32

You must definitely try their sugar cane juice which was really good compared to many other sugar cane juice I’ve recently had. The Mango strawberry smoothie wasn’t up to the mark, it didn’t have the bells and whistles of a smoothie.

Hummus with meat – AED 33
Sfiha bil Jibnah – AED 21
Lahm Manoushe – AED 27

The real joy came when the hot and cold appetizers came in. One of the key strength noticed was their quality of breads . Be it just the bread alone or the ones stuffed with meat or cheese, they just taste so soft and delicious. The thick hummus with meat was a wonderful dip and the meat on top made it even better. The Lahm was nice but I thought they could have stuck in more cheese and spice to the meat that should have actually added more flavour to the Lahm Manoushe. The Sfiha bil Jibnah is a thick lovely bread stuffed with a slight hint of cheese.

Mombar – AED 33

The mombar was magnificent. Never had this anywhere recently. It’s actually arabic rice wrapped with beef. One of their best items i’d say. This is definitely a must order if you are at ILA restaurant. The taste will win any body.

Flaming Burger – AED 45

The flaming burger literally put our tongue on flames. There were these tiny red chilli hidden in the patty that would just ignite your tongue on fire. The beef patty didn’t taste fresh though, it felt like frozen beef. I thought they needed to improve the quality of beef they use for their burger.

Lamb chops – AED 68
Signature Arabic Veal with rice – AED 61

The highlight of the lamb chops begins with the presentation itself. It definitely makes a statement when it is presented on the table. My only complaint would be the excess fat on those lamb chops. My favourite main at ILA would be their signature dish which is the Arabic veal with rice. The meat on it was simply brilliant. To be honest the rice was just bland but the meat was so tender and well marinated that you just enjoy it together.

Cheese kunafa served with Booza ice cream – AED 32.5
Cheese kunafa served with Booza ice cream – AED 32.5
Cappuccino – AED 16

Their signature dessert Lialy El Ghazl was out of stock. So we tried the cheese kunafa from their dessert menu which came with a speciality Arabic booza ice cream which is more elastic in nature, together with the hot kunafa it made a big deal and was fun having the dessert. We loved their Cappuccino. Let’s not forget ILA is also a cafe. Click pictures below to see them in full screen view:

Ila Restaurant & Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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