Celeb chef calls for character in restaurants

Georgio Locatelli: Dubai outlets need more character and less subservience

Elmar Pichorner, operations director for Zuma Dubai, confirmed that the outlet had benefited from its free-standing location.

“One of the main benefits for Zuma is being located in the heart of the financial district, which was very important to replicate the urban buzz that Zuma London has established over the years,” he noted.

“Another benefit of being a free-standing individual restaurant is that we don’t have to provide beneficial access to resort guests, which resort restaurants inherently have to do. It results in a more urban crowd.”

Pichorner added that one of the major differences was “the absence of corporate restrictions – be it purchasing, training, human resources and all aspects of daily operations, allowing us a greater degree of individuality in everything we do”.

Another restaurateur keen to emphasise the benefits of operating outside a hotel environment was Kho Khorsandian, owner and manager of Sushi Sushi and Sarband at Century Village, a restaurant complex in the grounds of Dubai’s Aviation Club.

Story continues below

“We’re all operated by different owners; it’s not like it’s all in one hotel and everyone’s in one uniform, greeting you in the same way and saying the same things,” he said.

“Here, one restaurant’s style is completely different to another, so you get that variation like you get in other countries, where you walk down the street and you actually have a choice of totally different places to eat.”

Country Hill International general manager Dariush Rakhshanim, owner of Century Village’s St Tropez restaurant, added that it was this diversity that kept people coming back.

“People know that here they can get a wide choice of dining options in a small, community-like area,” he explained. “They can go to the Lebanese restaurant Mazaj, smoke a shisha and have a truly authentic experience, or you can just as easily enjoy an al fresco dinner at our French restaurant St Tropez; and if a group wants to sit in one restaurant, but some of them want food from another outlet, then we can accommodate that as well.

“All the Century Village outlets are individual, independent places, but they’re gathered in the same place and all work together to provide the best possible experience, which is really ideal for the customer,” he continued.

“And because the owners are heavily involved in the running of the outlets, we are there to deal immediately with any issues or challenges that might arise."