Drink & Spice Magics | Dubai’s first Robot Waitress
How would you like a robot serving you at a restaurant? Drink & Spice Magics in Bur Dubai has ‘employed‘ a robot who serves food, drinks and much more. All while dressed up in fancy attire. Named Ruby, the robot plays a variety of songs while making her trips to and fro across the restaurant and is claimed to be the first of its kind in Dubai. But it doesn’t end with the robot waitress. The food is what makes the experience all the more worthwhile.
Read on to find out about our take on the food and what we thought of the robot waitress concept.
Starters
We started with Tandoori Jhinga (AED 67.5). While I simply loved the prawns in this one, for a change it was the sauce that impressed me the most. That tandoori masala is the literal definition of finger licking good. I highly recommend this dish. Even if you’re not a shrimp, ask them if they have something else on their menu with the exact same sauce.
Next up was Murgh Lehsuni Tikka (AED 34). I am a big fan of garlic and cream chicken, so this was my obvious choice. But I found this one a little less tender than what I usually expect from chicken tikkas. A little more marination would’ve perhaps worked better.
For our mutton fix, we opted for Gosht Peshawari Kebab (AED 38). Possibly the best lamb kebabs I’ve had in a long long time (except for seekh kebabs of course), these boneless chunks were tender to the core, and the spices had seeped all the way through making them melt in our mouth with every bite. Highly recommend these ones as well.
To make sure we are covering all the meats, we ordered one portion of Tandoori Pomfret (AED 69) as well. I have mixed feelings about this dish to be honest. They had a 1+1 offer going on which is great for fish lovers, but we were there for a tasting, so just one fish would’ve sufficed, also given that we clearly mentioned only one of us eats fish. Moreover, the very few times that I do eat fish, I prefer filet, but this one being a bone-in fish meant I had to navigate my way around those tiny prickly bones.
But alas! My worst imagination came true and I got a bone stuck in my throat that took a lot of effort (read: rotis) to dislodge. The trick, or rather a cry for help, to dislodge the bone is to swallow partially chewed roti or bread allowing it to push the bone through. But despite the trick, I am done with bone-in fish for good.
Drinks
Drinks & Spice has an extensive drinks menu that includes a variety of fresh juices, milkshakes, smoothies, mojitos and much more. It’s definitely worth trying atleast one of these, but looking at their list, I’m sure you’ll be tempted to try more. Our picks were Electric Shock, Purple Rain and Strawberry Mojito (AED 17 each).
Mains
We moved on to the mains with Paneer Takatak (AED 29), Dal Makhni (AED 23.5) and a mixed roti basket. A good mix of paneer cubes with bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and masalas, the spicy Paneer Takatak gravy went really well with the Missi Roti (AED 6). Creamy to the core, the buttery Dal Makhni was the perfect partner for Jeera Rice (AED 18) or Lachcha Paratha (AED 8). The Pyaz Mirch Ki Roti (AED 7) is something that I loved on its own. It would make a great pair with tea. Tip: Have it hot.
Of course, our rice course had to be the Murgh Hyderabadi Biryani (AED 44). Brilliant in every way, this is a must must have. The Hyderabadi mix makes it a little spicy which is perfect, while that “fall off the bone” chicken is cooked just right.
Tea
We took a break between mains and dessert with the Kadak Ginger Tea (AED 4 per cup) that came to our table with a perfect presentation and an even better taste. So soothing, this one will definitely please all the tea lovers.
Desserts
We couldn’t possibly leave without desserts, so we opted for two classics – Ras Malai (AED 15) and Gulkand Coconut Gulab Jamun (AED 15). The Ras Malai was the bomb – not the spongy types, but the creamy one that I like. I am not a fan of jamuns, but the only reason I asked for this dessert is because they were supposed to have coconut in them. I was a little disappointed there, because there was neither any coconut, nor any gulkand in the gulab jamuns. They were nice in their own classic way.
My take on Ruby the Robot
To be honest, I had mixed feelings about the robotics. While the concept is great, I believe the attire of the robot and the music it (she?) plays, can be toned down a bit to make it seem more futuristic than funny. But, the fact that someone has gone beyond the usual and decided to experiment with a robot waitress definitely deserves an applaud.
Drink & Spice Magics
- Food
- Drinks
- Ambience
- Pricing
- Service
#RashidaReviews
Food – great. Drinks – good. Robot – not up to the mark. A good concept that was probably not executed in the right manner, the restaurant has too many USPs and too many things going on which kind of make it difficult to understand what they are selling. The interiors are too glitzy, which might be a tad but overwhelming, and the songs played by Ruby the Robot tend to get annoying. The only saving grace is the food – which, barring my experience with the fish, was quite good.
Try their Tandoori Jhinga, Gosht Peshawari Kebab and Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani.
Location: Al Attar Building, Khalid Bin Waleed Road, Opposite NBQ Bank, Near Burjuman Metro Station, Mankhool, Dubai
Contact: +97143407222 | +97142612145
