Social media is absolutely huge in Dubai.  There is no where that doesn’t have a Twitter or Instagram page, and most have a unique hashtag too.  It’s a great way of seeing what’s on, or even if the dishes from specific restaurants look worth giving a go!  We also have bloggers who selflessly go around trying out all the new places.  Funnily enough I follow a few of them, and every now and again there is an absolute gem thrown in…

Thanks to the great post from “liloneoftheashes” (here), I rounded up a couple of the girls and tried out “Naughty but Nice” at Tesoro, Taj Hotel.  Thank you again for pointing this one out to us!!

Firstly, anyone who gives me a free cupcake as I walk into the reception, is a winner.  Double winner when it was absolutely delicious!

Then, there are free flowing espresso martinis – two types!  One regular and one Dulche de Leche.

 

For those of you who don’t like them (me for example as I absolute hate coffee – shocking and controversial as that is!), they had a chocolate martini…

… or a raspberry one!

Even better is that if you don’t drink any of those, you get 50% off the regular drinks menu.

Seriously people… what is not to love so far?!

Let me now discuss food with you.  I am a foodie.  I like food.  I eat too much food which is why I have those extra wobbly bits that keep me warm in the air conditioning of my fridge office.  I am also fairly critical, as you probably know by now.  With this in mind, let me talk you through what happened….

We were given cupcakes.  I know I mentioned that, but here, have another picture!

Then, we were given a bread basket.  I didn’t take a photo of that because I was too busy diving in head first to the delicious sounding and smelling bread selection!  There was a cheesy bread roll, a beetroot roll, and a chili corn bread.  They were served with a chili butter mayo thingie, and another one that I can’t remember what was.

Oh. My. Hat.

I didn’t want to share.  At all.  I want them all!  It was all I could do to not ask for another batch.  Warm, delicious, flavourful, and the chili butter/mayo thingie was mouth-wateringly amazing.

There was however, a burger calling my name.

I am a big burger fan.  It is something I will regularly order on a menu.  You generally can’t go wrong.  Meat, cheese, salad, bread and fries.  Winner!  So, i order Tesoro’s wagu burger.  Even without the 50% discount on food (yep, this place keeps getting better and better!), it’s an unbelievably reasonable price of AED 95.  It’s served with chunky chips too!  Here… have a pic…

The photo does the burger absolutely no justice what-so-ever.  Sorry!

My mouth is actually watering again, typing this.  It honestly just knocked The Ivy‘s burger off the number one spot of my burger list, and that takes some doing!  It was so unbelievably good.  It was moist and tender, without being sloppy.  The meat had a beautiful flavour.  The bun had a hint of sweetness, but it perfectly balanced against the burger meat.  Without it, it just wouldn’t have worked at all.  The chips are twice fried or something, so that means they are all soft and fluffy on the inside, and crispy goodness on the outside.  They were totally amazing dunked in that chili mayo/butter stuff!!!

(Yeah, I did that and I don’t regret it!)

So myself and one other of my group had a burger, and the other two had the miso black cod, or whatever it is called.  Apparently is stands up there with Zuma and Toko’s versions, which is a very high compliment!

They also ordered a side of sweet potato fries (divine!) and green beans (also divine!).

After we had finished plowing our way through that mountain of food, the lovely people bought us another cupcake each!

Honestly… what an awesome find!  The staff were all really lovely, and couldn’t have done any more to make us feel welcome.  They answered food and beverage questions knowledgeably and without having to double check with anyone else.  They were attentive without falling into your lap, and they were genuinely pleased for my crazy little group when we won the business card draw for a free brunch for two!

See you on Friday, Tesoro!  We are coming for the brunch and cannot wait to hang out with you guys again!  It was a genuine pleasure.  And please, have that bread and butter stuff ready to go as soon as I get there… My stomach honestly just growled!!!