Biella
Italian-inspired alternative to fast food court dining 4 Reviews
With one or two honourable exceptions, mall dining is an un-enticing proposition: do you go for a doughy panini at a coffee shop or a greasy burger in the neon-lit food court? Biella, at Marina Mall, offers instead a secluded restaurant setting away from the echoing halls of the shopping centre, for those who like to eat with proper cutlery and china, linen tablecloths and attentive apron-clad staff.
The Italian menu is unexceptional – a series of hefty-sized salads, pastas and pizzas – but as an alternative to fast food it looks more appealing. Venturing away from the Italian staples, the dishes are ambitious for the setting but poorly executed, often overcooked or limp. The red snapper, in particular, can be sadly manhandled and dry. It’s not all bad, though – if you stick to the classics, such as a caprese (if you don’t mind a slightly rubbery mozzarella) or a pasta dish, you’ll leave fairly happy and replete with reasonably fresh, well put-together ingredients. Even better, the pizzas are exceptionally good; a generous size with a light, crisp dough and plentiful flavoursome toppings. A couple of healthy juices (remember to ask for syrup on the side rather than in the juice) bump up the vitamin quota.
Skip the desserts, though, if you’re planning to continue shopping: a heavy and dry tiramisu is the last thing you need sitting in your belly when you’re going to try on jeans. Still, as a mid-shopping-spree alternative to the noisy, child-infested food courts, this is a pretty good option.
By Time Out Abu Dhabi staffTime Out Abu Dhabi,
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Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.
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