Náis Italian Kitchen, Dubai - Watch That Space

If you've read many of the ramblings that are posted here, you might have guessed that I love noodles. Rice noodles, egg noodles, wheat noodles.. they are all good, and even better when they are freshly handmade, moments before they are boiled up and given to me in a bowl, along with some kind of meat. Simple, staple stuff. Food that makes you want to take a nap about half an hour after you finish eating. The reason must be it's so good that your brain is overwhelmed with joy and needs to take a break.

With infallible logic and an empty stomach on my side, a few friends and I visited the Náis Italian Kitchen in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers area of Dubai. All their pasta is hand made, so that was all the encouragement I needed.

The first thing we noticed was that this was not another clichéd Italian place. The good size and airy layout made it feel more like a hip cafe, with modern artwork hanging from the walls, soft white lighting, without a single checkered red & white tablecloth in sight. The kitchen was viewable from the floor of the restaurant, but not totally open thanks to a thick piece of glass between the food and our germs. I could see assorted sizes of very clean looking stainless steel pots and pans hanging from all the right places, making the kitchen look like it was ready to cook up a storm at a moment's notice.

We were still reading through our menus, trying to pronounce the Italian for each dish, when we were personally greeted by a woman who wanted to make sure everything was in order. A nice gesture, and given that we hadn't had so much as a glass of water, we didn't have much feedback for her just then. The lady was doing the rounds of all the tables, and seemed to be in charge of what was going on. I think it's nice when managers or owners take a bit of interest in their customers, since it shows that they are not only concerned with their own personal impression of their restaurant and food. Speaking of the food...

We ordered a small margherita pizza to share for entree, since I'm fairly sure it is illegal to visit an Italian place without getting at least one pizza. It appeared on our table with glistening bubbles of cheese still rumbling around on it's surface. Unfortunately the base made up about 90% of the thing, so the delicate layer of herbaceous tomato sauce went almost unnoticed. Good space filler, but not a wise entree if you expect to eat much afterwards. The mains turned out to be a lot more interesting.

I felt a bit like Tom Thumb upon delivery of the hand made beef ravioli, with sage, leek and butter sauce, since each ravioli was enormous. The dish looked like a pile of big greasy christmas presents waiting to be unwrapped, served on a wide brimmed white dish that looked like an upturned porcelain sombrero (in a good way). Considering the girth of the dish, it was actually a smallish portion, with only half a dozen ravioli in total. Luckily the flavour was more satisfying, with lashings of butter dominating, and sadly no real sign of the leek, but plenty of sage to back it up. Possibly too much butter for some, and maybe a bit too much for the other ingredients to handle.

mushroom and pasta cooked in oil. I want to swim in this.

The handmade egg taglioni pasta with porcini mushrooms was our other main, and in a word it was seductive. The pasta was fresh, dense, oily and supported the soft pieces of mushroom scattered amongst the mess, which was sprinkled with fresh parsley for colour and freshness. the pasta and mushrooms were almost the same consistency, and gave a real moreish vibe to the dish. Did I already mention that all the pasta in Nais is handmade? Well, it makes a difference worth experiencing.

With our belt buckles begging for mercy, we sheepishly ordered a dessert to share. Home made Tiramisu, which was essentially all the elements of tiramisu all piled together to order. Slushy, sweet and strong thanks to the coffee flavour. No Tia Maria since we are in the Middle East, but it still satisfied the sweet craving encountered after a salty main meal.

Despite the helpful hello from the manager before our meal, the service was enthusiastic, but confused. It seemed to me that everyone on the floor was a trainee, since they all appeared to need direction before anything useful would be done. All the food was delivered correctly, and in a timely manner, so the kitchen must be under control, but the floor staff could do with a bit more training. Considering this place only opened in August last year, it's possible that they could still be working the kinks out of their business.

RECOMMENDED

The menu leaned a bit too far towards the greasy and heavy side, so maybe the menu is another thing that is still being worked on. I would still recommend a visit to Nais, but if you aren't impressed on your first trip, give them a couple of months, then go back and see if anything has changed. It isn't a bad place by any means, and it feels to me like they have nowhere to go but up.

The bill (for 2):
1 x Margherita Pizza - 25 Dhs
1 x Handmade egg taglioni pasta with porcini mushrooms - 85 Dhs
1 x Handmade beef ravioli, with sage leek and butter sauce - 70 Dhs
1 x Lemon & Mint juice - 18 Dhs
1 x Tiramisu - 35 Dhs
TOTAL: 233 Dhs (Approx. US$63)

Restaurant address:

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