The series takes place on Friday every month at this renowned hotel.
Villa Toscana, the award-winning Italian restaurant at St Regis Abu Dhabi, has launched a new series of enchanting grape dinners.
Featuring specially curated set menus paired with the world’s finest grapes, the fabulous evening takes place on one Friday each month and is the perfect experience for anyone with a passion for premium and delicious Italian grapes.
So Team Yalla headed there when the first of the new monthly grape dinner rolled out and was dedicated to the rich and silky grapes of Banfi, the oldest winery in Tuscany and one of the most famous wine producers in the world.
Villa Toscana is one of Abu Dhabi’s best and most popular Italian restaurants, serving authentic high-end Italian and Tuscan cuisine with simplicity central to its culinary theme.
The restaurant’s design is elegant and traditional being inspired by a Tuscan villa for an Italian noble, incorporating high vaulted ceilings, large windows, paintings and traditional Italian murals.
It’s a fun setting yet exudes much style and sophistication.
Outside, there is a large terrace for al fresco dining but we chose to sit inside amongst the lovely features, with a nice view over the restaurant with the open fronted kitchen and open oven in the background.
The highlighting of the spectacular flavours of light and refreshing white wines such as Le Rime Chardonnat and La Pettegola Vermentino, and aromatic reds such as Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Superiore is paired perfectly with a complementing Italian dish.
We started with a tasty amuse-bouche, before our first course came, which comprised an egg cooked at a low temperature with Parmesan cheese and asparagus for antipasto.
This was a wonderful dish, difficult to execute well given the technical skills required, and a delight with the egg cooked to perfection.
Next came the pasta – tortellini filled with ricotta, pecorino cheese, butter, sage, broad beans and Tyrol beef speck.
This was an authentic, rustic dish yet with great refinement, with the pasta having that home-made silky and springy texture and the high-quality artisanal cheeses adding wonderful saltiness and sharpness.
For secondo, there was a choice of turbot or charcoal Wagyu beef.
Both were fabulous.
The turbot came with a hazelnut crust, sautéed porcini mushrooms and a polenta purée, whilst the Waghu beef came with ratte potato and black truffle.
For dessert, we were treated to a rich chocolate millefeuille, a wonderfully indulgent way to end this stunning meal.
This was an inspiring menu paired wonderfully with grape. The helpful and informative staff only further added to the pleasure and fun of the evening.
Villa Toscana offers high quality, authentic Italian food in a super setting – we’ll be back again. Or as the Italians would say, “alla prossima”!
For table reservations, please email [email protected] or call 02 694 4553
