What's in a Name? Tub of Butter
Yes, let's face it - it's an obscure name for a restaurant that doesn't exactly scream health conscious, nor does it act as an understandable descriptor for the type of venue it is. What it does do is stand out and get people talking, so perhaps it's not as silly as it first sounds.
According to the restaurant:
"As the early expression goes; landing in a tub of butter is a translation of someone falling into good fortune. This expression is the foundation to the design of the space; a magical marketplace that will bring patrons into our Tub of Butter".
Rather eccentrically, it seems that the entire place is somehow dedicated to the first person to have ever made butter - a mysterious Mr. Nomad. "You Mr. Nomad are our hero, our everything". It's better than calling the place Churned Milk Fat right? Let's just call it TOB and move on.
TOB sits along Sheik Zayed Road in what I like to call the Safa Breakfast Strip, where you will find (in no particular order) Jones The Grocer, Bystro, Bertin, Lime Tree Cafe as well as Crumbs Elysee. That's a tough crowd.
As usual in Dubai, thee nondescript commercial exterior gives no clue to what lies on the inside. In this case Tub of Butter is a surprisingly far bigger space than expected and is essentially divided into three distinct areas; The Lounge, Market Place and The Dining Room.
The Lounge is where you will most likely have a cup of one of their signature artistic coffees and breakfast. This is where you will also find impromptu lunch meetings being held and keyboard warriors soaking up the free WiFi. The seating is comfortable and the pop of aqua provides a nice accent to the wooden tones used throughout the interiors designed by Creneau International who have a string of Dubai restaurants under their belt.
Opposite the Lounge area is the Market Place, where you will find a vast array of artisanal gourmet grocery items, specialty food products and other high end goodies for your pantry. A floor to ceiling shelving system showcases the majority of the items interspersed with some witty quotes. Some of the gourmet goodness includes exotic olive oils, aged balsamic vinegars, jams, honeys, mustards, pastas and sauces.
A part of this area also contains a Deli section which is said to change daily based on seasonality. It's here that you will be able scoop up aged cheeses & artisan meats, nice selection of gourmet sandwiches, salads, canapés, freshly baked pastries and desserts, some of which would almost certainly contain a tub of butter.
Towards the rear of the cafe lies a darkened Dining room which is a mix of all black tables in various shapes and configurations, a blacked out ceiling with the obligatory exposed plumbing and some nice black framed art pieces of fruit that manage to provide a little contrast to rather large and lonely space. Perhaps it gets busy in the evenings, it's hard to tell at breakfast time.
So onto breakfast and what a beauty the Crushed Avocados were. The trick is to ask for a poached egg on top which brings the dish up to where it should be. The avocado is plentiful atop a super soft brioche bun and mixes just nicely with a touch of citrus and the medium poached egg. The chia seeds add a little visual punch but no discernible taste. Coffee is always a good idea and so it was.
In all for a local start up TOB is a great place and a must visit for any budding foodie looking to grab a couple of unique items from the Market Place. The service is friendly and the breakfasts at least really quite nice.
With such fierce competition from the host of other compelling outlets along the Safa Breakfast Strip, it's hard to tell if there is enough of a standout difference here food wise to elevate TOB to being amazing as opposed to just plain good.
Still it’s worth a visit.
