On The Menu: DRiFT Seafood Kitchen & Bar

The FACT award-winning seafood restaurant is back with a brand new menu.

Fujairah is often overlooked when it comes to dining in the emirates, but the enclave of luxury hotels along Al Aqua beach has plenty to offer discerning diners looking to escape the city.

When it comes to gastronomy, the team at InterContinental Fujairah Resort are helping to put the emirate of Fujairah well and truly on the culinary map with DRiFT Seafood Kitchen & Bar. Winner of ‘best culinary staycation in the Northern Emirates’ at the FACT Dining Awards Dubai 2020, DRiFT seamlessly blends from a poolside venue of light bites during daylight hours and into a charming fine dining restaurant as the sun sets.

Since our last visit almost a year ago, DRiFT has launched a new seafood-focused menu that offers several exciting dishes to match the beachfront locale. An exquisite selection of seafood-inspired dishes includes locally caught Dibba Bay Oysters that are as fresh as you can get, having been harvested mere miles up the coast. 

While the menu features several prime meat cuts prepared upon the Josper grill, it’s the seafood dishes that are likely to pique the interest of diners visiting DRiFT. The Glazed Spanish Octopus (AED 110) is a delightful tendril, lying on a bed of ratatouille and smoked pepper coulis that offers exquisite Mediterranean flavours. Similarly, the Butter Poached Canadian Lobster (AED 270) is a beautifully conceptualised dish, where the delicate shellfish is poached in a decadent espelette and tarragon butter and served with saffron mashed potato and Romanesco. However, it was the fragrant and warming Seafood Bisque (AED 90) swimming with scallops, prawns, mussels, calamari and clams that we will remember most fondly.

Main courses include pasta, risotto and dishes from the land and sea. However, the Nespresso BBQ Beef Ribs (AED 170) remain a firm FACT favourite. Imparting a beautifully robust flavour to the meat which is further elevated by a delicate celeriac puree and accompaniment of Heirloom baby vegetables.

For those with a sweet tooth, the desserts at DRiFT are a true highlight. The audacious and somewhat divisive Shades Of White (AED 60) is bound to be a talking point. Plating coconut and labneh mousse, coconut kafir lime sorbet and coconut meringue before smoking them in a bell jar to instil an alluring flavour. For something more traditional, the Chocolate Box (AED 80) is not to be missed! We don’t want to ruin the surprise, but we will say that the presentation and execution are impeccable and will likely leave a long-lasting impression of DRiFT Seafood Kitchen and Bar.

DRiFT Seafood Kitchen & Bar may represent the closest thing to fine dining you’ll find it Fujairah, yet that doesn’t stop the restaurant from being inclusive. Finding a careful balance between a clientele of in-house guests and local residents, DRiFT offers a family-friendly dining experience anchored around a central bar and supported by nightly live music from the in-house band The Butchery Boys. If it’s seafood overlooking the coast that you’re after, then this is the spot.

GO: Call (0)9 209 9999 for reservations and more information.