Whenever I think of a sports bar, I think of a dingy pub that has invested more in its screens than anything else. Angry men sat with a pint (usually Stella), chain-smoking cigarettes and telling the screen off and referring to the game from their seats.
I can’t say that I was excited that my husband was keen to venture to the Offside sports bar, located on the beautiful grounds of Jumeirah Sadayaat Island. I’d braced myself for questionable food in a Smokey bar.
Well, I was wrong! Not about the TV screens. One area was like a cinema, and eight smaller ones were around the bar.
We were greeted by Isaac, who gave us a choice of tables as there was only one other customer at the time. We chose a lovely big round table. I quite like that it had sports trivia around the circumference. We were given one menu to share and ordered rum and cokes and a beer on happy hour at only 25aed for selected drinks.
The bar was modern, clean and very much a sports bar, but it did not have the screens blaring; instead background music. It is also a non-smoking bar.
Our buffalo chicken wings arrived with blue cheese sauce, and the waitress offered us gloves.
My inner carnivore declined. They arrived piping hot. My husband started with a knife and fork he was keen to get stuck in. They were indeed worth the wait! The flavour was spot on. Tangy, with a bit of heat and not dripping in sauce, with a satisfying crunch. The burger and onions rings arrived.
Not only were the onion rings impressive on the eye, but they were also to the pallet. Crispy, the onion was well cooked, and the truffle mayonnaise was delightful.
The burger itself was a showpiece. It was stacked like the Burj Khalifa. I couldn’t take an elegant bite. I was like a Viking at one with my wings and meat.
The bill for a total of 6 drinks was only 408 dirhams.
The staff were friendly and not over-attentive like some similar bars in Dubai, although the plates were left quite sometime before cleared, I thought they had been left for us to pick at as we couldn’t finish it all.
It did get busier around 18:45 which added to the atmosphere. The clientele seemed to be mainly westerners going for a few drinks and dinner after work.
Food 9/10
Service 7/10
Venue 8/10
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