Housed in the iconic Mall of Emirates, Farzi Cafe MOE is a pretty unique restaurant. While the cuisine might be Indian, the way it’s delivered is something different altogether. Rather than serving dishes in a traditional way, here many come as ‘illusions’, using - among other things - molecular gastronomy to wow diners. As such, your order might come in a mini phone box, on the back of a scale model truck or sealed in a mini fridge full of dry ice. The interiors of the restaurant, meanwhile, are simple and natural, with numerous plants adorning the walls and high ceilings giving the airy space a relaxed feel.
For breakfast, the restaurant offers healthy plates like granola bowls and avocado toast as well as a slightly less healthy all you can eat breakfast on the weekends. There are sweeter dishes too, such as french toast, pancakes and sweet pastries.
To drink, you’ll find lots of colourful and healthy beverages to choose from, some of which incorporate spectacular molecular gastronomy. There are more familiar soft drinks like Fanta and diet coke, fresh juices, house mocktails and bramble bantas like the ginger orange melody with cumin and mandarin. The molecular beverages, meanwhile, use flavoured ‘caviar’, made by dropping a hot gelatin mixture into cold liquid to create tiny marbles of flavour.
Despite the avant-garde nature of the menu, there’s still plenty of choice. Start off with a more classic hummus selection served with poppadoms and pickle, or try something more unusual like the minestrone shorba with rosemary air. Other intriguing small plates include the lentil arancini or tempura fried prawns with kumquat chilli air and tobanjan tobiko. For the main event, there is a similarly eclectic offering. Try the house lamb biryani for something more familiar, or push the boat out with the herb-crusted paneer with bocconcini, basil salad and a rich tomato gravy.