Dubai’s new restaurant The Locale is committed to using sustainable local produce

Mitchelle D’Souza, Sub-editor/Reporter

There’s a new restaurant on the block! But for a city like Dubai, which sees scores of them launching at regular intervals, this wouldn’t exactly be something to write home about.

However, The Locale at Andaz Dubai (the city’s first Andaz branded hotel), nestled in the heart of Palm Jumeirah, brings something new to the table.

The majority of the restaurant’s dishes are put together using organic, home-grown produce.

The primary objective of the eatery is supporting local farmers and suppliers, thereby offering patrons the best in locally sourced ingredients and a hospitality that is focused on wellbeing and community.

Promoted as, ‘Your Neighborhood Eatery,’ the fully licensed haunt gives precedence to those dwelling in the hotel’s neck of the woods by reserving a large sharing table for local Palm residents, which they can occupy even if the restaurant is full.

The Locale’s menu is decidedly international with regional influences, thereby reflecting the amalgamation of cultures and communities that make up UAE’s identity.

Chef Laurent Pommey, Executive Chef of The Locale, and Andaz Dubai The Palm, touches upon the eatery’s philosophy: “The Locale is an à la carte restaurant focusing on the use of local produce and showcasing what Dubai has to offer.

“It is a place that is run by people that are passionate in what they are doing and truly believe in doing what is right for the community and not just doing it because it is trendy to do so.”

The Locale at Andaz Dubai The Palm.

He continues, “The Locale food has a simple approach where the focus is more on the product as opposed to too many fancy additions on the plate.”

The indigenous suppliers the restaurant collaborates with to net their haul of fish and seafood are The Local Organic Fish Farm, Dibba Bay Oysters Farm and The Deep Seafood Company.

The other prominent collaborators are Greenheart Organic Farm in Ajman, which supplies organic vegetables and the Al Maida farm in Mount Nebo in Jordan, a family run estate from which The Locale gets its olive oil.

Some of the dishes on the restaurant’s thoughtfully curated menu include organic farmed kale fattoush salad; local watermelon salad with Persian feta drizzled in Al Maida olive oil; roasted local baby marrow served with dukkah spices and tahini; Dibba Bay clams pasta; Gulf of Oman king prawn Malay curry; and roasted, locally farmed organic Atlantic salmon.

The desserts too are whipped up using native samar and sidr honey.

The place is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and true to its ethos of being local in nature, its menu also draws from the city’s culinary institutions; the oldest kebab house to Jumeirah’s favourite fish shack.

Delving into the details of the restaurant’s inspired offerings, Chef Pommey explains, “Our hotel’s motto is ‘arrive a visitor depart a local’ and this is ever more so relevant with The Locale.

“We have inspired dishes from some iconic hot-spots like Ravi’s or Bu Qtair serving king fish masala. Our aim is to display what a person who comes to Dubai on holiday would not usually see.”

Also housed within The Locale is El Boutique, a charming retail space offering renowned as well as up and coming local and regional entrepreneurs, designers and artisans the space to display their creations, such as clothing, accessories, furniture, contemporary art, home décor and the like.

Extending its hallmark of utilising farm-fresh, locally-derived produce, the dining destination is set to launch The Locale Market in March, which will host a number of local suppliers that are already partners of this community-focused eatery. 

To be held on the venue’s expansive outdoor terrace, it will serve as a place for Palm residents to purchase the local bounty, with opportunities to dine on freshly prepared dishes using the organic produce being sold on site.

Another socially responsible initiative in the works is The Locale Container Garden, an activation by Andaz Dubai The Palm to grow some of their own local produce in a sustainable manner in the hotel’s own backyard.

The garden will supply The Locale as well as other dining outlets at the Andaz with freshly harvested herbs and veggies.

Giving us nuggets of information on the name, Chef Pommey said: “We are finalising a project to have our own green container farm from a Dubai-based company called Green Container Advanced Farming, which at the start will be growing salads and herbs, which are all organic. So there are lots of great things at The Locale to get excited about.”