FlyingSolo
Google
Mixed experience of Apollo. First of all, we struggled to get a reservation at the time that we wanted but when we walked into the restaurant, most of the tables were empty. The staff were all chatting with each other at the front desk and just stared at me like I was in the wrong place until I said I had a booking - that was weird and awkward. It didn’t feel welcoming at all.
Once seated, the serving staff were friendly and professional, although the service was quite slow.
The mocktails and cocktails are delicious but they are tiny. The glass the drinks are served in is very pretty but only big enough for a mouse 🥲
As for the food - there’s a lot of choice and most of the dishes are made for sharing, but if you try anything please get the grilled shrimp. The taste of the flame grilled prawns is wonderful, and the sauce is absolutely delicious. I could genuinely drink a bowl of it. The dish is also presented beautifully and I would order it again.
Now the hyped items - the calamarata vodka pasta. The pasta itself was cooked perfectly al dente and the portion size is a good, perfect for sharing or as a main for one person. The stratiacella cheese makes the sauce creamy and rich and coats the pasta perfectly. HOWEVER the taste of the sauce itself isn’t anything special and actually reminded me of canned tomato soup. I also felt the dish lacks something which is why we ordered the shrimp to go with it. I don’t get the hype for this dish and wouldn’t order it again.
The onion croquettes also weren’t as expected, they tasted just okay but were kind of sloppy and didn’t really blow me away tbh. I don’t think I’d order those again either.
As for the atmosphere, we sat on the terrace and it was very noisy with another couple’s kids screaming and running everywhere. There was also a group of young British people who were swearing very loudly (saying the F word etc), which also ruined the mood and atmosphere. This is not how people behave in the UAE especially in a public setting with other diners and children. The staff should have said something. It was very embarrassing.
Finally at the end of the meal the waitress said she would bring the dessert menu over then forgot we existed, so we just called another waiter to pay and leave.
Overall I thought Apollo was okay but the food is overpriced and another one of those Dubai restaurants that doesn’t quite live up to the hype. Food and service both need improvement.
Originally I’d booked it for a special occasion later in the month and I’m so glad I went before then because I’ve now cancelled that booking based on this experience.
I would visit again and sit indoors for a casual meal to try some of the other dishes, but not for a celebration or intimate dinner.
