The Wharf

In the Mina A'Salam hotel, there is a restaurant called The Wharf. Before you give me a bunch of back talk about eating at hotels, let me tell you a little something about living in 'the land of sand'. The ONLY restaurants that are allowed, by law, to serve alcohol are associated with hotels. So, when we make arrangements to meet someone for dinner (and drinks) the only destinations are usually restaurants associated with hotels.

The Mina A'Salam hotel is one of a line of properties that front Jumierah beach right next to the Burj Al Arab. They are connected by a canal and the local water taxis motor folks back and forth to the Madinat Jumeirah, the Wild Wadi water park and several hotel properties.

We drove up, parked the car and walked into the lobby. We were met with the most succulent fragrance. We walked to the center of the atrium and saw a fountain that had rose petals floating on the surface. The smell was fantastic. Later on we saw some wedding regalia, so I don't know if this was done for the specific event, or if it's a normal part of the hotel routine, but WOW! It was scrumptious.

We wandered downstairs and out the back doors of the hotel, alongside the canal. The Wharf was there, with lots of outside tables and seating. It's still a little too hot for that, so we decided to kill some time looking over the property before going into await our friends.

The beach was just lovely at sunset. The staff was furling the umbrellas and clearing up for the day. We strolled around to see the views, enjoy the sea breeze and architecture. They have a huge gazebo near the pool with a stunning view of the Burj Al Arab and the Palm Jumeirah. The hotel was designed to look like traditional Arab dwellings and is filled with art and furniture that appear antique and authentic.

It's a stunning place. I'd like to take some time to ramble around and really get the lay of the land. Or perhaps take one of the water taxis for a tour. The canal area had a few surprises. One was a built in water habitat for rehabilitating sea turtles. There was some signage promoting the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project and we watched the water until we actually identified two sea turtles swimming around. It's an honorable effort and all the signs pointed out that sea turtles are completely protected by the Emirates. They also had satellite tracking of the turtles they'd released into the wild. It was a fun find while we were just killing time before dinner.

The Wharf restaurant was delightful. Based on an old English pub, the food was fun and flavorful. I got the fish and chips, which was delivered to me wrapped in newspaper (no plate!) Which is fine, until you spill your glass of water, then it's really less convenient than one might think.

Our friends had a discount coupon, so I'm not sure how much the meal would have cost without it, but it seemed to be very well priced and delicious. I would certainly go back. It also appears to be a place that would be great to take visitors. So, come on out and visit me in Dubai. We'll get your picture taken next to the camel. Yeah, just like the penguins in Tulsa, these things are everywhere.

--Sandee Wagner