The Catch of the Day at Radisson Blu's Fish Market

Upon arrival at the Fish Market restaurant in the Radisson Blu hotel Deira Dubai Creekside, we were unexpectedly surprised by our warm welcome.  The restaurant itself is reminiscent of classic "old" resort restaurants with it's thatched roof accents and the bamboo clad walls.  We were seated at table overlooking Baniyas street and the creek on a regular mid-week evening.  There were a few tables scattered about, but through out the evening there was a steady flow of traffic into this established Deira seafood venue. 

My guests and I were eager to get started, and the first experience about this restaurant that set it apart from other places is the fact that they have no dinner menus.  The concept revolves around the fresh selection of fish on display in the ice along the one side of the dining room.  Directly behind the fresh seafood spread are large tanks with the live lobsters featured as the chefs special for the evening, which was clearly written on the specials board. 

Our helpful waitress pointed out some of the house specialties consisting of tiger prawns, king crab, local fish known as Halwa, and the live lobster of course! There were a couple of signature sauces such as  garlic butter, black been, Singaporean style, Thai red curry, and chili paste served with each of the items so we asked for a selection of the items to be grilled and served with the sauces on the side and some to be prepared as per the chefs recommendation.

The first item to arrive were the grilled tiger prawns which we paired with the garlic butter. The natural sweetness of the crustacean with a squeeze of lemon was to my liking, so I kept it simple with this starter.  On the flip side, we also had the Singaporean style sauteed king crab legs, which were very well prepared coated in a spicy, sweet, and tangy sauce. This was literally finger licking good, as we dug into this dish with our bare hands and some essential tools. 

For the mains we enjoyed the items which came highly recommended by our waitress as well as some of the other service staff.  The local Halwa fish was cooked in a Thai red curry sauce and the live lobster was prepared with a chili paste and heaps of onions and greens.  Both of these dishes were full of flavor and done with an authentic flair that clearly demonstrates the skill of the kitchen staff.  They excel in developing these Asian style flavors and my favorite item of the evening was the lobster dish, succulent and savory all in one, it highlighted all the right flavors and textures. 

Everything was served table side by the professional well-trained staff.  They were clearly veterans at this restaurant and had a good handle on how to take orders and serve their guests with ease and efficiency.  With a sense of humor and warm smiles, every moment was anticipated which made this a memorable dinner experience.