Family Eats: New York-style brunch at Clinton St. Baking Company

The first thing you notice about the Clinton St. Baking Company & Restaurant is the view - of Dubai's most famous building, the Burj Khalifa (also the tallest building in the world).

The second thing you notice is the crowd. We went to the restaurant past noon, and it was quite busy. I've heard about the popularity of Clinton St Baking Company, and it's true - you probably have to spend some time waiting to be seated. I mean, who wouldn't want to have brunch with this view?

But of course, it's more than the view. People come here to taste the legacy of the original restaurant in New York, which arguably has the best pancakes in the city. Another factor that draws crowds in is that all their ingredients are organic.

We were lucky to find a table quickly - there being only two of us, and Little Dude.

Clinton St. Baking Company serves brunch in the traditional American sense - so you have pancakes, waffles, milkshakes, sandwiches, and omelettes on the menu.

We started with the Classic Extra Thick Vanilla milkshake and the Wild Maine Blueberry milkshake. Now, it's hard to come across a vanilla milkshake that doesn't taste like vanilla essence, but this one was impressive, made with vanilla pod, and not too sweet.

They do not serve milkshakes in smaller quantities for children, so I split the blueberry milkshake between Little Dude and me. It tasted fresh and was thick. Little Dude loved it, and was already half full before having anything to eat!

The restaurant doesn't have a children's menu, but if your child eats table food, you can share your meal as the portions are generous. But I ordered the Crispy Potato Pancakes separately for Little Dude. The three pancakes were served with applesauce and cinnamon sour cream. The size of these pancakes is ideal for kids, even though Little Dude didn't have them all.

Our meal started with the Kale & Quinoa Salad. It was deliciously crunchy, with spiced pumpkin seeds, avocado, and cherry tomatoes on quinoa, topped with kale leaves in lemon vinaigrette.

For our main dish, I ordered the Grilled Chicken Sandwich, served with hand-cut sweet potato fries, coleslaw, and pickle. The sandwich had a wonderful combination of textures and flavours. The juicy grilled chicken and the fried beef bacon with avocado and tomato in chipotle mayo was very hearty and filling. You should come to Clinton St. Baking Company with a real appetite!

The second main dish we ordered was the Spanish Scramble made with eggs, beef chorizo, and Monterey Jack cheese, served with sourdough toast and hash browns. The eggs were creamy and while this is a breakfast dish, it's perfect for a not-too-heavy meal.

That's another thing I like about this restaurant - the all-day breakfast on the menu!

You can't leave without having their pancakes, so we tried the Pancakes with Chocolate Chunks. They are served in a stack of three, with their signature maple butter. The pancakes were light and fluffy, and the warm syrup was just heavenly. I should have started our meal with these pancakes!

The restaurant offers a cozy ambiance and is a good place for family brunch, and with it's organic meals - it's healthy too.

However, they don't offer activity sheets to keep the kids occupied, so bring your own, or use their free WiFi! Sadly, there is no changing room facility (and the washroom is outside, in the Burj Views complex), so if you have a child in diapers, be prepared.

Getting to the restaurant isn't hard if you are familiar with Downtown Dubai, and if you're not, just get to Burj Views, West tower. Their website has good directions.

A meal for two (shared with a child) costs about AED 300.

Clinton St Baking Company & Restaurant does not take reservations for brunch (even if you're famous or related to us by blood - in their words), but they do take dinner reservations. Call them on 04-4281331 or visit their website.



We were invited to dine at Clinton St. Baking Company for the purpose of review, but all views and opinions are my own.

Check out my other family-friendly restaurant reviews in the Family Eats series.