Overall Rating
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7.0 / 10
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This is among those eateries where the name articulates all about the place. The Media Lounge is a lounge café located in the media hub, which is none other than the Dubai Media City. It is truly a hub and home for many IT and media related organizations. The brand was founded back in 2013 with the simple motive of creating a lounge and chill zone for the world of Media. It tries to bring in a new dimension for all media personnel and gurus’ to socialize under one roof. The outlet is located in the ground floor of the Concord Tower right amidst many industry giants such as Microsoft, IBM, CNN, Oracle, etc. Well it doesn’t stop there; the brand also aims to extend their service to the nearby residential complexes, which include the Dubai Marina and the Jumeirah Beach Residence. The manager also informed me that brand had won the exclusive right to cater PepsiCo’s new state of the art facility in DIP and has plans to expand further in the near future. Franchising options would also be available soon, and thereby increase the brand image across Middle East and other parts of the world.
The lounge is divided into two. One side was dedicated to a typical lounge concept of this market, which is none other than shisha. Although the concept might be cliché, TML team has brought in the twist for this by a focus driven interior fit out along with smoke free ventilation. The walls had a unique finish of newspaper murals and other media related wallpaper. It also portrayed the timeline of the media industry from invention of printing press to the more cyber-oriented platforms like RSS and other social media. This was a proper smoking area. Whereas the other side of the outlet was a smoke free zone for much food driven customers. This side of the outlet lacked the ‘media’ atmosphere. Instead the fit out was more of simple black and white interiors with plastic grass mat wall finish. The fit out also included indoor plant pots on every table. Both the sides had white tables with bright oranges seats. The manager also mentioned that the outlet experiences huge crowd during the football season, as it is an easy access lounge for many professional in the area. |
On receiving AED100 voucher from the marketing department of TML. I visited the outlet with a friend for a weekday lunch after university. As we reached the venue, it was not very occupied and we found seats easily. The outlet got crowded over time. I noticed most of the crowd was office goers due to its prime location, easy accessibility and good meal offering. The menu booklet also illustrated newspaper murals on the cover. Inside, it includes meals starting from #Healthy breakfasts to salads, main courses, shakes and beverages.
My friend and I decided to start off the meal with an Oreo Peanut Butter Shake (Aed 24). The flavors of oreo and peanut butter were prominent. Although, the shake was sort of a letdown as the consistency was not very thick.
My friend and I decided to start off the meal with an Oreo Peanut Butter Shake (Aed 24). The flavors of oreo and peanut butter were prominent. Although, the shake was sort of a letdown as the consistency was not very thick.
For the main course, we ordered signature TML Pollo Picante pizza and Chicken Escalope. The thin crust Pollo Picante was freshly crafted. It was prepared with spicy marinated cubed chicken in tomato sauce mixed with onion, chopped bell peppers, olives and a pinch of chili flakes. The regular sized pizza priced AED 39 was sufficient for about 2 people. It was not cheesy and spicy even though the menu indicates the spice element.
The Chicken Escalope (Aed 48) was two pieces of crispy breaded chicken fillet. The size of the fillet was immensely large compared to the normal portion. It was served along with generous portion of crunchy potato fries. The dish came with two dips; ketchup and signature TML sauce.
To sum up, a good try with great ambiance and various options to pick from.
To sum up, a good try with great ambiance and various options to pick from.