Toro Toro by Chef Richard Sandoval — Restaurant in Dubai

Another weekend, another brunch! So seems to be the burden of living in Dubai and embarking upon the weekend. With 52 weekends a year, there must be at least four times as many brunches ongoing simultaneously each Friday. This begs many questions: Why go to the specific brunch? What is the difference between all of them? And what is it that you’re looking for this Friday?

Toro Toro is positioned within the ever popular Dubai Marina and facing out onto the waterfront (although you cannot see this easily from inside the restaurant). Instead the inside is thoroughly modern with a slight nod towards street arts, dark interiors and a lengthy hallway brightened by a somewhat retro ceiling lighting circular fixture. There are alcoves with larger communal seating for big groups (a fabulous idea for branches) as well as your typical four and six seater tables available for couples and a more modest gathering of friends.

Well the menu claims to be Latin American there are some other Spanish cultural appropriation is including a generous sangria top up arriving courtesy the hands of the efficient service staff here most notably of home include a small clutch Venezuelans and other South Americans who speak confidently and passionately about some of the menu items.

And with this return to the food:

There is a wide variety of starters here; a generous selection of well chosen starters to kick off with. The CACHAPAS are presented beautifully and modernised to refine this humble Venezuelan street dish channelling the signature sweetcorn flavour enveloped with a mild melted cheese. This is very much reminds me of late evenings walking around Caracas. The crunchy, toasty EMPANADAS are flaky and enjoyable, but, have no discernible chorizo flavoured despite this description on the menu. The BAKED SCALLOPS are actually BAKED PRAWNS in disguise but nonetheless are a sight to behold old nestled on a bed of black eyed beans. These are rich and somewhat surprisingly creamy which was a little disappointing from my perspective as a lighter, zesty dish would have worked better in my opinion. This seemed a tenuous Latin American connection and felt closer to a Southeast Asia dish. The FISH TACOS are colourful however I would rather they do not fry the fish but instead grill it in order to maintain a lighter touch especially given the number of courses that arrive in the starters as well as follow with the mains. Fish tacos to me are best executed lightly grilled with a zesty herbaceous sauce like a chimichurri or similar with a slight spice. The CEVICHE was so good that we ordered a second plate of it.

This cornucopia of starters left us wanting space to breathe before embarking on THE MAIN COURSES. The ribeye of beef is beautifully cooked medium accompanied by thinly sliced herby potatoes making for a classic pairing of meat and potato. But the star of the show for all of us was the slow cooked brisket in a smooth, creamy and delicious white bean purée playing a supporting role to the gently braised beef like a giant duvet wrapping itself around each mouthful. This was more humble but no less enjoyable homely, comfort food. It is at this point that I would recommend switching to the house Tempranillo red wine to support both dishes.

The deserts are not memorable.

Dubai branches have this decision to make between being lighthearted, food forward, family centric or devil may care fun to kick off the weekend. To my mind Toro Toro is playing closer towards the food forward side versus some of its peers but by no means alienates The synonymous Latin American party atmosphere.

Overall it is one of the better branches I have been to recently where you could easily come here with a large group of friends, and intimate group of friends or with family and other visitors from abroad. The food is good quality; the drinks are flowing liberally without losing a sophisticated atmosphere and all of this for a very reasonable price points which at times seems unachievable in Dubai for this quality of food...

My friend and I went there for the Dubai festival week.

With a set menu of 250 aed for 3 courses. Curious about how this would turn out, we decided to give it a go.

At the entrance you were greeted with a smile and asked kindly whether you wanted to sit outside or inside.

We opted for the outside which was very cosy and relaxed with some salsa music on the background which was at an enjoyable noise level. Not too loud that it is disturbing, not too quiet too. It really added a lot to the South American themed restaurant.

The restaurant it self was very clean. The restaurant staff was very kind and attentive, they had an eye for every detail and were always there for you.

So far. Restaurant vibe, staff, service and cleanliness a 10/10!

A special shout out to Chelni one of the waitresses who was very kind, happy to pair me with the perfect pisco. Give that woman an award since she goes above and beyond.

On to the food.

I started off with a beef anticucho, the beef was tender, juicy and delicious with the aji giving that extra kick to it.

For drinks I opted for a pisco sour and a Pisco cola. Both made perfectly and was happy to find pisco since it's a Peruvian/Chilean speciality drink which you can't find everywhere.

For main course I went for a rib-eye steak medium rare with roasted potatoes and fries.

The roasted potatoes really complimented the steak and honestly there wasn't any need for fries.

Yet the fries were crunchy on the outside but fluffy on the inside. Just as they should be.

The rib-eye steak was medium rare as requested, very tender, juicy and probably one of the best steaks I've ever had. Adding extra salt or pepper wasn't needed since it was seasoned perfectly.

For dessert I went for the tres leches cake and passion fruit sorbet. This dessert was the perfect way to end a 3 course meal!

The passionfruit sorbet paired perfect with the tres leches cake and once again I'd give the food a 10/10 just like all the other aspects of the restaurant.

Is the restaurant pricy? Yeah quite so, but this is the perfect venue to have a special occasion or a date.

Is it worth paying the price? Hell yes! I've been to many restaurants all over the world and this is probably one of the best dinners I've ever had.

Conclusion. Highly recommended and I will...

Yesterday was our first time at Toro Toro.. Our dear friends invited us to this amazing Latin American restaurant in Dubai. As we battled the traffic from Sharjah to Dubai resisting the urge to abuse the rash drivers who were weaving from lane to lane, we wondered if the drive to TT would be worth it..

OH BOY! What a fascinating place!! it just blows you away right from the get-go!! We felt like royalty as a dazzling bevy of bouncing beauties in feathers and bling welcomed us with cocktails as we stepped through their doors. In the midst of them, was the familiar happy face of our dear buddy Mal. The tempo of the music and high energy is nothing short of electric!!⚡🌩️ The 4 course lunch was absolutely delicious!... Fish and steak cooked to perfection in a fab blend of flavors! All the snacks were a work of art to look at and delicious too! Our server was attentive and shared the names of all she served. After the meal and drinks, it was time for the Latin American floor shows. Every one of the talented performers were impressive! TT has hired the best Latino musicians, singers and dancers to enthrall their patrons to ensure everyone returns home with not just their tanks full, but a lasting memory of high flying entertainment! After the meal, most of the diners, us included, joined the artistes on the floor for some foot stomping frolic. The dancers then led the crowd to the dance floor while the DJ kicked things up a notch.. the champagne was popped open while glitter confetti rained down on us! A truly mesmerizing experience! Well done Toro Toro!! You've thought of everything! Fortunately we were with close friends who we've known for years.. as the loud music on Saturday afternoon is certainly not conducive to any long meaningful conversations. Although we did manage to chat a bit. Not ideal for business lunches. Nor for a first date where you plan to whisper loving words to your gal ...she won't hear a thing!! WHAAT DID YOU SAY? I SAID YOU LOOK LOVELY! I LOOK LONELY??!😬 NO! LOVELY! I SAID YOU LOOK 'LOVELY'!

Toro Toro DJ please tone down the volume during the meal.. it will make a huge difference to the ambience. All in all this was a 5 star experience. It will be a memory for our friends Pam, Mal and us to chat about when we're hunched up with age, sipping on prune...