Not many restaurants catch your attention before you look at the menu, but Rogo’s in Yas Mall – the only rollercoaster restaurant in the UAE – is certainly one of them.
With floor-to-ceiling glass windows it’s impossible not to stare at the silver spirals running through the restaurant’s two floors. These are the rollercoaster tracks on which your food will twirl and bolt before arriving on your table.
But don’t worry – food pots safely strapped to the railing are dispatched from the kitchen by an army of so-called ‘expeditors’ so you won’t see your chicken take flight.
We sit at one of the communal tables – the smaller ones host ten guests, the larger 14 – and order our meal from the international menu using a tablet. We’re not surprised to see it doesn’t offer soup…
Each table has a different course for your plates to take: we are sitting at the double loop table, but we could have ended up with a tornado or spiral.
Our starters whoosh over our head and land on our table. The veggie empanadas are golden and crunchy, while the battered chicken strips are well seasoned and tasty. The portions are massive, and we are already half full.
One of our mains arrives while we are still eating our starters, so we learn a lesson: order one thing at a time, as the chefs are incredibly fast.
Our drinks are served in pretty Mason jars, adding a special touch to our lemon and mint and pomegranate juice.
For mains, we try the fusilli pasta with pesto, which is rich and creamy. The lamb burger with skinny fries meanwhile is a tasty rendition of a classic. Both push us closer to a food-induced coma.
Still, we can’t help but try dessert. We opt for the blueberry cheesecake, which we spoon out of a glass jar, and an ice cream sundae – straightforward comfort food. By the end of our meal, we’re the ones rolling out the door.
Laura Volpi
Details
Location: Level one, Yas Mall, Yas Island
We say: Fun for all the family
Cost: AED 300 for two with soft drinks
Opening times: Sun-Wed noon-10pm, Thu-Sat noon-11pm
Contact: 02 565 0888
[email protected] www.rogos.rest
