RESTAURANT REVIEW: LEVEL LOUNGE
RATING
***
Walking into Level Lounge on a Sunday evening, I was surprised to see it was almost completely empty, although I shouldn’t have been. It was a Sunday, after all. I didn’t mind the quiet though, I had the place to myself and my book in my purse. I could eat, drink, read and be merry.
At first, I wasn’t sure where to get comfortable. The set up is quite lounge-y, as expected, so was predominantly made up of low seating, hugging the floor and giving off casual vibes that are inviting, if you are with a group of people. Personally, I’m not a fan of low seating, I find them quite uncomfortable, especially if you’re wearing a dress with heels. So, I sat at the bar and was immediately approached by the bartender, who offered me a drinks and food menu.
I can’t really vouch for their alcoholic drinks, since I don’t drink alcohol, but I did order their passionfruit iced tea, and it was the most refreshing drink I’ve ever had! The sweetness was combined with a tanginess that blended perfectly together, creating a delicious concoction. And don’t you just love munching on those passionfruit seeds?
When it came to food, I wasn’t sure what to order. Their menu isn’t overly extensive, and I couldn’t really tell what cuisine they followed, but could see a lot of Mexican touches throughout. I ordered the Level waffle to start, then the chicken shawarma for my main course and churros to end the night.
As I sat waiting for my food to arrive, I took a little walk around the place. Level Lounge is located at the roof top of Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi hotel, and I was hoping to catch some great views of the city, but there wasn't much to see. That being said, the overall look and feel of the place gave me some serious Fresh Prince of Bel-Air vibes! It is very cool, very funky, very 90s.
Taking my seat at the bar to dig into my appetizer, I found that it was a bit underwhelming. The Level waffle basically consists of shrimps on a waffle with guacamole, so I was expecting a burst of flavors to fill my mouth. Unfortunately, the waffle was soggy, and there wasn’t enough flavor or seasoning on either the shrimps or the guacamole to make up for it. It wasn’t great.
The chicken shawarma came with a side of fries, and overall, it was OK. The shawarma had a sweetness to it that I couldn’t explain and didn’t really do it for me. It could have been from the tomatoes? It is not common to find tomatoes in a chicken shawarma. In fact, I think it tasted more like a chicken shawarma burrito. There was a hint of Mexican flavor, but I couldn’t really put my finger on it. The fries were overcooked, but lucky for them, I actually love my fries crispy, so that was a plus.
The grand finale were the churros with a side of vanilla sauce, and man was I dancing in my seat waiting for it. When they came, I dipped that churro into the vanilla and took a huge bite, and was extremely surprised to find that the sauce was very cold. Usually, churros are served with a hot dip, so I definitely did not expect to get a cold dip and the menu did not specify how the dip would be served. The churros themselves were good, but the vanilla dip was off-putting, and the flavor was very bland. It didn’t taste like vanilla, there was no sweetness to it, so I wasn’t sure what went wrong there. I ended up munching on the churro sticks, sans dip.
Overall, I’d give the food 2 stars and the drink 5 stars. I think on a busy day, the food won’t be a priority if you’re visiting a lounge. The vibe and general atmosphere count more, in my opinion (and the drinks of course!).
Although I didn’t have the best food experience, but I still left in a very pleasant mood, because the vibe, the music, the servers and service all made up for it. Definitely worth visiting if you’re in the area and looking for a cool place to hang out with your friends. Just don’t go on a Sunday!