Crab Market Restaurant and Lounge is classy and chic – very modern interior design, and it’s a sure conversation topic as you enter and waltz through to your table up on the 15th floor of Emirates Financial Towers. DIFC.

Not only elegant, but airy and just sparkling with natural light and high ceilings; and also spritzy, and rebellious – see who is there to greet you immediately as you exit the lifts…

…actually, no. I won’t spoil that surprise for you.

Please pass the resident DJ my primate regards.

The business end of Crab Market is also on full display.

And the open-plan kitchen works very well as part of the buzz of the place – the crab market, of course!

Displays of the freshest seafood sets the main stage, and live tanks cater to the serious pick-and-choose gourmet.

The premises are not only fully licensed, but they delight in mixing sexy cocktails!

As well as serving the finest wines and champagnes, with their own walk-in cellar.

Tiki Tiki says hello, by the way.

The dishes are mainly seafood, and not surprisingly crab takes the stage and steals the show!

From the tank or ice,

to your table,

Go for Kamchatka legs if you want to dance.

Go for the whole Kamchatka live crab – up to 3kg! – if you want to fly.

But, there’s more than crab… and the mains impressed with very exact cooking, intelligent combinations, and fine plating: really top marks!

A spectacular grilled octopus – very high temperature on the grill, and basically seared and lifted off. Perfectly soft and yummy on the inside, crispy and crunchy on the outside. Highlighted and contrasted beautifully with a tangy tomato-based sauce, and then paired in collaboration with simple boiled spring potatoes, to help bring out the octopus’ taste and boost its texture. A fantastic dish.

Equally impressive was the sea bass playing with miso on a bed of asparagus – the fish super-fresh and again cooked just perfectly: not a second too long!

When you taste these mains, you know the Chef is spot-on and not just for show. He is aiming at connoisseurs of fine-dining fare; he is working to challenge himself in moving up and ahead in the world of international cuisine. I didn’t meet him, nor see him in action, but I salute him. Or her, perhaps!

Two very fine and excellent dishes.

Overall, Crab Market Restaurant & Lounge is a destination on the Dubai fine-dining scene.

It is a place where you can go for a top-of-the-town occasion to treat an executive business guest, or to enjoy a gourmet dinner with your loved one – and then again, it is a drop-in cocktail lounge and bar for conversation with friends.

The seafood, and the crab, was exceptional.

The preparation in the kitchen was equally fantastic.

And the service at the table was impeccable.

I loved every moment at Crab Market, and so will you.