La Mer is a chic beachside community in Jumeirah, chock-a-block packed with trendy restaurants and cafes – but, as you already know or will soon find out, there’s a big difference between a beach shack with a small kitchen and a professionally-run fine-dining establishment.

And Babel deserves the honorable title of fine-dining restaurant.

Champagne a la carte? Check!

A variety of the freshest seafood for your selection? Check!

A roof top terrace to catch the sea breeze? Check!

But let me start from the very-very best and work my way forward:

This dessert…

… is the finest, most delicious, most amazing dessert ever – I promise you.

It’s called Ashta bel Ashta at Babel.

Imagine a soft ice-cream, almost at room temperature, melting yet still keeping its shape: from the clotted cream, skimmed from the top – creamy, oh so creamy! – yet also light, enticing, and not overpowering the palate. And that’s just the base! Add layers of flavors: pistachios, rose water, a tart dry berry, who knows what other magical ingredients!

Absolutely divine – the dessert you will find in paradise.

Before the dessert, I was gushing over a signature dish – equally intense in the spectacle of its taste: superb!

A simple dish, calamari on a cast iron griddle. Looked quite plain, a normal dish – until you place a morsel into your mouth.

A fantastic combination of the freshness of the main ingredient, the cooking method which keeps the calamari rings soft and moist yet also slightly crunchy on the outside, and a masterpiece of a cooking sauce of I’m guessing extremely high quality olive oil, garlic, lemon, and some herbs I couldn’t quite place (coriander?) but which worked magnificently.

Really a spectacular dish, and deserving of carrying the honor of being one of Babel’s signature dishes.

And before that, I was singing the praises of another signature dish, this one with shrimp: Fattet Shrimps, which are a tasty number of shrimps a la Provençal topping a traditional eggplant fatteh – at Babel, it is the most delicious Lebanese fatteh I have ever tasted in 19 years of living in the UAE!

So just in one sitting at Babel, I had three dishes that I would place in the top-category of deliciousness for 2018!

And to qualify how extraordinary this is, the three culinary masterpieces I just highlighted came among other excellent menu items.

Your selection from the fresh seafood can be prepared to suit your preference, and the fish and prawns we chose arrived at our table hot in temperature, preparation, and presentation – top marks!

As part of the five-star silver service, the fish was presented at the table, and then served to our plates, clean and de-boned. The sauce was light enough to add flavor but without competing with the natural freshness of the sea bream.

The variety of fresh seafood on offer is impressive, and it truly can rival the fish market.

And more! But I can’t add more fish photos than an encyclopedia here!

The ambiance is at the high end of the hospitality scale, as is the service. An appointed Guest Relations Manager works in coordination with the Assistant Manager to ensure the service is stellar across the board. Both the gentlemen on duty were Lebanese, and Mr Mazen provided us with individualized attention worthy of dignitaries.

The terrace upstairs is reachable by lift, if required, and throughout the restaurant dining halls your comfort is paramount.

Overall, Babel deserves a top place among the many fine-dining restaurants in Dubai – and the attention to detail in every dish speak for themselves:

As a last example of the level at which Babel operates, fancy some fruit at the end of your meal?

This is what Babel presents at your table:

All in all, Babel is a gourmet restaurant destination for when you want to experience Lebanese cuisine at a fine-dining level of excellence.