The Best Meal of 2024 – So Far – Tresind Studio Dubai

Tresind studio is a 2 Michelin Star Indian Restaurant and currently ranked 11th best restaurant in the Middle East and Africa. The meal begins with a member of the staff presenting a map of India and explaining about the 4 main regions which will inspire 3 courses from each.

The meal starts with a series of amuse. First, liquid poured into a flask, then poured into a puri sitting on a plate in the shape of the Palm Jumeriah (with the puri sitting right where the restaurant sits!).

..and then a few more bites…

The above was an incredibly delicious donut. Served with a very delicate and flavorful broth.

What struck me most about the restaurant was the incredible presentation and flavors. They incorporated Indian, and other Asian flavors extremely well into each course. After the amuse, the first region was the desert. First dish was shiso papadum.

Inside this flower arrangement was a confit duck.

Pickled pepper and buttermilk curry ice cream.

Next was the Deccan plateau. The next dish, a coconut kushiyaki, was not one of my favorite, and in my opinion, one of the only misses of the evening.

Tortellini with gorgonzola…

The next course was a brilliant interpretation of an Indian celebration from the Kerala region called a sadya. Its a multicourse meal served on a banana leaf. The restaurant’s version was a large number of staff lined up and each one placing one component of the dish on a banana leaf.

Served with a broth.

The next region were the coastal plains and islands. The following course, ghee roast crab on burnt cinnamon was one of my favorite. The curried crab meat was packed with flavor and the cinnamon brought me back to Sri Lanka.

Next, another brilliant and amazing dish. Lobster with a corn curry. I love anything corn, and this was an amazing use of it.

Next, some dumplings.

…and a final dish from the region.

The final region was the Northern Plains and Himalayan Mountains. It started with the chef’s interpretation of the best part of a curry dish – the fond on the bottom of a pan. Served with some bread to dip.

This dish reminded me of the “crunchy part of the lasagna” from Osteria Francescana, and while brilliantly creative, I felt that this was also not one of my favorites as the curry lacked a “wow” factor I was expecting. However, the next dish more than made up for this – they made noodles out of slicing oyster mushroom really thin. Served with an XO sauce. Deliciously brilliant!

Finally, a series of desserts.

My favorite was when the lights went out and they presented a lit moon with some pastry on top.

The meal ended with a small gift from the team, and a copy of the menu (I won’t spoil what the gift below is, you just have to eat here!).

Overall, service was near flawless as was the presentation. The food itself was so good except for 1 or 2 courses. I would definitely return when the menu changes and absolutely recommend this place.