I booked Hunter & Barrel in Emirates Hills for my partner’s birthday because he loves a good steak and burger, so I had a feeling the menu would be right up his street. As a vegetarian, I knew I wouldn’t have quite as much choice as him, but I’d looked at the menu beforehand and knew there were a few things I’d be happy to order.

Hunter & Barrel is known to be a premium steakhouse, with its menu built around coal-grilled meat, premium steaks and burgers, but there is more to it than just the meat. There are salads, sides, seafood and a small selection of vegetarian dishes too.

We booked for Sunday lunch and ended up having a really enjoyable experience, with excellent service, good food and a lovely birthday surprise at the end.

Hunter & Barrel Dubai at a glance

Hunter & Barrel is located at Vida Hills Hotel in Emirates Hills, Dubai. The restaurant describes its cooking as being centred around coal and open-fire grilling, with steaks, burgers, slow-cooked meats, seafood and seasonal sides making up the main menu.

The current menu includes a fairly extensive steak selection, with Angus and Wagyu cuts as well as premium Japanese and Australian Wagyu. There is also a dedicated burger menu, including a 200g Wagyu burger, Angus burger and Kobe beef sliders.

Our Sunday lunch at Hunter & Barrel

We arrived at around 12:30pm on a Sunday, and it was incredibly quiet. There were only a handful of tables occupied, which made the beginning of our lunch particularly peaceful.

By around 1:30pm, the restaurant had become noticeably busier. The table next to us was occupied by a fairly loud group, which did change the atmosphere a little. It wasn't a problem for us, but if you particularly value a quiet lunch or want to be able to have a conversation without much background noise, I would take the booking time into consideration. Based on our visit, an earlier lunch was definitely the quieter option.

The restaurant itself suits the menu, with a warm, rustic interior and an open-kitchen concept that fits Hunter & Barrel's focus on fire and coal cooking. The brand's Dubai concept incorporates a coal grill, shawarma rotisserie, wooden barrel bar and stone and timber details, so it has a much more substantial atmosphere than a straightforward hotel restaurant.

Our drinks of choice

We both ordered the Tropical Mint mocktail, made with passionfruit purée, lime juice, simple syrup, pineapple juice and mint.

It was really refreshing and, importantly, not too sweet. The passionfruit and pineapple gave it a lovely tropical flavour, while the lime and mint kept it fresh. It worked particularly well with lunch and was exactly the sort of drink I wanted on a warm Dubai afternoon.

Hunter & Barrel also has a fairly extensive drinks menu, including cocktails, wine, beer and non-alcoholic options. The restaurant's drinks offering also includes its barrel-aged cocktails, which are part of the wider Hunter & Barrel concept.

What we chose from the main menu

As expected, our choices from the menu were very different.

I ordered the Golden Crispy Brie salad, which comes with crumbed and fried Brie, green leaves, grilled zucchini, fresh berries and a vinegar dressing. It is currently priced at AED 75.

I actually found it delicious. It is a fairly simple combination, but all the different flavours and textures worked really well together. You have the sweetness of the berries alongside the savoury Brie, soft grilled zucchini and crispy coating, with the vinegar dressing bringing everything together.

I also really liked that it didn't feel like a token vegetarian option. It was a dish I would have happily chosen even if I hadn't been vegetarian.

We also ordered the coal roasted cauliflower to share, served with harissa, tahini sauce and herbs. I love cauliflower, particularly when it is paired with tahini, so this was an obvious choice for me.

It didn't sound particularly exciting when I read the description on the menu, but it was much more impressive when it arrived. The portion was generous, the presentation was good and there was plenty of flavour from the combination of the roasted cauliflower, tahini, harissa and herbs.

Between the salad and cauliflower, I ended up eating considerably more than I expected. I had assumed I'd still have plenty of room for dessert, but both dishes had much more volume than I had anticipated.

My partner had a considerably more difficult time deciding what to order. With steaks, burgers and other meat dishes to choose from, there was plenty that appealed to him, but eventually he settled on the Wagyu Beef burger.

The burger has a 200g Wagyu patty with Swiss cheese, lettuce, onion and mushroom confit, served in a brioche bun with chunky chips or house salad. It is currently AED 120 on the menu.

He thoroughly enjoyed it and was already talking about coming back to try more from the burger and steak menu. Given that he had originally chosen Hunter & Barrel because of the meat selection, I think that's a pretty good indication that the burger lived up to expectations.

There is plenty for him to work his way through on a return visit, too. The current steak menu includes Angus and Wagyu fillet, rump, striploin and rib-eye, as well as larger sharing steaks and premium Japanese and Australian Wagyu cuts.

Dessert, tiramisu and a lovely birthday surprise

I obviously had to order the tiramisu.

Hunter & Barrel's current version is made with traditional mascarpone foam, savoiardi and cocoa powder and is priced at AED 60.

This was the first tiramisu I've tried that I genuinely couldn't finish. The portion was extremely generous and it arrived in a large cocktail coupe, which meant that after the salad and cauliflower I simply didn't have enough room left for the whole thing.

The tiramisu itself was sweet, creamy and indulgent, with a relatively subtle espresso flavour. I generally prefer a stronger coffee flavour in tiramisu, so this wasn't my favourite from that perspective, but I still thought it was very enjoyable. If you prefer your tiramisu to be rich and creamy rather than particularly coffee-heavy, this could be more to your taste.

My partner chose the Wild Berry Cheesecake with mixed berry sauce. The cheesecake was relatively light and airy rather than being particularly dense or heavy, which turned out to be quite useful because our dessert order didn't end there.

I'd mentioned when making the booking that it was his birthday, and when the desserts arrived, four members of the team came over singing Happy Birthday. They had added a birthday candle to his cheesecake, and even gave us a complimentary slice of chocolate cake!

The chocolate cake was actually really good, so it was a welcome surprise rather than something we were going to struggle to find a home for. My partner was also able to enjoy it because his cheesecake wasn't overly heavy, although between the cheesecake, chocolate cake and my enormous tiramisu, we certainly had enough dessert for a much larger group.

The service made the lunch even better

The service was one of the strongest parts of our experience.

Our waitress was attentive throughout the meal without ever making us feel rushed. We didn't have to wait around for anything, but there was also none of that feeling you sometimes get in restaurants where a member of staff is constantly checking whether you've finished so they can turn the table.

I particularly noticed how she kept an eye on our water glasses and would come over to refill them when she saw that we needed more. It's a small detail, but those little things made the whole lunch feel very well looked after.

The birthday surprise was another nice touch. We'd mentioned the occasion when booking, but the four members of staff singing Happy Birthday and bringing out an extra slice of cake was more than we were expecting.

Overall, the service was attentive, friendly and well judged throughout the meal.

Is Hunter & Barrel Dubai good for vegetarians?

I wouldn't describe Hunter & Barrel as a vegetarian restaurant or even somewhere I'd specifically choose if I wanted a huge selection of meat-free dishes. It is a steakhouse, and the majority of the menu is understandably focused on meat cooked over coal and fire.

However, I had a genuinely good meal there.

The Golden Crispy Brie salad was one of my favourite dishes of the lunch, and the coal roasted cauliflower was another particularly good choice. There are also other vegetarian options on the current menu, including burrata, beetroot and goat's cheese, vege croquettes, charred edamame, roasted bell pepper and Emerald Dal.

So if you're vegetarian and visiting with someone who specifically wants a steak or burger, I wouldn't have any concerns about going. You won't have the same amount of choice as your meat-eating companion, but there are enough interesting dishes to put together a proper meal.

Is Hunter & Barrel good for a birthday lunch?

Based on our experience, I would happily choose Hunter & Barrel for a birthday lunch or dinner, particularly if the person you're celebrating enjoys steak, burgers or other grilled meat.

The restaurant has enough of a special-occasion feel to make a birthday meal feel like an occasion, without being so formal that you can't relax. The menu also works well for couples and groups because there are individual steaks and burgers alongside sharing dishes and sides. Hunter & Barrel also offers private dining at its Emirates Hills restaurant for larger celebrations and events.

If you're booking for a birthday, I would mention it when making the reservation. We did, and the extra birthday cake and singing were a lovely surprise.

Would I go back to Hunter & Barrel in Dubai?

I would definitely go back.

I went into the lunch expecting my partner to have the more exciting meal because Hunter & Barrel is so heavily focused on meat, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised by my own choices. The Golden Crispy Brie salad and coal roasted cauliflower were both genuinely enjoyable, and I never felt like I was simply choosing between a handful of uninspiring vegetarian options.

My partner thoroughly enjoyed the Wagyu burger and is already keen to return to try some of the steaks and other burgers. The food was good, the service was consistently attentive and the birthday surprise added something special to the occasion.

I would probably book an earlier lunch again, particularly if I wanted a quieter table, and I would definitely make sure I arrived with enough room for dessert. The tiramisu is one of the most generous portions I've come across in Dubai, so it deserves more space than I gave it on this occasion.