How many times have you walked into a Dubai restaurant and admired the décor so much you wished you could take back a piece with you? Or seen a painting at the eatery that you know would be just perfect for your living room?
Well, at Quince, a new F&B destination in Dubai, you can leave with a little more than just a stomach full of food. In addition to Mediterranean delicacies on the menu, you can order paintings, other décor items and select pieces of furniture.
Located in Umm Suqeim, the restaurant is a passion project for father-son duo, Amer and Abdulla Al Tamimi. Quince promises to combine healthy food and flavours with the artistic legacy that the family has been continuing for 30 years as interior designers.
The homegrown destination has been introduced as an F&B extension of the family’s design concepts, DecoArt and D&D Home. Most décor items or furniture within the restaurant can be customised and delivered to a guest on demand.
As you walk into the 9,260sqft eatery, a beautiful tree rises over to the roof. Abdulla told Khaleej Times that it was repurposed from dead trees. Prices for the fully-customisable tree start from Dh3,000.
“The concept started in 2019,” he said. “We found this tree outside our factory in Al Quoz. We cut it off, cleaned it up and attached high-quality leaves to it using wires. We used it as a décor piece for my sister’s wedding, placing it behind where she sat at the ceremony. It was fully white.”
The family enjoyed working on the project so much that when the time came to decorating Quince, they drove around Al Quoz to retrieve withered trees. “We picked up as many dried barks as we could find and gave it a new life,” said Abdulla. “It gave them a new purpose.”
Calm, serene
Diners will discover objects selected from the family’s art acquisitions, complimented by the colour palette of the décor that features shades of green, yellow, and gold.
The interiors of the restaurant have been decorated tastefully with paintings, unique lighting fixtures and furniture.
At the entrance, guests can see a long table carved out from a single piece of wood and reinforced with marble. If it catches anyone’s fancy, the team can customise a similar piece of furniture for them.
Furniture prices start from Dh3,000.
Multiple décor items are strategically placed across the restaurant at various locations. Abdulla said that the entire restaurant has been built from scratch by the family “with a lot of love”.
The eatery boasts an indoor seating area, an open kitchen and an intimate dining section called The Garden.
“We are the contractors, the interior designers, the chefs, everything,” he said. “It is a mix of ideas from the entire family. However, the décor is mainly from my father. He has a very keen eye for design.”
Living his dream
A fitness enthusiast, Abdulla is a self-taught chef who has loved whipping up healthy meals to support his goals since he was 15. He said his entire family are passionate foodies who drew up travel plans based on restaurants they wanted to eat at.
His dream is to earn a spot for Quince on the Michelin guide. “I have loved eating at Michelin-starred restaurants around the world,” he said. “And I have a vision for Quince. Over the next two years, I would love to get the restaurant featured on the Michelin guide and I will work towards it. I want Quince to be a casual dining place with relaxed vibes and good-quality food.”