Marea, DIFC.

An existential crisis about dining out.

I’ll be very upfront and mention that my first visit to Marea (which occurred at some point in 2019) was not memorable and if anything, slightly negative. Even though my dining partner for my first outing is one of my favorite people, I recall tiny portions in the lunch menu, and that’s about it. As I scroll back through my Instagram feed, I realize it didn’t even rate a post (or that I deleted it altogether). I also — honest here — wondered whoever went to Marea, a restaurant that always seemed empty whenever I walked by.

So, what brought me back?  Actually, it was the work of one woman — Panchali. With her involvement and encouragement, I was ready to give the restaurant another shot (rare for me — I usually do not have the patience to provide average places a repeat visit).

Got that all in mind? Good.

So, giving Marea another try, I accepted an invite for my book club. Upon arrival, and after our drinks orders, after looking at the menu, I asked the team to make selections for us (ba…