DUO Ristorante debuts at The Walk, Dubai Marina

Oct. 23, 2008 - PRLog -- Dubai based Innova Star Foods (Innova Foods), a fine dining investment and development firm has brought the famed Lebanese restaurant brand DUO Ristorante to Dubai from the heart of Beirut. DUO.s debut location is in the upscale shopping and dining walkway in Dubai Marina facing the sea opposite the Hilton Jumeirah Hotel. Situated at the higher plaza level, the restaurant offers an aerial view of the newly opened Atlantis rising in majestic splendor from the Palm Jumeirah.

Serving an array of authentic French and Italian fare, with original chef inspired sauces and recipes. DUO serves only fresh cuisine including hand-crafted pizzas, pastas, risottos, steaks and seafood complemented by a selection of fresh salads items. Its large SALAD BAR is a highlight of its fresh offerings. The restaurant also provides a wide selection of entrees and main courses including veal piccatta, grilled baby chicken, seafood risotto, pizza formaggi, beef fillet with 3 pepper sauce, fresh hammour, grilled salmon and much more, ranging in price from Dhs24 to
Dhs74.

Said Jamal Cheaito, general manager of Innova Foods: .The cornerstone of DUO.s success in downtown Beirut has been due to the freshness and high quality of the chef-inspired cuisine coupled with its ever alert and friendly staff. DUO.s experienced chef has created special recipes for connoisseurs. Lebanese people are well aware of the restaurant brand DUO and bringing the brand to Dubai adds to the city’s portfolio of fine dining restaurants..

The .L.shaped design of the restaurant offers two autonomous views. One which overlooks the terrace rooftop plaza lounge while the other side overlooks the sea and Palm Jumeirah with the majestic structure of Atlantis dominating the skyline of the manmade islands.

DUO.s spacious seating of over 200 guests includes indoor and outdoor facilities. The contemporary, swanky interiors imbues a modern urbane feel offering a vibrant atmosphere for gatherings while its friendly and ever alert staff immediately attends to your needs. The Walk is an ideal location for DUO as the plaza level offers aerial views of Palm Jumeirah along with an outdoor lounge facility. Dubai’s phenomenal growth inspired us to duplicate DUO’s success here. Residents and tourists in Dubai can now enjoy DUO.s chef-driven fresh top notch cuisine, while the Lebanese expats can relive their moments of culinary delights and memorable social evenings in downtown Beirut,” enthused Cheaito. While DUO in Dubai is a franchise owned by Innova Foods, the restaurant will be managed by the famed Ghia Group from Lebanon that owns the original brand DUO and several other restaurant brands including Ciao and Le Monot. Innova Foods are planning to roll out DUO to other markets in the Gulf region after consolidating the brand’s presence in the UAE. It is also planning to launch new brand names to cater to the growing demand for fine dining and chef inspired cuisine.

Ends.

About DUO
It all began in 1997, when four friends decided to revive Monot Street located next to the green line between East and West Beirut. This rundown neighborhood, where no one would have ventured to invest a penny, had a unique charm with its colonial architecture redolent of the French Mandate. The four friends launched their first restaurant in that locality typical of the French bistort called "Le Monot". The restaurant became an instant success and was one of the catalysts in the rehabilitation of Monot Street.

Le Monot was soon followed by the "Ciao", an Italian restaurant in the same neighborhood. Due to its top quality cuisine, Ciao too witnessed a huge success. Few years later, the partners decided to take their ambitions to a different location in Beirut. While "Le Monot" and "le Ciao" are still successfully running, the foursome launched a new brand called DUO in Beirut’s Central District. DUO represented a blend of Le Monot and Le Ciao and thus a new fine dining restaurant emerged in Maarad Street.

DUO has been the proud winner of the Consumer Trophy Award 2005 in the "International Cuisine “category. DUO.s top notch cuisine, a unique blend of French and Italian cuisines, created brand equity in the market. Along with hand-crafted pizzas, its pastas, risottos, steaks and seafood dishes are equally delicious and tongue tickling. Consistency in DUO’s quality cuisine has been due to constancy of its Executive Chef who holds a culinary degree for continental foods in Five Star Hotels. His original recipes and sauces have contributed to DUO’s success. DUO’s highlight is also its swanky urbane interiors characterized by a contemporary dynamic feel making it a great place for gatherings.

About Innova Star Foods
Innova Star Foods is a fine dining brand development and management firm founded in Dubai in
September 2006. Spearheaded by Jamal Cheaito, five like minded investors got together to form the company and become a part of Dubai’s growing portfolio of fine dining brands. The objective was to present a high quality fine dining experience to its customers so that the brand gains in reputation and becomes a buzzword in the eating out circuits. By combining top notch chef-driven cuisine with high levels of service and a chic urbane ambience, the company aims to bring the best in fine dining through its debut brand DUO located in The Walk, Dubai Marina.

Issued by Matrix Public Relations on behalf of Innova Star Foods. For further information, please contact
Reshma Tahiliani on Reshma.t@matrixdubai.com or
Bardees Badr on Bardees@matrixdubai.com