Chillout: First Middle East Ice Cafe Opens In Dubai Today

Chillout ice cafe opens today in Dubai's Times Square Mall. It's the first ice restaurant in the Middle East. Almost everything at the restaurant is sculpted out of ice. Diners will sit on ice benches or chairs, eat at ice tables, out of ice plates, drink from ice glasses served from a bar made of ice.

A Dh9 million (US $2.45 million) investment, the restaurant is Dubai-based Sharaf Group’s enterprise while technical inputs came from Canada-based Iceculture Inc, who are credited with building ice lounges around the world, informed a spokesperson for Sharaf Group.

“We want Chillout to be part of people’s lifestyle and not just a unique experience that will fade away with time,” he said.

“It was a special operation which took a year and a half to carry out.”

The 2,400 sqft restaurant has three areas. The lobby and the lounge areas are separated by what is called the Buffer Zone. Once in the lobby, visitors will be given thermal gear to protect themselves from the chilly conditions. It comprises a hooded parka (a heavy jacket), disposable woollen gloves and a pair of shoes.

Visitors are advised to first spend a few minutes in the Buffer Zone to get acclimatised. The temperature in the buffer zone is set at 5 degrees Celsius which gives the body time to adjust to the sharp drop in temperature in the dining area.

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