Advertising themselves as a “chic lounge” fit for “an evening cocktail and light meal”, it’s a bit depressing to find a bartender that first of all don’t know his menu and second of all don’t even stock ingredients for the same menu. Penrose Lounge ticks all the boxes for the category “beautiful lounge”, but the potential is far from met. Perhaps the fact that Penrose shares facility with Mina Brasserie, Luna Sky Lounge and Churchill Club, and thereby has a mountain to climb when it comes to ambitions, footfall and atmosphere, but even so - either take away the cocktails from the menu, or train your bartender.
Come here for Afternoon Tea or a quick bite to eat with an espresso - skip the cocktails though, there are other places close by that will deliver so much more for the same price.
Atmosphere: 4/8
As expected in a Four Seasons lounge bar, the decoration is hard to fault, but it ends there. No music, no people and a bar that mainly focuses on espressos.
Cocktails: 5/8
Once the cocktails are done, they deliver what they should - it seems as if a skilled bartender came up with the signature cocktails, but....
Bartenders: 3/8
...that very same bartender is nowhere to be seen. When ordering their signature Negroni, the bartender first of all has to pull out the menu and read the ingredients, and secondly he don’t even have them in the bar stock.
Ice: 4/8
Small ice cubes for signature cocktails - come on, with the likes of @minabrasserie and @churchillclub in the same building, they should be able to stock at least big ice cubes.
https://www.fourseasons.com/dubaidifc/dining/lounges/penrose_lounge/
Building 9
Unit GV09
Level GF
DIFC