By the time Saturday afternoon limps into view in Dubai, we have all been through it. The week has felt like a relentless group project in which you were the only one who did the reading. Your Instagram is a graveyard of expired “plans” you were too tired to execute. And your most meaningful conversation in the past 48 hours has been with the Deliveroo rider. We are, as the kids on TikTok say, firmly in our flop era.
Enter the weekend’s salvation, disguised as a seaside taverna and answering to the name Son of a Brunch. Forget everything you think you know about Dubai brunches – the queuing, the themed hats, the faintly desperate air of compulsory fun. This, my friends, is the anti-brunch brunch. Or rather, it is what brunch would be if it spent its summers on the Athenian Riviera, flirting with sailors and napping in the sun.
Every Saturday, down at Dubai Harbour Pier Club, a small miracle occurs. The restaurant Son of a Fish transforms. It is not merely a seating area; it is a mood board brought to life. Think sun-soaked and sea-kissed, with a soundtrack that begins as a chilled “just got back from a swim” hum and evolves, with the slow, inevitable grace of sunset, into house remixes that make your shoulders forget they spent Monday to Friday hunched over a laptop. It is the sonic equivalent of swapping your blazer for a linen shirt.
This is the brainchild of renowned chef Panagiotis Achamnos, a man who clearly understands that sharing food is simply organised intimacy. The menu is a love letter you get to eat. You begin with a generous sprawl of hot and cold mezedes – the culinary equivalent of an impeccable pre-party playlist. Then comes the main event. This is not fussy, tweezered food. These are the comforting, glorious classics your soul actually craves: chicken souvlaki redolent of charcoal and summer; moussaka that feels like a hug from a Greek grandmother; a char-grilled tenderloin that practically demands a dramatic fork-share across the table. The Mediterranean seabass is so fresh I am half-convinced it swam over, heard the music and decided to stay.
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But let us address the real plot point: the packages. They are named with the perceptive wit of a friend who knows you far too well. Are you Behaving Today? A noble, if faintly suspicious, choice. Perhaps you are ready to Spill the Wine (and the tea, obviously). Maybe you are feeling Highly Spirited – ideal for when your group chat has promised a “legendary” day. Or you go full mythical hero and choose Overboard. This is less a package than a prophecy. No judgement here. In the immortal words of the poet Dua Lipa, one “levitating” cocktail in, you are not just buying drinks; you are buying the extended director’s cut of your Saturday.
And this is where the magic happens. Sometime around 4 p.m., you will look up from a heated debate about the best Succession sibling (it is Shiv – argue with the wall) or from an enthusiastic attempt at the sirtaki using a napkin, and realise the light has turned that liquid, Instagram-golden shade. The DJ has subtly shifted gear. Lunch has quietly exited the building. You are now in the “vibes” chapter of the programme – a seamless, joy-filled slide into golden hour, where the only clock is the setting sun and the only obligation is to order another piece of portokalopita.
It is a specific and glorious kind of alchemy: taking the sweeping vista of Dubai Harbour and infusing it with the chaotic, warm-hearted soul of a Greek island parea. It is for friends who finish each other’s sentences, families who genuinely enjoy one another, and that terrifyingly cool couple clearly deep into a spectacular third date. It is for anyone who believes Saturday is not merely a day, but a state of mind.
So cancel your other plans. You have a better offer – one that smells of salt, oregano and possibility. See you on the terrace. I will be the one by the railing, twirling a napkin like a tiny, triumphant flag, gloriously and unapologetically Overboard.
You are in? Excellent choice. Here is everything you need to know, neatly packaged for effortless copy-and-paste into the group chat you have just decided to ignore. Son of a Brunch takes place every Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. at Son of a Fish, Dubai Harbour Pier Club – a location with views so photogenic they will feature prominently in your “soft launch” posts for weeks. Officially, it ends at five, but the energy here tends to write its own rules and scoff at curfews. As for the packages, think of them less as price points and more as philosophical positions for the day: will you be virtuously Behaving Today (AED 290), romantically Spilling the Wine (AED 390), Highly Spirited and ready to dance (AED 490), or gloriously, unapologetically Overboard (AED 660)? Choose your own adventure, sailor.
