The French Croque Monsieur is elevated to inspirational new heights, with a new venue at Dubai Hills and a roving Food Truck concept
Dubai, UAE – Croq’Michel is delighted to announce its first venue in the Middle East. The vision of two-Michelin star Chef Michel Sarran, Croq’Michel is a premium restaurant concept dedicated to the beloved French staple, the famous Croque Monsieur. Located in Dubai Hills, and opening in early 2023, Croq’Michel has ambitious plans to become a firm favorite in the Emirates, following its immediate success in Paris and Toulouse, France. Ahead of the store opening, the brand will make its debut with a roving Food Truck, that will roll out across the UAE in December, first at the Rugby Sevens, before taking up residence at the cultural hub of Alserkal Avenue.
Described as a cool and trendy canteen where authenticity meets innovation, Croq’Michel is Chef Michel Sarran’s love letter to the croque monsieur, having been obsessed with the sandwich since his youth. Michel is joined in his journey by his two daughters, who are together democratizing the Chef’s signature gourmet dishes, making his unique brand of audacious flavours and ‘savoir flair’ available to all.
Michel Sarran comments, “When first envisioning Croq’Michel, our idea was to create a ‘fast-good’ croque monsieur brand, elevating the French traditional hot-toasted sandwich with bold and surprising recipes, whilst keeping the offering warm, familiar, and crispy. I am joined in this journey by my two daughters, with the ambition to create a community-based space where people can be assured of the same experience every time, whether they get together and enjoy a meal at the restaurant or grab a sandwich to go. We are excited to share our light-hearted brand with Dubai, a new food capital for the world, and the natural first step for our international brand expansion.”
The menu tours an array of cities that Chef Sarran is inspired by, such as Helsinki, Ibiza, Tulum, and most recently Dubai. Each sandwich on the menu is named after a destination, offering up unique variations on the ingredients of the traditional croque monsieur and representing the impression that city left on the chef.
Guests can discover the Croq Paris, the standard variation of the croque monsieur, with veal ham, emmental cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and bechamel sauce. Things get interesting with the Croq Gascon, which features duck confit, potatoes, ewe’s milk cheese, bechamel, garlic, and parsley, or the Dubai-inspired Croq Dubai, filled with chicken shawarma meat, hummus, Philadelphia cheese, zaatar, cucumber, kashkaval cheese and a dash of garlic sauce.
Those with a taste for adventure can try the Croq Mumbai, with chicken tandoori, yogurt and coconut cream, spicy masala, coriander, cucumber, lemon, and paneer cheese, or the Croq Bali, with shrimp, coconut cream, ginger, lemongrass, Philadelphia cheese, coriander, emmental cheese and a dash of sate sauce. Vegetarian and dessert options are also offered in the form of the Croq Veggie, featuring carrots, zucchini, green peas, parmesan cheese, coriander, curry, and cheese, and Croq banana/praline, a sandwich made with brioche toast housing banana, mascarpone, and decadent crunchy hazelnut praline.
Croq’Michel will welcome customers into its store in Dubai Hills from early 2023. However, savvy connoisseurs can also preview the ‘fast good’ offering courtesy of Croq’Michel’s Food Truck at the Rugby 7s, December 1st –3rd, as well as at Alserkal Avenue from December 4th to 18th.