Rodeo Drive Ibn Battuta review: A fun time for children, foodies, dancers and cowboys alike

I’ve been to Rodeo Drive, which opened in Jebel Ali Village in September, three times now. The first time I decorated a Stetson hat with feathers and sequins, and enjoyed a refreshing hibiscus and vanilla mocktail. The second time, sporting said Stetson, I discovered my two left feet during the cowboy boogie in a roomful of dancer friends. The third time, my daughter and I perched on beanbags in the play area to read books by Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton.

All in all, a good time was had each time – and it all started with a skillet of sizzling cheese.

First impressions

Rodeo Drive’s entrance, nestled in a little nook just past the entrance of Oaks Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel, belies its 1,300-square-metre expanse.

The space is made up of a main dining room and adults-only bar area. Photo: Rodeo Drive

Loud and proud in its all-American look and feel, the restaurant has a gargantuan motorcycle and a Statue of Liberty bedecked with modern attire in the reception; lashings of tobacco-hued wood and Native American figurines in the main dining area; and arcade games and a life-size mechanical bull in the bar section.

Children are well served by a play area stocked with a trove of books, edutainment toys and a mini ball pit, while adults can test their balancing skills to hilarious effect on the bull.

A stage each in the dining and bar areas offers live entertainment – with family-friendly tunes in the one and foot-tapping country music and a bevy of line dancers in the other. The vibe is overarchingly cheery and entertaining, a happy space if ever there was one.

The play area has dedicated staff and plenty of books and toys. Photo: Rodeo Drive

The menu

A melty mix of cheeses, refried beans, beef chorizo, chilli-marinated shrimps and crunchy onions – there's much to love about the sizzling cheese (Dh85).

The dish served as my introduction to the expansive Rodeo Drive menu and was ordered on each subsequent visit. I ordered the dish without jalapenos roundels the second time round, but that didn’t at all detract from the piping-hot gooey goodness of the meat-beans-cheese combo that can be scooped up with freshly ba