Al Fresco Italian Restaurant

Name: Al Fresco Italian Restaurant
Address: Millennium Plaza Downtown Hotel - Sheikh Zayed Rd, Trade Centre, Dubai, AE
Telephone: +971543057622

Trade Centre

Italian restaurant 0 543 057 622

Al Fresco is an Italian trattoria in Trade Centre, set inside the Millennium Plaza Hotel with indoor and outdoor seating. Reviews point to thin, crisp pizzas and handmade-style pasta, while the cosy setting and accommodating service make it worth considering for relaxed dinners, family meals, or a date.

Reputation Score

4.1

★★★★☆

319 ratings

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The Good Stuff

Showing 2 of 7

Authentic Pizza

A reviewer who identifies as Italian praised the pizza as thin, crispy and full of flavour, like in Italy.

Pesto Pasta

The chef prepared a customised pesto sauce pasta after listening to a guest’s flavour preferences.

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What to Eat at Al Fresco Italian Restaurant

Foods and drinks mentioned in reviews of Al Fresco Italian Restaurant, ranked by positive reviews minus negative reviews. Zero-score items have no net positive feedback; their labels distinguish neutral-only from mixed feedback.

Food 1

Risotto Net +2

“Pizzas and risotto all vegetarian options were amazing”

Honorable mentions (23)

Bread basket eggless Net +1

“Served excellent bread basket EGGLESS with 3 dips”
Bread with pesto Net +1

“Friendly staff, amazing bread with pesto as a starter, excellent mushroom risotto and Aperol Spritz Definitely coming back soon! Highly recommended restaurant”
Brusketta Net +1

“The food was still fantastic and really genuine. Brusketta (non brushetta!!!!) Carbonara with real Guanciale di porco And pizza 🍕 with salmon. Cream Brulley Really genuine flavour....”
Carbonara with real guanciale di porco Net +1

“The food was still fantastic and really genuine. Brusketta (non brushetta!!!!) Carbonara with real Guanciale di porco And pizza 🍕 with salmon. Cream Brulley Really genuine flavour....”
Cream brulley Net +1

“The food was still fantastic and really genuine. Brusketta (non brushetta!!!!) Carbonara with real Guanciale di porco And pizza 🍕 with salmon. Cream Brulley Really genuine flavour....”
Creme brulee Net +1

“Creme brulee, the surger crust was too thick, but the cream was excellent, 8/10”
Frutti di mare pizza Net +1

“I ordered a Frutti Di Mare Pizza. It was very delicious and surprisingly a huge size pizza.”
Margherita pizza with chicken and cheese topping Net +1

“So about the food.. they didn’t have any pizza with chicken but upon request the staff prepared Margherita pizza with chicken and cheese topping.. it was yum.. we also tried Risotto.. both were too good..”
Mushroom pizza Net +1

“Highly recommend the Oso, Buco, sea bass with mashed potatoes. seafood soup, seafood salad, in addition to the mushroom pizza, extraordinary bravo I will come back again and again.”
Mushroom risotto Net +1

“Friendly staff, amazing bread with pesto as a starter, excellent mushroom risotto and Aperol Spritz Definitely coming back soon! Highly recommended restaurant”
Oso, buco Net +1

“Highly recommend the Oso, Buco, sea bass with mashed potatoes. seafood soup, seafood salad, in addition to the mushroom pizza, extraordinary bravo I will come back again and again.”
Pesto sauce pasta Net +1

“A regular Friday evening dinner became estatic when our chef John Javed personally curated pesto sauce pasta which was outstanding!!”
Quinoa salad Net +1

“We had a quinoa salad 8/10”
Raheb Net +1

“The Good: The ambience was great by the sea. The fish was awesome tasting although not a huge variety to select from. Appetizers were great too, especially Raheb which is made of eggplant.”
Salsa di funghi Net +1

“We went here for dinner, we ordered a Hercules pizza and a salsa di funghi along with two soft drinks. Pizza was 98 dirhams, pasta was 86 dirhams, soft drinks were 28 dirhams each, and the total invoice was 240 dirhams. I didn't like the taste of pizza, but the pasta was delicious.”
Sea bass with mashed potatoes Net +1

“Highly recommend the Oso, Buco, sea bass with mashed potatoes. seafood soup, seafood salad, in addition to the mushroom pizza, extraordinary bravo I will come back again and again.”
Seafood salad Net +1

“Highly recommend the Oso, Buco, sea bass with mashed potatoes. seafood soup, seafood salad, in addition to the mushroom pizza, extraordinary bravo I will come back again and again.”
Seafood soup Net +1

“Highly recommend the Oso, Buco, sea bass with mashed potatoes. seafood soup, seafood salad, in addition to the mushroom pizza, extraordinary bravo I will come back again and again.”
Stake pizzia Net +1

“I have ordered very nice pizza called Stake Pizzia, very highly recommend.”
Tagliatelle al tartufo Net +1

“The menu is a celebration of classic Italian flavors — fresh, simple, and made with love. Their homemade pasta is a must-try, especially the tagliatelle al tartufo, which is rich, creamy, and perfectly balanced.”
Tiramisu Net +1

“The wood-fired pizzas are crisp and full of flavor, and the tiramisu is hands-down one of the best in town.”
Truffle pizza Net +1

“Love this place the food is amazing! The truffle pizza is so delicious and the team is also attentive and very kind.”
Pasta carbonara Net 0

Only neutral feedback

“We had pasta carbonara which was okay .”

Drinks 1

Heineken beer Net +1

“Average Italian, the papardelle looks good but they were not delicious, Heineken beer save the lunch”

What to Avoid (16)

Food 15

Aglio olio Net −1

“Pastas were really average - fundamental element in an Aglio Olio is garlic which could be hardly tasted.”
Calamari Net −1

“3.Calamari was just horrible dumbed onto of tomato sauce and some avocado sauce no lemon and prepared from a frozen bag, It was from the pub”
Cheese platter Net −1

“The Osso Buco, gnocchi, pizza, and linguine with shrimp were all underwhelming - The cheese platter was even weak. Each dish had serious texture issues — the food was overly chewy and lacked depth in flavor. Nothing felt fresh or well-prepared.”
Foccacia bread Net −1

“The restaurant used to be serving nice delicious wood pizza and tasty well prepared minestrone soup, also the foccacia bread used to be fresh and tasty.”
Fritto di mare spaghetti Net −1

“I ordered the Fritto di Mare Spaghetti for 135 AED, and it was absolutely not worth it.”
Gnocchi Net −1

“The Osso Buco, gnocchi, pizza, and linguine with shrimp were all underwhelming - The cheese platter was even weak. Each dish had serious texture issues — the food was overly chewy and lacked depth in flavor. Nothing felt fresh or well-prepared.”
Hercules pizza Net −1

“We went here for dinner, we ordered a Hercules pizza and a salsa di funghi along with two soft drinks. Pizza was 98 dirhams, pasta was 86 dirhams, soft drinks were 28 dirhams each, and the total invoice was 240 dirhams. I didn't like the taste of pizza, but the pasta was delicious.”
Linguine with shrimp Net −1

“The Osso Buco, gnocchi, pizza, and linguine with shrimp were all underwhelming - The cheese platter was even weak. Each dish had serious texture issues — the food was overly chewy and lacked depth in flavor. Nothing felt fresh or well-prepared.”
Minestrone soup Net −1

“The restaurant used to be serving nice delicious wood pizza and tasty well prepared minestrone soup, also the foccacia bread used to be fresh and tasty. Since the new brand of millennium took over , the food that we were served if far from italian , it was horrible 😫 😑 1 Minestrone soup: just tomato passata from the jar with uncooked vegetables, no seasoning , no offered parmigiano, even a basic sofritto”
Osso buco Net −1

“The Osso Buco, gnocchi, pizza, and linguine with shrimp were all underwhelming - The cheese platter was even weak. Each dish had serious texture issues — the food was overly chewy and lacked depth in flavor. Nothing felt fresh or well-prepared.”
Papardelle Net −1

“Average Italian, the papardelle looks good but they were not delicious, Heineken beer save the lunch”
Prawns Net −1

“The prawns were not as mentioned in the menu description.”
Spaghetti carbonara Net −1

“My friend ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara, which was the worst I’ve ever tasted in my life.”
Tartufo pizza Net −1

“To the restaurant, I'm sorry but you are charging AED 95 for a "Tartufo" pizza (which has only cheese and sundried tomatoes, no mushrooms and a sauce which had no essence of truffle not even a bit, tasted like something else). The sundried tomatoes, which is a weird addition in a tartufo pizza, were bitter and killed the whole essence of the pizza.”
Wood pizza Net −1

“The restaurant used to be serving nice delicious wood pizza and tasty well prepared minestrone soup, also the foccacia bread used to be fresh and tasty.”

Drinks 1

Espresso martini Net −2

“Even the Espresso Martini was terrible too much coffee and poorly made.”

Tips for a Better Visit

Showing 2 of 5

Book Ahead. Reserve in advance for weeknight dinners, when the restaurant can be crowded.

Allow Time. Do not plan a rushed meal: one review says pizza orders can take longer than expected.

Plan the visit

Practical details

Millennium Plaza Downtown Hotel - Sheikh Zayed Rd

Trade Center First, Dubai

0 543 057 622

Get directions

Common Concerns

Showing 2 of 5

Price Concerns

Some diners felt the food was overpriced; one paid 135 AED for Fritto di Mare Spaghetti and found it poor value.

Uneven Cooking

Reviews range from excellent meals to complaints about chewy textures, bland pasta and undercooked pizza dough.

Customer-reported prices

These are customer-reported mentions, not a current price list. Prices may have changed.

135 AED

Fritto di Mare Spaghetti

“I ordered the Fritto di Mare Spaghetti for 135 AED, and it was absolutely not worth it”

Google review · January 2025

DXB
LOCAL

The Bottom Line

Al Fresco is a cosy Italian trattoria in Trade Centre, inside the Millennium Plaza Hotel. You can come for a relaxed dinner, brunch or business lunch, with indoor and outdoor seating. The strongest review themes are crisp pizzas, pasta and warm service rather than a quick, bargain meal.

The menu has several memorable reference points. Reviewers mention pesto sauce pasta, tagliatelle al tartufo, wood-fired pizzas and tiramisu, while another praised the Frutti Di Mare Pizza for its surprisingly large size. Vegetarian diners have also found pure-vegetarian options and an eggless bread basket with three dips.

Families may appreciate staff accommodating children’s requests, and one birthday visit included a chocolate dessert with a candle. The experience is not entirely consistent. Some guests describe authentic flavours and attentive service, but others report chewy or bland dishes, disappointing pizza, and poor value.

Prices cited include 95 AED for a Tartufo pizza and 135 AED for Fritto di Mare Spaghetti. Maintenance has occasionally affected the air conditioning or appearance, and wine availability may be limited. Book ahead on busy weeknights, and allow extra time if you are ordering pizza.