I’m staying at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi at the moment, courtesy of the Etihad Airways stopover program. Over the years I’ve had many meals at the Emirates Palace (some of Abu Dhabi’s best restaurants are here), though this is my first time actually staying here.
I’ll have a full review soon of the hotel soon, though the thing that really stands out to me is how good service here is. Usually service in the UAE is a bit disorganized, but this hotel has true international 5-star standard service. I haven’t come across a single employee who wasn’t incredibly polished and proactive. But I’ll save that for the review, and for now focus on the purpose of this post — gold cappuccinos!
The UAE is all about having the biggest and best and weirdest of everything. From the world’s tallest building, to the world’s largest in-door ski slope, to the world’s most extravagant afternoon tea, the UAE has no shortage of things that share well on social media.
When I stayed at the St. Regis Dubai a few months ago I had their signature bloody mary, called the Gold Mary. Given that this is the UAE, I’m sure you can all guess how it got its name.
However, today I had another first — I had my first ever gold cappuccino. The Emirates Palace serves this throughout the day at Le Cafe, which is one of their lobby lounges.
I actually didn’t realize until recently that the Emirates Palace serves this. In January I wrote about how the Armani Hotel Dubai started serving gold cappuccinos, and people pointed out that the Emirates Palace has been serving these for years.
Here’s how the Emirates Palace describes their gold cappuccino:
If you only have one hour at Emirates Palace, spend that hour enjoying the famous Palace Cappuccino. Sprinkled in real 24 carat gold flakes, this is the epitome of indulgence at the Palace.
At Emirates Palace, we use only the finest ingredients to create our signature gold cappuccino. Also known as the Palace Cappuccino, this superior blend of aromatic coffee is sprinkled with gold flakes to give you a taste of royalty, making it unlike anything you have ever tried before.
Served on a polished silver tray, you can enjoy your cappuccino with a special date and dark chocolate. There is also a palate cleansing glass of water to finish with.
The Palace Cappuccino is served throughout the day in Le Café from 7:00 am to 12:30 am.
There are actually two signature drinks to choose from. In addition to the gold cappuccino, there’s also a camelccino. As the name suggests, this is made with camel milk.
I ordered the gold cappuccino for 60AED, or ~16USD. That’s definitely the most expensive cappuccino I’ve ever ordered.
The cappuccino is served with a side of dark chocolate and a date, and the art on the cappuccino is gorgeous.
So, what does the gold cappuccino taste like? A cappuccino. I actually found the gold flakes to be a bit annoying, since they’d fly all over if you breath ever so slightly (either through your mouth or nose) near the cappuccino. I solved that problem by mixing the gold flakes into the cappuccino (then again, it also eliminates the whole point of a gold cappuccino).
Bottom line
The gold cappuccino is exactly what I expected — it’s a cappuccino that looks great on social media. Everyone can decide for themselves if the novelty of having a gold cappuccino is worth that price. For me I was just happy to take my laptop down to the lobby and have a change of scenery for an hour, as there’s great live music in the lobby.
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