It was our first time at Gate Village, DIFC and that place is beautiful, every corner would photograph so nicely.We all kind off wished Daddy’s office was located there so we can visit him often.

The press release on Boca’s new menu caught my attention that led me to find out more about them. The reviews online were impressive, people praised the lobster roll and grass fed chicken. It gave a vibe though that it was not a place for the whole family – they didn’t have a menu for the kids.

Paella! Did you see that? They are serving paella with a free Sangria.

We started off our Boca experience with some appetizers – they had a couple of good selections but with the help of the staff we settled with the best suited for our bunch.

Both kids enjoyed the freshly baked bread and baked potato chips, it was as they say “Really… Really good, Mama.”  Kuya V ordered a mocktail called Miss Loren which was a mix of raspberry, ginger ale and yuzu – it was served on a copper like cup but he did not quite fancy it.

These other two appetizers deserve a spotlight. I will try my best to tell you why.

 Fresh Oysters with tomato salsa – this was the best one’s I’ve had in Dubai for a long time. They were happy plump, juicy and tasted like I picked them up myself out of the sea.

If Daddy was not with me, I would have ordered half a dozen with beer all to myself.

The Burrata with Marinated Ramiro Peppers Crostini, Boquerones, Capers and Crispy Herbs. Boquerones are white anchiovies which are slightly salty. Eating all of them together was a delight!

LittleMiss picky eater was feeling adventurous and ordered Pan Fried Black Pomfret with parsley root & almond puree and wild mushroom, which was described to her as fried fish with a sweet sauce. They did not have any white rice which would have been perfect for the fish – we (Filipinos) always look for rice. She happily ate her fish with bread and got annoyed when I was trying to take photos of her, “respect food Mommy.”

Vierte had the lobster roll with lemon aioli is one of Boca’s famous mains. He was trying to figure out how to get one big bite out of the roll. “It’s really good! I even ate the leaves that came with it.”

12 hours Braised Lamb was my choice on the menu, the meat was tender and had a good flavor that complimented the Toscanelli beans.

Boca’s Seafood Paella is everything a good paella should be – rich and generous seafood. I’m sorry, Auntie Myrna but this one beats your paella. It was also the first time we saw Bamboo Clams here. If there’s one reason why you should visit Boca then it’s the paella!

We can’t decide whether to get the chocolate tart or crème brulèe or ice cream so we settled for Dessert Platter. The platter was delivered in our table, our jaws dropped and we just said “WOW”. Fresh fruits, lemon tart, ice cream, chocolate mousse and fresh fruits. It was definitely a perfect finale!

We enjoyed every dish that we had at Boca and although they don’t have a kids menu they were willing to adjust, by accommodating LittleMiss request for a non spicy fish dish, they already earned a family friendly restaurant vote with us.

Family Facilities: To get to the washroom you need to go down the cellar which might be a problem for families with strollers and the restroom didn’t have any changing tables. I didn’t notice if they had high chairs but they did provide LittleMiss with a chair that had arms so she won’t fall.

Disclosure: We were invited to dine at Boca with no expectations of writing a review. We had a really good experience and as always all views and opinions are my own.