Fully Sick

The US$3 million Chillout, which opened in a mall in June, is the Middle East's first ice lounge and the latest venture in this desert Gulf emirate that has been transformed by a mania for the biggest, first or most outlandish. Almost everything at the restaurant is sculpted out of ice. Diners sit on ice benches or chairs, eat at ice tables, out of ice plates, drink from ice glasses served from a bar made of ice.

The $17 cover charge gets you one drink and the rental of a hooded parka, woollen gloves and insulated shoes. Customers don them outside, then spend a few minutes in the Buffer Zone, a room set at 41 degrees (F) to adjust before entering the restaurant.

It took 40,000 tons of ice to build the decor of the 2,400-square-foot restaurant. Every item was designed, carved and cut at a studio freezer at Iceculture Inc. in Canada and then shipped to Dubai.

Diffused lighting, from low-heat LED bulbs, constantly changes colours as it filters through the ice blocks. Sheepskin rugs cover the seats for the diners' comfort. Cocktails — which are non-alcoholic in a nod to Muslim culture — are served in ice glasses that are later discarded.