Señor Pico – The Intercontinental
Señor Pico (Telephone 2468 0030 – Map) is a Mexican restaurant located on the lower floor of the Intercontinental Hotel in Shatti Al Qurum. It is a restaurant and a bar that regularly has live music playing.
Al Tajin Grill – Radisson Blu
I was recently invited by the Radisson Blu hotel in Al Khuwair to try out their restaurant “Al Tajin Grill” (Telephone: 2448 7777 – Map). Radisson Blu is located at the edge of Al Khuwair commercial area. Al Tajin Restaurant can be found on the left side of the ground floor of hotel.
Shiraz – Crowne Plaza
Shiraz (Telephone: 2466 0660) is an Irani restaurant located in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Shatti Al Qurum.
Shiraz is located on the far left side of the Crowne Plaza with indoor seating and outdoor seating on the terrace. The seating of Shiraz is a bit old fashioned and not exactly sleek, but still comfy and quite spacious. The outdoor tables oversee the Love Lane and the ocean and can be amazing when the weather is nice. We sat inside though cause we didn’t think that it weather was great that night. A waiter suggested we sit at one of the tables next to the windows, but the one we sat on first was too close to the bread oven which made it feel a bit too warm so we moved to the other table after sitting there for a bit.
As soon as you get seated at Shiraz you get treated to a complimentary plate of mint leaves, walnuts, feta cheese, and some small vegetables, along with a yogurt dip with garlic and mint (not pictured). The walnut salad wasn’t exactly special, but the dip was delicious and addicting, especially when you have it with the freshly baked naan bread that feels so cloudy and divine.
The menu of Shiraz offers a variety of cold appetizers (mostly vegetables), hot appetizers, soups, rice specialities, stews, grilled kebabs, and seafood kebabs. Shiraz also offers some set menu dinning options.
We thought that the complimentary intro was quite filling and decided to go straight to the main courses, I went for a classic Irani dish from the Kebab section called “Kebab Bakhteyari” (RO 10.500 – pictured above) which had combination of grilled lamb and chicken fillets marinated with saffron and olive oil and served with three varieties of rice. Other friends with me had a Mahi (Fish) Kebab (RO 11.500 – pictured below) and Gormeh Sabzi – a bowl of lamb and bean stew (RO 9.800 – not pictured). I quit enjoyed my dish and thought that was well done and rich in flavor, I also thought that the portions served were quite large, too.
Shiraz serves a variety of ice cream desserts, but unfortunately we did not try any of them.
We tried one of the special drinks at Shiraz called Doogh, which was a yogurt drink mixed with a variety of spices, I thought that it was nice, refreshing, and not too thick at all.
It is worth noting that Shiraz is licensed to serve alcohol.
In total we ordered three main courses, 2 dooghs, 1 fresh juice, and 2 large button of water, our bill came to RO 48.370.
I thought that the service at Shiraz was OK, the majority of the staff members seemed friendly, but our food took a long time to arrive and the waiter who took our orders did not seem to be in her best of moods. However, that did not affect our overall experience at Shiraz, which was pleasant.
I enjoyed my experience at Shiraz, I thought that their food is great, the atmosphere is nice, and sitting outside during the better times of the year could be really an amazing fine dining experience, albeit expensive.
Mydan – Millennium Resort (Al Mussanah)
I was invited by the Millenium Resort in Mussanah (Telephone: 2687 1555) to try out Mydan – their buffet and a la carte restaurant. Millenium Resort is a bit less than a 100 kilometers away the capital, and it is remembered by many as the resort that hosted the Asian Beach Games in 2010.
We visited Millennium on a working day and there were no special events or conferences held, so the place was quiet and barely anybody else at all was at the restaurant. The Mydan restaurant is located on the right side of the main building of the hotel and has a breathtaking ocean view. There are tables outside all along the marina, but sitting outside is the not the best idea at this time of the year due to humidity and the heat.
Mydan does not serve a specific cuisine but a mix of continental, Mediterranean and Indian food. It has a pretty extensive menu with cold and hot starters, salads, soups, pastas, pizzas, grills, sandwiches, and other main courses. Mydan is fully licensed so some of its dishes may contain bacon and/or alcohol.
At the start of our meal we were treated with a variety bread basket that came with butter and oil dips.
For the starter we ordered a plate of cold lebanese mezze selection (RO 4) that had hommous, tabouleh, muttabal, feta cheese, and pickles and came with Arabic bread. I liked the greens and the cheese, but the homous wasn’t not very remarkable. We also had a lentil soup (RO 2.8) and market salad (RO 3.5), the lentil soup was nice, consistent and well flavored.
For the main course we had one plate of Roganjosh (RO 7.5) – boneless lamb cooked in traditional indian spices served with basmati rice, and one plate of grilled tiger prawns (RO 8 ) that came with couscous and seasonal salad. I really like the lamb curry I had, the beef was well cooked, tender and nicely thready and it was really awesome how it was served with a small plate that had two slices of onion, lemon, atchar, and two thin long green chilis for that spicy kick you need when having your rice and meat – it was great and I enjoyed it! The grilled tiger prawns excellent especially when dipped in the lemon sauce that came with it.
For the dessert we had a double devil (RO 3.5) – a chocolate brownie topped with vanilla and whipped cream. and place in the middle of a sauce of mixed raspberry, vanilla, and chocolate. I thought that it was great and the addition of raspberry to the sauce was a surprisingly nice addition that added some sweet freshness to the mix.
I thought the service at Mydan was great, our starters took a bit of time to be brought to our table, but we did not mind the wait as we enjoyed the the sipping our drinks overlooking the ocean. I thought the staff were very cheerful and friendly and our food was delivered as ordered.
If you are coming to Millennium Resort in Al Mussanah you would enjoy your food here.
Thai Basil – Al Ghubra
Thai Basil (Telephone: 2449 9565) is a Thai restaurant located in Midan Hotel Suites in Al Ghubra. If you are coming fromthe 18th November Street and going towards Al Ghubra Roundable, you need to take the right turn before the Taste of India restaurant and Midan Hotel would be the second building on that road opposite the school car park.
Thai Basil is very spacious, quite, and looks really fancy. The picture above doesn’t really show how nice the place is, but it almost feels a bit out of place for Al Ghubra as there really isn’t anything like it in this part of town. We went to dine at Thai Basil during a working day evening, so the place pretty empty with the except of a couple of other tables. The place seems to attract couples more than anything else probably because of the quite atmosphere of the place.
Thai Basil offers a number of appetizers, soups, salads, an a collection of main courses. For the starters we ordered a plate of Koong Chup Pang Tod (RO 2.000) which was basically prawn tempura and was pretty good.
For the main course we ordered a plate of Stir Fried Chicken with Cashews (RO 4.500) which had strips of chicken breast stir fried with vegetables and topped with roasted cashews. We also ordered a plate of Bang Chiang (RO 6.200) which had marinated slices of beef cooked with onions, mushrooms, and baby corn. I thought that both dishes were excellent with the right level of spiciness, being the a pro chicken dishes person I would recommend the chicken with cashews over the beef, but the beef was also really really good. You should note that none of these dishes came with rice of noodles, so we ordered a basket of jasmine rice (RO 1.000) separately.
Thai Basil has a number of desserts such as ice cream, fruit salad, and coconut custard, but we didn’t like having any at the time so we didn’t try any. We also didn’t order any drinks and had only water.
In total we ordered 1 starter, 2 main courses, 1 basket of rice for a total of RO 15.050.
I thought that the service at Thai Basil was excellent and the waiters seemed to be friendly and talkative. The food didn’t take long to get to our table and was in perfect condition.
I cannot decide if I like this place more than Shang Thai or not, but it surely is one of the nicest Thai places to go for around that area. I highly recommend this place to someone looking for nice quite Thai dining.
RBG Grill – Park Inn Hotel
RBG Grill (Telephone 2450 7888) is a grill restaurant located in Park Inn in Al Khuwair. The restaurant is located on the ground floor right left of the main entrance of the hotel.
We went to RBG Grill early on an evening of a week day, we did not make a reservation before going and the place was practically empty when we were there. RBG stands for Red Bar Grill, and the theme nicely matches the name. The seating area of RBG Grill is quiet nice and spacious.
RBG Grill serves a variety of light snacks, salads, steaks, and burgers. The restaurant is licensed to serve alcohol and has sections for wines and beers on the menu. We did not like any of the starters as they seemed all more like snacks than actual starters (small sandwiches, etc). We only ordered main courses, but we received an introductory basked of bread and butter to munch on until the main courses arrive.
RBG Grill is known for its steaks, there are about 8 or so different steaks offered on the menu, my friend’s ordered a Rib Eye Steak (Pictured first above – RO 11.5) and a Sirloin Steak (Pictured second above – RO 12.5). Both came with mashed potatoes, salad, and a choice of sauce that comes with it.
I ordered a chicken fillet burger (RO 8 ) which came with chunky chips, I thought that it was nice especially the caramelized onions – I also found having a hard shell bun for a change nice!
We also had a chicken tikka (RO 5.5) with a side dish of mashed potato (not pictured – RO 2).
I thought that the staff at RBG Grill were friendly and the service was good, though a bit on the slow side even though the place was practically empty when we got in.
In total we ordered 4 main courses, 1 sideline, and 4 soft drinks, our bill came to RO 43.5.
My friends seem to like the steaks they had and I enjoyed the burger that I had, but as I am not really big on steak, I’m not really sure if I’ll be coming to this place often.
Anybody else been to RBG Grill? What do you guys think?
Narjeel – Shatti Al Qurum
Narjeel (Telephone: 2456 0606) is a Thai restaurant in Shatti Al Qurum. The restaurant is located at the somewhat dodgy Asas Oman hotel apartments in Shatti. If you are coming from the CCC and going towards Crowne Plaza along the Qurum Park road, you take the right turn after the small roundabout and before the little mosque.
Narjeel is not a super fancy restaurant, but it feels authentic. Unlike the dodgy feel of the hotel and the sign of Narjeel, the restaurant inside is quite spacious and feels welcoming. We went for a meal on Friday evening and the restaurant (and hotel) seemed empty. During our entire meal there wasn’t anybody else other than us in the restaurant.
Narjeel is a Thai restaurant and serves a number of soups, salads, starters, Thai main courses, seafood, and a number of others things as well. For the starters we had a Tom Yum Koong (RO 3.800) which was a spicy seafood soup cooked with vegetables. The portion of the soup was very large and it was a bit spicy even though was asked for the mild version of it, but we still enjoyed it thoroughly.
Our first main course was a Panang Meat dish (RO 4.5) which had slices of meet cooked in a spicy thai sauce and other herbs. I am not an expert in Thai food, but I did not like the taste of this dish. That is not to say that there was anything wrong it, but it was just not our cup of tea.
The second dish we ordered was a Chicken Kapow (RO 3.8) which was another dish of chicken shreds cooked in a spicy thai sauce and green beans. The description of the dish clearly stated that it is cooked in a spicy sauce, but we did not expect it to be THAT spicy. I thought the dish was good, but way too spicy we couldn’t even finish it.
The main courses do not come with anything so we also ordered a plate of steamed rice (RO 0.5) and another plate of plain noodles (RO 0.5). The main courses came with a complimentary plate of orange slices which I think are supposed to be had while eating the main course to cool off the spiciness of the main course.
For the drinks we had a Pina Colada (RO 1.5), a non-alcoholic coconut and pineapple juice mix, which was really well made. We did not try any of the desserts.
In total we ordered two soups, two main courses, two side dishes, and two fresh juices, our bill came out at RO 23.800.
The service at Narjeel was excellent and the food quickly arrived, except for our chicken main course which the waiter forgot to write on his notepad and which we didn’t notice was missing when he repeated the order.
I liked the soup and juice I had at Narjeel, but I was not crazy about the main course probably because we did not expect them to be as spicy as they were and because we did not ask for recommendations on what to have. However, I can understand why people are crazy about the restaurant and I think I would go again to try some more authentic Thai food.
Review: Dhofar Hotel Restaurant – Salalah
I’m currently in Salalah attending a legal workshop for one week. I’m staying at Dhofar Hotel, a 3-star hotel near the city center. I hate my employer for giving me such a small allowance for this trip. I wish I could sue them. I know I can’t.
Dhofar Hotel is surprisingly so much better than what I expected, but this review is not about the hotel, it’s about their restaurant. The restaurant is on the ground floor of the hotel, it is relatively spacious, and it looks like the restaurant serves some sort of buffet at sometime, probably dinner or something, it was not open for lunch today.
The menu that I was offered at the restaurant was a stapled paper photocopy of the *room service* menu, the menu had cold starters such as salads, Lebanese cold starters, avocado with shrimps, and two hot starters, namely fried vegetarian Lebanese kebbeh and samosas. There are also several types of soups which I did not try. I had a season mixed salad for the starter, it was very simple (cucumber, lettece, and tomato) and felt very fresh.
There are several different main course categories in Dhofor Hotel’s restaurant, these include fried meals (breaded hammour fish, fried chicke, and crumbed shrimps), grilled meals (kababs, lamb chops, shish taouk, and arabic mixed grills), Asian and Indian dishes (biryani meals, friend rice, and noodles – meat, chicken, fish or prawn – the same menu as all the Indian/Chinese restaurants all over Oman.)
I had a chinese chili chicken dish with biryani rice. I also ordered a french fries sideline. I thought that the food was good, the rice, salad, and chips were all amazing, the chili chicken was just okay, it was well cooked, but not spicy enough (no schezwan sauce!) I really loved their french fries though, it was very thick and crunchy, something that you do not easily find in restaurants of this class.
No fresh juices are served at this restaurants, I ended up drinking the usual Mountain Dew. So in total I had one salad, a plate of french fries, chili chicken and biryani rice and all that came out for RO 3.600, for some reason, this included an arbitrary 17% tax. (Don’t know where it came from).
I thought that the service of the restaurant was quite slow even though I was the only customer in the restaurant (it looks like the khareer is already over), but I still think that overall I had a great experience at Dhofar Hotel’s restaurant, the place is very clean and the food was good. It is safe to try it out if you happen to come to this hotel.
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