Restaurant Review - Al Marjan Bistro

The average Muscat diner didn't really 'get' Vue. Maybe the cooking was too complicated, perhaps the pricing to ambitious. We don't know, but we were sorry to see them leave.

And now there's Al Marjan Bistro. Sitting in Vue's former location bordering Al Bustan's lobby, and set in exactly the same interior, Al Marjan wants to distinguish itself by serving seasonal, classic French dishes, with a refined touch. Ok, we get that.

The menu looks promising, and the wine list has been simplified, with a better choice of value wines. We quite enjoyed our food, although there were some ups and downs. The terrine of duck foie gras was disappointing; its fat content was extremely low, causing the liver to be dry and bitter. Whether or not foie gras is ethical, is open for debate, but you have to make a choice. Either serve foie gras as it is meant to be, or give it a different name on your menu. The second starter, lobster salad with mint tabouleh, fared much better. The lovely fresh tabouleh was a very nice counterpart for the rich lobster.

Of the mains, the braised beef cheeks were most memorable. Ultra-soft, very rich and with a good red wine / cranberry sauce. A classic dish, very well prepared. The other choice, scallops served on fresh herbs, was also enjoyable, but a bit too salty. Dessert (crème brûlée) was very tasty, although –if we're being very picky– it could have been a bit less cold.

All in all, some very good food. That said, we are not convinced that Al Marjan will be a success. First of all, it is very expensive. With starters between 6.500 and 10.000 OMR, and mains ranging from 14.000 to 18.000 OMR, you can be sure that your bill will be a hefty one. We spent over 70 OMR for two, excluding wine. That's a lot. Too much, we like to think, for the type of food that is served. Our other concern is the interior design. It worked well for an upscale restaurant like Vue, but it is lacking the kind of atmosphere that you would expect in a bistro. The fact that only four tables were occupied during our visit didn't help. Just as with the foie gras, it seems like the management of Al Marjan needs to make up its mind. Only then will this restaurant have a chance to survive. Until they do, we don't really 'get' it.

Restaurant Review – Sammak (As Sifah)

Hello, we're back. It's been a while since our last post, other things are keeping us occupied at the moment. But we plan to post a bit more regularly in the future.

In order to create some goodwill after messing up our favourite beach for a weekend getaway, tourism development company Muriya opened a seafood restaurant on the As Sifah Beach, called Sammak. The restaurant is part of a larger piece of beach development, including a smack of palm trees, watersport facilities, and a playground. Opened late 2010, the restaurant still looks new and fresh. Although Muriya was the developer of it all, Sammak is managed by locals from the village of As Sifah, and the menu is filled with the daily catch of the local fishermen. All good news for local development.

And it must be said, Sammak is a very enjoyable place to spend a lazy Friday afternoon. The food is simple, but good. Our catch of the day (koffer) was fresh as can be, which is exactly what you want in a place like this. Don't expect any culinary surprises, simply enjoy the food and the great surroundings. And while you're there, have a look at the construction work on Jebel Sifah, that's going on close to it.

Any downsides? Sure. Service is clumsy and slow, the menu isn't very clear (there are some choices written on a blackboard, but everybody seems to receive the same grilled fish), and the prices are a bit on the high side for this kind of food (about 7.500 OMR a person for appetisers, main and a soft drink). But still, we left with a positive feeling.

What's more (and probably worse) is that many of the new buildings are already showing signs of decay. The showers are falling apart, and the toilets are a mess. Let's hope that Sammak is just as nice to visit in a year's time as it is now. If it is, we will surely be regulars.

Restaurant Review: Wasabi Sushi

We told you before about our love for sushi. We were happy, therefore, to find Wasabi Sushi, a relative newcomer in the Muscat dining scene. It's located in the Bareeq al Shatti Mall, and has been open for some two months.

The small, trendy looking restaurant specialises in sushi rolls. Next to that it offers some sashimi, a couple of salads and miso soup. That's all. The choice in sushi rolls is quite big though, and we don't mind a limited menu. In fact, we prefer it to those 'a little bit of everything' menu's such as the one at Japengo.

The food at Wasabi Sushi looks as trendy as the interior. And it's not bad. The tiger roll hoso maki is a tasty roll with tempura prawn as main ingredient. Tuna sashimi is served on ice. A nice touch, although the fish needed a bit of warming up on the plate to let its flavour come out. There are also some less succesful creations. The california roll tastes rather bland and the nigiri's (rice lumps with a piece of fish on top) are made with too much rice, as a cause of which the taste of the fish gets lost.

The quality of the fish is good, but there is hardly a local fish to be found on the menu. Tuna being the exception. Many of the dishes are made with eel (which is nearly extinct and should be avoided altogether), salmon, prawns and surimi (listed on the menu as 'crab'). It would have been so much better to see fish like hammour and kingfish on the list. A missed opportunity in our opinion. A last critical note: for a restaurant that carries wasabi in its name, they supplied us with precious little bits of the stuff. Granted, we like our food a bit spicy, but we can't recall that we ever needed to ask for three extra portions in any other sushi restaurant.

But even if we take all this into account, we're still quite positive about Wasabi Sushi. Overall, the food is quite tasty. Not mindblowing, and it doesn't come close to the quality of Tokyo Taro, but it's a nice place to eat if you fancy a bite in between shopping or on your way to some place. Sushi never comes dead cheap, but with a bill of 27.000 OMR for two, including one drink each, Wasabi Sushi is relatively affordable. The restaurant isn't licensed. We hope it survives, the night we visited there were more waiters around than guests. It deserves better.

Our favourite cheap eats

We have been horribly absent of late, we realise that. To make up for that we'll give you three of our favourite cheap eats. Exclusive dining is fun, but sometimes it is just as satisfying to find restaurants where you find extremely good value for money, or just a good meal at a bargain. None of the following restaurants will win any michelin stars, but they do represent fine value.

Al Ziyara, MSQ
This is a popular hang-out with the Omani and expat youngsters alike, but we go there for the cheap, but tasty Lebanese food. Although neighbouring Kargeen may look better, we feel the mezze at Al Ziyara taste better. We especially like the kibbeh. They also offer very good shisha. A full meal including drinks and shisha shouldn't set you back more than 5 or 6 OMR. And that's much better than Kargeen as well.

Saravanaa Bahvan, Ruwi
Situated on Ruwi Street, this vegetarian Indian restaurant is always busy. And rightfully so. The dosa's are particularly in favour, and may well be the best in town. The extensive menu also offers enough other treats to choose from. For a mere 3 OMR (including drinks) you can expect to leave fully satisfied. The restaurant may have a bit more of a fast food feel than, let's say, Woodlands, but the food certainly isn't any less. Perhaps even better.

Turkish Palace, Al Mawaleh
When we just moved to Oman, this was our regular neighbourhood hangout. We don't live in the area anymore, but we still have good memories of the food in Turkish Palace. Located next to the Markaz Al Bahja mall, this restaurant offers both outside and inside dining. The outside area is bordering a car park, for that truly cosy local experience. The food makes up for the surroundings however. The mezze are all good, but we always made sure to leave a bit of appetite for the grilled kebabs in yoghurt. Feel-good-food. We slightly prefer the food at this restaurant to that of Muscat favourite Turkish House, but there's nothing wrong with that place either. Expect to pay about 5 OMR for food and drinks at Turkish Palace.

We will post some more restaurants in due time. Meanwhile, if you have some favourite cheap places of your own, please let us know. We are always looking forward to trying some new addresses.

Restaurant Review - Vue by Shannon Bennett

We have been planning a review of Vue by Shannon Bennett for quite some time now, as it is –without a doubt– Muscat’s best restaurant.

Our last visit to the restaurant was the fourth since its opening last year. We must say that our best experience was during an evening that Shannon Bennett himself was present, but chef Josh Lewis does a very good job at keeping up Bennett’s reputation. The level is constantly high, and although we may have one or two things to complain about, these are minor details.

Vue is not cheap. A seven course menu gourmand will set you back 40 OMR. But it has a lot to offer in return. First and foremost, Vue is the only restaurant in Muscat that employs truly knowledgeable staff. Sommelier Brigid Hoskins is a delight for wine lovers and the serving staff is well educated and confident. Those who want to spend less have the choice of a five course dinner (28 OMR) or choosing three courses from the limited menu. The menu changes frequently.

We like the way Vue handles its ingredients: fish is sourced from the Muttrah souq and herbs and (some) vegetables are home-grown. All this shows care and love for produce.

Wines aren’t cheap either, and this is something that troubles us a bit more. While it must be said that Vue puts a big effort into offering a large selection of wines (some of which are especially flown in for the restaurant), prices of those that are commonly available in Oman are also many times higher than in other restaurants around the city. You have to search hard to find a good deal on the wine list. Probably the best option for your wallet is to let Mrs. Hoskins choose wine pairings to your menu. Her choices are impeccable.

On to the food. All dishes are prepared with care and thought out in great detail. We particularly enjoyed the truffle and wild mushroom risotto with tarragon paste. It is rich and generous, but well balanced thanks to the fresh spiciness of the tarragon. A scallop packed in shellfish bisque jelly offers a funny and tasty gimmick, but is in visual spectacle outclassed by a ‘cigar’ filled with foie gras mousse, and with smoky chocolate crust. We saw this trick before, when it was served as dessert (and filled with chocolate instead of liver), but it is still a feast for the eye. It tastes good as well, but the foie gras is a bit light for the smoky chocolate, which tends to overpower slightly. The next two courses are highlights. Kingfish with a cheesy bread crust, on parsley purée, served with red wine reduction is a stunning combination. Where we were critical about Bait al Bahr’s way of handling fish, this dish shows how contrasting flavours can still produce a stunning dish. The cheese crust gave body to the fish, which made it capable of standing up to the red wine reduction. This, in turn, had enough acidity to lift the flavours and the parsley purée added a lovely bitter spicy contrast. A perfect dish? It would have been if the fish hadn’t been slightly overcooked. Not yet dry, but just too far. The main course is stunning is well: breast and leg of pigeon on carrot purée with a selection of baby vegetables. The pigeon is perfectly cooked, the breast tender and juicy, and the leg prepared as confit. They form a lovely, smooth combination of flavours with the carrot purée and baby vegetables. Is everything perfect? Nearly. Several components in different courses could have done with less salt. The stock of the risotto and scallop, as well as the sauce accompanying the pigeon were all too salt. A minor detail.

After a good piece of pont l’évêque cheese follows a lovely dessert with several small treats of which ginger ice cream and camomile mousse make the biggest impression. Original flavours and truly delicious.

We were glad to see a large selection of digestives, ranging from Cognacs and Whiskies to Vintage Port, all offered by the glass.

The final bill is best paid with your eyes closed. But it doesn’t matter really. Dining at Vue makes us happy. We enjoy the knowledge and enthusiasm of the staff, and have great fun eating food that is clearly prepared with love. On top of that, it is very, very good. A Muscat Must.

Restaurant Review - Bait al Bahr

We love fish. Given Oman's incredible richness in seafood, it is surprising to see only a small number of specialised seafood restaurants. Sure, there are numerous grill restaurants that will serve you cremated kingfish, but that's not what we mean.

One of the few is Bait al Bahr, on the beach of Shangri La's Barr al Jissah Resort. Our last visit to this restaurant was almost a year ago. Our best recollection of that evening was the platter of fresh seafood; a wonderful collection of raw mussels, clams, oysters etc. on ice. Combined with a fresh white wine, life could hardly be better.

But we also remember disappointing main courses: overcooked tuna and a confusing dish with koffer made that we left with a double feeling. About time for a second visit. It was quite disheartening to see that the menu hadn't changed in a year's time. A restaurant with a limited menu, such as Bait al Bahr, should be able to offer their guests something new every once in a while, don't you think?

We didn't like the look of the catch of the day, which –quite frankly– looked like the catch of a couple of days before, so decided to order some dishes of the menu. Mr. R's prawn cocktail with three types of dressing was refreshing and fine. Mrs. R was less pleased with her starter of grilled scallop on a spicy mango salad. The sweet mango completely swept away the mild sweetness of the scallops, leaving only a salty and smoky grilled flavour. Not bad per se, but a pity of those beautiful scallops. They were –we must add– perfectly grilled.

Mrs. R decided to give the main course of Omani koffer, with harissa and fried parsnip a second chance, while Mr. R chose baked hammour with zatar crust. We can be short here: we disliked both. One of the delights of fish is that it is perfect to create light dishes, delicate and refined. These were heavy and filling. It seems the chef tried to create meat dishes out of fish. You'd wonder why.

The wine we drank with the food was good. A lovely crisp and dry Riesling by the Alsatian top producer Hugel. The high end wines of this producer belong to the best in the world, and while their entry level wines are nowhere near as good, they do provide a good introduction to the wines of the Alsace and offer fair value for money. The wines of Hugel are available through African & Eastern.

Luckily, desserts saved dinner from ending in complete disappointment. Date pudding, with caramel pecan nut ice cream tasted very nice, although the date pudding wasn't technically a pudding but a cake (and tasted more of chocolate than date, oh well, at least it tasted good). Mrs. R was very happy with her vanilla pannacotta, with pink grapefruit jelly and rhubarb granite, which was very refreshing, although perhaps overly sweet.

Service was fast. Too fast. It took the staff less than an hour to serve us three courses, including coffee and tea. A bit of time in between courses wouldn't have hurt at all.

We are still not convinced by Bait al Bahr. As a true seafood restaurant it is disappointing. We would rather spend some extra money and go to The Beach Restaurant or choose one of the fish dishes in Come Prima. But for a fresh seafood platter and a glass of wine this place is perfect. Ideally, we'd enjoy sundown in Bait al Bahr and then continue our dinner somewhere else. A pity the restaurant only opens at 7PM.

Our own restaurant awards: Bad Restaurants with Good Reviews

It's a favourite game in Mr. & Mrs. R's household: Guess the Review. Especially the very good reviews of bad restaurants in guides like Oman2Day, Time Out and Oman Explorer are great fun.

Now that the Oman2Day Restaurant Award campaign is in full swing again, we thought of our own award: Oman's worst restaurant with a good review in the guides. We will share our Top 3 with you, and here's the honourable #3:

Time Out is very right in saying that it is "not the food that is the star of the evening" at Trader Vic's, but that doesn't stop them from stating the restaurant "continues to delight diners and drinkers" and "you have all the ingredients for a perfect party." Oman Explorer is just as positive: "Dining here isn't cheap, but for a good night out, it's worth it." We disagree. In our opinion Trader Vic is nothing more than a cattle hall where you pay a premium to have good ingredients wasted. Horrible sauces ruin pieces of prime meat, other dishes are uninspiring, overly salt, and have a special quality of being dry while fat. Thank goodness for the cocktails. You need them to forget the food.

While we are hardly keen on paying another visit to Trader Vic, it is still a decent choice compared to our #2:

According to Oman Explorer, this "award-winning restaurant is ideal for a candlelit dinner for two," and serves "delicious Italian food." Oman2Day urges us to "try the calzone", which we did: a disgusting piece of misery. In all fairness they also state the following: "A very popular place at one time, the restaurant is slowly working its way back in favour." We guess this is an understated way of saying the place is run-down and past its prime. Sad interior, food that makes you cry and a 'wine bar' that's unworthy of the name, O Sole Mio is our proud number 2.

Our #1 left us baffled when we read the reviews after our visit. We ended up in Alauddin Restaurant one evening when we were in desperate need of something to eat after shopping at Home Centre. We ordered some Indian dishes and had a good laugh at the naan bread that looked and tasted as if the chef wiped the sweat of his forehead and kneaded it into the bread. Quite untasty. The rest of the dishes weren't much better (pre-chewed saag paneer anyone?), and we weren't surprised that not many people bothered to find a seat in the seriously dated restaurant. But we were clearly wrong, because according to Oman2Day "there is good reason the company has survived so long," and Oman Explorer tells us that we should "arrive with high expectations of a gastronomic good time (...) a Muscat must." It's a good thing we didn't read this beforehand. Oman Explorer is so convinced by the restaurant's qualities that it states that "you'll be hard pushed to find someone who lives in Muscat and hasn't enjoyed food from Alauddin." Here we are, you found us.

Restaurant Review - Cheese Festival at Musandam Café

We told you before about the Cheese Festival at Muscat InterContinental. It started yesterday, and lasts until the 17th of November. So one week only.

Still full of memories of last year's cheese fest, we made sure to be there the first day. Monsieur Fromagier was happy to see us, and his cheese table looked just as appetising as it did last year. In relation to last year, there was one minor change. The price of the cheese buffet was raised from 10.00 OMR to 15.000 OMR, but it included one free bottle of wine per couple.

The staff of Musandam Café must have listened to our complaints, because this time the complimentary bottle of wine was very decent: a 2005 Barbera d'Asti from Cosseti. A fruity and supple wine.

You can opt to combine the cheese with the regular Musandam buffet. We did not do this, however. We sampled almost every cheese on the table (there were 20+) and enjoyed every bit of it. The fromagier will take very good care of you, once he finds out you are in love with his cheeses. And that will happen. The selection is beautiful. From slightly sweet, soft and creamy goats, to hard mountain cheeses, runny, stinky red bacteria, a mont d'or that could only be eaten with a spoon, and the ripest, most pungent roquefort we've ever seen.

If you are a cheese lover, this event is a must. We will make sure to come back for a second visit this week.

Restaurant Review - Tuscany

If you would ask us about the biggest bottleneck for restaurants in Muscat, we would answer: Consistency. There is a select group of potentially very good restaurants, but we've had disappointing experiences in each and every one of them.

Tuscany, the uber-kitsch Italian restaurant of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, is perhaps the place where we've seen the largest fluctuations in the quality of food. After a very lackluster dinner some time ago we decided to avoid the restaurant for a while. But recently we heard reports that the kitchen crew is back in form. Time to check.

One of the funniest things about eating in Tuscany is sitting in the slightly higher area, under the 'authentic Italian' dome. The construction of the dome has the strange acoustic effect that sounds at the exact opposite of the dome are amplified to such an extend that you end up eavesdropping on other tables, whether you want it or not. If you ever plan to discuss some private matters over the course of an intimate dinner, we recommend sitting somewhere else.

But what matters is the food, of course. We began with two impressive starters. Marinated scallops with speck, green asparagus and capsicum cream was very satisfying and delicate. This dish always has a risk of the speck overpowering the scallops, but the balance was perfect here. The dish that really stole our hearts was homemade prosciutto of duck breast, with fava bean mousse and balsamic-marinated radicchio. The duck was lovely on its own, but paired with the bitter-acidic radicchio and soft-creamy fava beans it was lifted to great heights. A wonderful explosion of tastes. This was followed by an equally impressive pasta dish: spaghetti with vongole. When prepared to perfection, simplicity becomes art. It's been a long time since we ate such a simple dish that was so full of flavour. Gorgeous.

None of the main courses could live up entirely to the expectations set by what we had so far. Lamb loin with fennel and rocket lettuce was pleasant, but a bit high in acidity. A nice, creamy scoop of mashed potatoes would have been most welcome. Beef tenderloin, served with a fontina / eggplant pie, was a beautiful piece of meat. Very tender, and full of taste. We loved the fact that the chef was confident enough to let the meat speak for itself, and not spoil it with an overdose of salt. The fontina / eggplant pie, on the other hand, was rather tasteless.

Desserts were disappointing. A limoncello semifreddo was boring, and whatever taste it had was completely overpowered by the strawberries that were served alongside. A dish of chocolate mousse, chocolate cake and strawberries (again) was better, but not very daring.

Tuscany's wine list offers a good selection, although it would be good to see vintages listed on the menu. This is a problem of almost every restaurant's wine list though.

We were happy to see the chef has indeed regained his form. Keep it up and we'll be back. But we may just skip dessert.

Restaurant Review - Left Bank

Never eat in a hip restaurant. It is a lesson that we learned long ago. There seems to be a negative correlation between level of hipness and quality of food.

Left Bank may well be Muscat's hippest hangout. We understand its appeal. It is quite possibly the only place in Muscat that is not part of a hotel, is licensed to sell alcohol, has a nice atmosphere and has a great outside seating area. We like going there for a drink or two, but have always been disappointed by the food. Even to such an extend, that if people wanted to meet there, we'd make sure we had dinner before, just to avoid the frustration of having to put Left Bank's food into our mouths.

But we felt the restaurant deserved another chance. So we revisited last week. We brought some friends along, in order to be able to try as many dishes from the menu as we could. The starters were a mixed bag. A dish of fried salmon with black olive tapenade tasted alright, but overcooked. Feta and pumpkin salad was very basic, but not all bad; the pumpkin was horribly overcooked and the feta tasted more like yoghurt, but the combination did sort of work, in a twisted way. It went downwards with a fried lump of Goat's Cheese (which could have been alright if it wouldn't have been the only thing on the plate) and Falafel of sweet potatoes with mint sauce. Nothing wrong with the mint sauce, but the falafel were a terrible mistake. Mashed into a glue-like substance, moulded into rounds and fried. This had nothing to do with falafel and tasted more or less like, well, snot.

It didn't improve much with the main courses. The House Salad was nothing more than a pile of green leaves. Hard to do anything wrong there, but hardly exciting either. Fish & Chips are alright, but taste like they've been left on the counter a bit too long before serving. A piece of Salmon Steak was served on beautifully cooked, crispy snow peas and green beans. The salmon itself was overcooked. Again. It was accompanied by a butter/chardonnay sauce, that was overly fat as well as extremely sour, due to an excessive amount of lemon juice. All in all, not a very succesfull dish, although it was not nearly as bad as the Chicken breast, stuffed with ricotta, spinach, turkey bacon and sun-dried tomatoes, served with sautéed potatoes and mushroom cream sauce. Sounds like a lovely mediterranean dish, doesn't it? Although you could wonder what a mushroom sauce has to do with it. Unfortunately, it didn't taste half as sunny as it sounded. It was a mess. The chicken breast was dry, the turkey didn't add any flavour but salt, the sun-dried tomatoes were unrecognizable, and mushrooms added an earthy flavour that was highly unpleasant. We could also moan about the spinach not being part of the stuffing (as promised) but served underneath, but we really don't think it would have mattered. This dish summed up all the reasons why we haven't eaten here for such a long time.

Due to an upcoming menu change, there were not many desserts available. But we could get some crème brûlée outside of the menu. It was a bit too stiff, but not too bad.

We tried it. But we are quite sure that we will never dine in Left Bank again. If food makes you angry, it is better not to eat it. Now that the cooler months are coming in, we will go there for a drink though. Nothing wrong with those.

Restaurant Review - Tokyo Taro

Muscat is seafood heaven. No doubt about that. Even though there are worrying signs of decreasing numbers of fish in the local waters (due to last year's red tide, and large scale fishing), the quality and quantity is still astonishing. The perfect surroundings for a sushi restaurant. Just leave it to the Japanese to make the best out of our tuna, hammour, kingfish, etc.

Although there are a couple of places that serve sushi (Japengo being the newest addition), Tokyo Taro is Muscat's only truly specialised Japanese restaurant. Its setting is hardly inspiring, inside the run-down Al Falaj Hotel. The interior is basic, but once you step inside, you feel you are in the right place. It is usually filled with Japanese, which we think is a good sign.

Normally, we stick to sushi and sashimi in Tokyo Taro. The quality is unequalled in Oman. Beautiful cuts of fresh fish. Tuna, our favourite, is only available in season. Another good sign. The only thing we don't understand, is why salmon is a regular feature on the sushi menu. It is one of the few non-local items on show, and there have been a few times we weren't sure of its freshness.

You can also order teppanyaki dishes, but we are never really impressed by those. Tokyo Taro excells in raw fish preparations, and that is enough reason to visit the restaurant regularly. It may be Muscat's only Japanese restaurant, but with quality like this, it is all you need.

Restaurant Review - Capri Court

For some reason we can't explain, a large portion of the better restaurants in the city is Italian styled. In the mid-range category we have Come Prima and Tomato, and there are two good high-end Italian restaurants: Tuscany (of which a review will surely follow one day) and Capri Court. You will not hear us complain. The Italian kitchen is arguably one of the richest in the world, and while often based on relatively simple recipes, well-performed dishes can reach astonishing heights. Freshness, purity and quality of ingredients are crucial. But they can also go dangerously wrong, and this night we experienced both.

Capri Court is situated in Shangri-La's Al Bandar Hotel, and is the hotel's signature restaurant. Chef de Cuisine Mario Prestigiovanni is in charge since 2008 and has surprised us before with some very well-made dishes. It was a relatively cool evening when we visited and some people dared to sit outside, but we chose the cooler, ultra-stylish dining room.

Looking at the menu we felt a sense of disappointment. There were hardly any changes from our last visit, about a year ago. Why is it that restaurants in Muscat have such a hard time in bringing variety to their menus? Laziness? We don't know how else to explain it.

Mr. R opted to start with minestrone, a classic Italian hearty vegetable soup. We once had a superb version in Gordon Ramsay's Verre Restaurant in Dubai, an experience the chefs of Capri Court couldn't top. The soup was ok, but nothing more than that. Mrs. R's tuna carpaccio fared better. The term carpaccio is actually misleading for this dish. You would expect raw tuna, but it was slow roasted instead. More like roast beef. Nevertheless, it was a fine and delicate dish.

Next came a risotto with porcini and truffles. Oh boy, this was good. The risotto perfectly al dente, the truffles aromatic and savoury, and the porcini earthy and flavourful. Stunning.

Our main was a beef tenderloin, again with truffles, as well as with foie gras. A decadent, and rich dish. But one with some serious defects. First, the accompanying sauce was much too salt, nearly ruining the well cooked meat. Second, the truffle, that was so incredibly aromatic in the risotto was hardly noticeable here. And last, the dish lacked a good potato side. It came with a meagre biscuit, where the rich flavours screamed for a lovely, creamy portion of mashed potatoes. All in all rather unsatisfactory.

From the decent, but pricy wine list, we chose a bottle of Le Stanze 2002 from Poliziano. This wine comes from vineyards near the village of Montepulciano in Tuscany. It's a blend of Cabarnet Sauvignon and Merlot. The 2002 vintage was very difficult in most of Europe, and Italy was no exception. The advantage is that wines from this vintage can be enjoyable a few years earlier than wines from better years such as 2001 and 2004. But the tricky part comes when winemakers try to compensate the mediocre quality of their grapes with excessive use of oak. And that is exactly what happened here. The result is a wine that tastes like, you guessed it, oak. It was priced at 64.500 OMR. Far too much, if you ask us.

The list of deserts looked rather obligatory, so we decided to skip those.

In conclusion, an evening of serious ups and downs. We were rather disappointed with the overall experience, as we were much more positive the last time we visited this restaurant. It seems like the kitchen crew needs a fresh dose of inspiration. The potential is there, as the sublime risotto shows. Please give us more like that.

Restaurant Review - Come Prima

It's been years since we had last been to Come Prima, the Italian-styled restaurant of Muscat's Crowne Plaza Hotel. We didn't even live in Oman yet, but were guests in the hotel. We remembered the food being decent, but nothing special. The atmosphere wasn't anything special either. It resembled a dressed-up classroom. At best.

What a surprise when we walked through the doors of the restaurant this week. Come Prima is completely revamped and now boasts a modern, sleek look. Very nice. The friendly staff serves a plate with a tasty variety of breads, accompanied by tapenade and olive oil.

It is impossible not to compare this restaurant with Tomato, the terrace restaurant of the InterContinental Hotel. Both are Italian-styled, and both are (more or less) in the same price range. So let's compare: Tomato is very nicely situated, but Come Prima has outside seating with a beautiful view (both are closed during the hot summer months), Come Prima serves better bread, and has an attractive wine list, something Tomato lacks. And most important: the food at Come Prima is much better.

We start with a carpaccio of bresaola, which is served with rocket salad, and parmesan cheese. It's seasoning is perfect in its simplicity: some good olive oil, lemon juice and fresh pepper. A dish that is true to Italian heritage. Pure and simple food, that gets its flavour from good ingredients. No unnecessary stuff on your plate. Where Tomato's carpaccio is spoiled by a big pile of mushrooms, this only gives you what you need. And that's more than enough. Mrs. R enjoys a dish of seared scallops with porcini and red wine reduction. A nice set of flavours, but a little high on salt. This is probably due to the fact that the scallops were salted before they went into the pan. Not only concentrates this the salty flavour, it also withdraws the juice from the scallops, making them drier than they should be. Still, it is a fine dish.

Mr. R tests one of the pasta dishes (open ravioli, with scampis, squid and tomatoes, served with bisque), and Mrs. R tries the loin of lamb with a crust of basil and pine nuts, served with green asparagus. The ravioli is divine. Lovely, ultrathin sheets of pasta, with a good dose of seafood. The star of the dish is the bisque. Strong, concentrated and packed with flavour. It could easily be too much to handle if there weren't a couple of tomatoes and some leaves of basil to add freshness. Mrs. R's lamb is seared to perfection, and the dish would have been a winner if the asparagus weren't overcooked and if the jus would have had a bit more character.

Although we were pretty stuffed at this point, we couldn't leave without dessert. The Tiramisu is another winner, and bodes better than the Crème Brûlée, which suffers from an overly thick sugar crust. But thenagain, who would actually want to order a French dessert in an Italian restaurant?

Coffee is on the house. A very nice gesture, but even without this, we were already won over by the Italian charm of Come Prima.

From the well-sorted wine list, we drank a Muscadet Sèvre et Maine 2006, from Chéreau Carré. A fresh and affordable white from the French Loire Valley (18.000 OMR on the wine list). There are many mediocre, acidic wines from this region, but this is a good example. The wine shows some pretty fresh citrus fruit, and is slightly silty and spicy.

It is clear. Come Prima wins hand down from Tomato. And we will be sure to come back in the cooler months. A dinner on the balcony looks very tempting. A good glass of wine, a great view and a true taste of Italy. We can't wait.

Restaurant Review - Musandam Café (Provencal Week)

Anyone who has ever been to the Provence will remember the beautiful fields, filled with lavender, the aromas of fresh herbs and lovely, old villages, where you can have eat wonderful regional dishes accompanied by vast amounts of cheap, enjoyable wine. A good idea, therefore, to bring a bit of Provencal spirit to Muscat.

This week, the French Embassy and the Muscat InterContinental Hotel organised a Provencal Week, including a Provencal Theme Menu in Musandam Café. Michelin-starred, and Provence-based chef Daniel Hebet was asked to compose a five-course menu (14.000 OMR per person, including one bottle of wine per couple).

It is impossible to feel anything close to a Provencal spirit if you walk into Musandam Café, InterContinental's buffet restaurant. At best, it has the atmosphere of the coffee room of an elderly home. The (complimentary) wine didn't help to get in the mood either. A bottle each of lukewarm white and rosé awaited us. The white, although simple and too old (it was from 2005), was quaffable, but the rosé was a disgrace. It was from 2004, which is about three to four years too old for almost any rosé, and certainly for a simple Vin de Pays d'Oc. Brown in colour, and tasting of rust, this was undrinkable. When asking for a red alternative, we were presented with a J.P. Chenet. Now, we wouldn't expect anything other than simple wine as a complimentary bottle with a menu of this price. And there's nothing wrong with that. But J.P. Chenet!? Surely, they could have done better than that?

It was clear that this evening wouldn't be remembered for its wine, so let's move on to the food. The starter of chickpea soup, infused with lemon oil was a nice surprise. Creamy, yet fresh and light, thanks to the lemon. The second dish, terrine of rabbit with green olive tapenade, pesto and anchovy paste, showed a nice combination. Sadly, it was served too cold, which muted the flavours, and the rabbit could have been more tender. Still, quite nice, and certainly better than the main course: grilled tuna steak, sauteed onions, olive oil mashed potatoes and a light tomato cream. It's not that there's anything plain wrong with the dish, it's just a bit tasteless. The tuna had hardly seen a pan, which we liked, but not all members of our group agreed. Worse, it was short on taste, and therefore easily overpowered by the onions. The fact that Mrs. R found a chunk of the dark, bitter part of the tuna steak on her plate, didn't do any good either. The tomato cream was possibly the best part of the dish. Nice an pure, and a good match with the fish. Cheese consisted of a tasty piece of chevre, accompanied by some sprigs of thyme (rosemary according to the menu) and caramelized garlic. Just like the rabbit, this was served too cold, but very nice otherwise.

Dessert had the best surprise in store: a tasty strawberry, coated with candied sugar, tasted both delicate and lucious. It came together with a well-made crème brûlée.

So, was it a success? Yes and No. InterContinental deserves praise for organising these kinds of events. They bring liveliness to the culinary scene, and that's desperately needed in Muscat. But at the same time, it could be so much better. With just a little bit more care for detail, the overall level of the experience could be much higher. Keep up the good work, but keep improving!

Restaurant Review - The Beach Restaurant

It is quite possibly Muscat's most beautiful hotel: The Chedi. Understated, luxurious, with an overwhelming sense of serenity and exclusivity. And while it lacks the dramatic setting of the Barr al Jissah Resort and Al Bustan Hotel, the location of The Beach Restaurant -smack on the beach- isn't too fussy either.

This isn't our first visit to The Beach Restaurant, we've been before and liked it better than The Restaurant, the flagship restaurant of the hotel, where we found the level of cooking to be very variable. Our previous visit to The Beach was in January. It was a little disappointing to see that the menu hadn't changed since.

The amuse, a delicate small bisque of scampi, was full of flavour and well-made. A good start. Mrs. R chose a starter of grilled cuttlefish, fresh citrus fruit and coriander, a dish that looked and tasted like it came straight out of a Jamie Oliver book. Nothing wrong with that, but you'd expect a bit more from a restaurant at this level. Mr. R's lobster risotto, with slices of vacuum cooked lobster tail was very nice. The risotto could have done with slightly less cream, but other than that it was a treat. As mains we chose steamed turbot and lobster ravioli, served with preserved lemon and fresh tomatoes and line caught seabass with seared foie gras. The seabass was slightly overcooked, which made it just a tad dry. A pity, because in its essence it was a fine dish. Beautiful, flavourful fish, accompanied by the slightly bitter foie gras and a creamy, fresh sauce that added a touch of acidity. Mrs. R's turbot could also have done with a minute less in the pan. Again a very nice combination. Fresh, with the lobster adding some body to the dish.

Our choice of wine was a bottle of Chateau Musar White Wine 1999 from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon (38.000 OMR from the wine list). A very a-typical white wine, golden in colour, with tones of dried citrus, butter, nuts, cookie dough and spices (star aniseed, cloves, bay leave). We'll pay some more attention to the wines of Musar in a seperate topic, as they surely deserve that.

Nothing from the dessert list made our mouths water, so we decided to skip that.

Pricing is somewhat more friendly than Barr al Jissah's Sultanah. You could do three courses with a glass of house wine for about 35.000 OMR. In terms of quality we felt it wasn't that much below Sultanah. Well made dishes that won't be competing for a Michelin star, but will give you a good deal of pleasure. And an after dinner walk through the Chedi garden is absolutely priceless.

Restaurant Review - Pavo Real

The urge for indulgement can just as easily be followed by an irresistable yearning for comfort food. Before we moved to Muscat, we had a favourite take-away pizzeria near to our home. They served a wide range of pizzas and pastas, of which we always chose the same: a calzone piccante for Mrs. R and a pizza quattro formaggi for Mr. R. You knew exactly what you got. No surprises, no need for thinking. Easy. Great.

Every now and then we have this urge for comfort food. After a hard day at work, a weekend in the desert, or at the end of a hot and sweaty day. Pavo Real, in MSQ's shopping centre, is usually our favourite pick for such ocassions. Granted, you have to tolerate the hideous live music, but even that grows on you after a while. The Mexican fare is uncomplicated, and quite tasty.

But we have to be honest here. Pavo Real is not really about food. It's about pitchers of margharita and pints of beer. The fajita burritos and chicken enchiladas are merely meant to trigger your thirst, and they do a good job at that. We usually stick to burritos, enchiladas and fajitas, but the menu also offers steaks, seafood and other dishes. We don't care for those. We want to know what we get. Easy. Great. We don't quite know if the comfort is coming from the food or from the mean margharitas, but it works anyway, and that's what counts.

Restaurant Review - Sultanah

Every so often we feel we have to indulge. So we do. And although we have been in Muscat for over a year, we hadn't yet been to one of the restaurants in the ultraluxe Al Husn Hotel. We chose the Sultanah restaurant for our indulgence dinner.

It's hard not to be impressed the minute you walk into the hotel. It breathes the very essence of style and luxery. While overly impressive, it manages to be understated too, in a way. We reserved a table on the terrace of the Sultanah restaurant. From here, the view is spectacular, and that alone is almost worth paying a visit to this restaurant. But luckily, the food is quite good as well, so you don't have the view alone to chew on.

The restaurant carries a rather cheesy cruise line theme. As a part of this, it has a daily menu, called Port of the Day. Our day was Hong Kong. We decided to leave the stir-fried beef dishes for what they were, and focused on the à la carte menu. From the variety of classic, but appealing looking suggestions, we chose starters of seared foie gras with figs, and lobster and dover sole with a riesling foam, sauce of lobster reduction and porcini. Both very good. The lobster impressed a tad more, having a variety of lovely, complentary flavours, both earthy and fresh, whereas the foie gras dish mainly showed a soft, velvety structure, and, while very enjoyable, missed a bite of some sort.

As a main course, we both picked tenderloin of veal, with a white wine cream, porcini sauce and potato / olive oil purée. The structure of the meat had more in common with beef than veal, but was very well prepared: tender and full of flavour. But the deep earthy flavour of porcini was much too strong for the white wine cream. It was there, but was no contender. All in all a very tasty, yet slightly predictable dish.

Beforehand we had some worries that our wine choice, a Joseph Phelps Napa Valley Merlot 2001, would be much too heavy for the delicate veal flavour, and the light white wine sauce. But as the dish proved much darker than expected, the wine matched well. A very nice wine, showing lush red berries, cedar and toasted oak on the nose. Californian merlots can suffer from being overly ripe, with jammy fruit and excessive use of oak, but this was nicely balanced, with some lovely dark fruit balancing the toasty tones of the oak. A very nice wine (it was just over 60.000 OMR on the wine list).

Dessert was forgettable. Mr. R ordered a Chocolate mousse, that while not bad, didn't have anything that stood out.

And the bill? Well, as you'd expect from a restaurant with one of the best views in town, and in one of the most prestigious hotels of Muscat, it wasn't cheap. Expect to pay about 50.000 OMR per person (including a glass of house wine). A glass of champagne (uninspiring but not bad Moët et Chandon Brut Impérial) will set you back a further 15.000 OMR. And if you choose a bottle of wine from the list, you're even further from home. Prices are steep, and the selection isn't very appealing unless you are willing to spend a couple of hundreds on a first growth Bordeaux.

In a sense, Sultanah is very much the standard hotel restaurant. It offers the sense of luxery that guests at this level expect. Dishes are well made, with top-notch ingredients, but don't expect any surprises. It's all a bit... easy. Somehow it feels like the chef could do with a bit of a challenge. But it must be said that the standard of the food belongs to the best of Muscat. And it certainly offers that feeling of indulgence. Just what we were looking for.

Restaurant Review - Jabal Lebnan

On our way to all time favourite, everyones' darling Kargeen we noticed a posh looking new (or revamped) Lebanese restaurant, named Jabal Lebnan. We promised ourselves to come back soon and try this out. And so we did.

The restaurant has a fresh, and stylish look, quite uncommon for grill restaurants. Despite this, it was terribly quiet on the weekday we visited. Only one other table was occupied. The restaurant's A/C quite obviously hoped for a better turnout as well. It was freezing, and the noise of the A/C installation was almost unbearable.

The menu looked good though, with a wide selection of Lebanese dishes, as well as a couple of obligatory burgers and pastas. We decided to try some different flavours and ordered two starters and two main courses. Before we start about the food, first a couple of words about the service. How is it possible that we had to wait for nearly half an hour before our drinks arrived? And why did the bread and the second starter only show up on the table when the main courses were already served? We sat waiting for the starters for nearly 20 minutes, without anything to drink or to chew on. We can understand if something like this happens on a busy night, but in an almost empty restaurant? Inexcusable.

Now, on to the food: the Fatteh (a mix of spiced yoghurt, chickpeas and toasted pita) was very nice, but suffered from being the only thing on the table. Had we had some bread or the other starter (which turned out to be a disappointment, but we didn't know that yet then), we would have had some variety, but after a couple spoonfuls of fatteh, we grew tired of it. Together with the main courses (Lebanese Ouzi and Shish Taouk) we got a boring version of Arayess Kafta. The mains didn't impress much either. The Lebanese Ouzi was rather tasteless and dry. While the Shish Taouk was well-grilled and tender, it was very much one taste (there didn't seem to be much else than paprika powder and lemon juice in the marinade), which was not enought to remain interesting. Portions were gigantic, so no risk of undereating.

It may be the posh look, or the location (in the Al Noor Building in Madinat Qaboos), but the prices were quite steep for an eatery of this kind. As soon as we finished eating, we paid the nearly 20 Rials that we were due and left the restaurant. Stuffed, half-frozen, and utterly unsatisfied.

If you're looking for good Lebanese food, walk past Jabal Lebnan and go to the coffeeshop / restaurant that sits in the garden opposite of this. Half the price, better quality, and a good shisha to finish off your evening. That's more like it.

Restaurant Review - Tomato

Some restaurants just hit a soft spot. It doesn't matter that the food misses a beat here and there, there is something that makes you return time after time. Tomato in the Muscat InterContinental hotel is such a restaurant.

This Italian themed restaurant is pleasantly located in the garden of the hotel, and has a casual, yet elegant feel. Its outside location make it especially pleasant in the cooler months. It's closed in the hottest summer months.

Now, why is this a favourite? Certainly not because of the wine list. There isn't any. Unless you count the short selection of mediocre wines as such. Better stick to beer, unless you're a fan of JP Chenet. The menu isn't spectacular either, but lists a good bunch of well-made classics. The carpaccio is an all time favourite, although Mr. R usually orders this without the annoying pile of mushrooms that comes with it. The mushroom risotto is seriously good, and the pizzas are well-made and thin-crusted.

But there are disappointments too. There are hardly any changes in the menu. And if new dishes appear (as they did not too long ago), they are not always a success. All too often dishes are not in line with the pure and honest Italian kitchen. If you stick to your favourites, you're alright, but if you dare to experiment, you might end up with a less than stellar experience. And it's not exactly cheap either. Expect to pay around 20 to 25 OMR per person (including drinks).

Then why do we keep coming back to Tomato? Simple. It's a nice place to be. The atmosphere is friendly, the service good, the view stunning and the food decent. Don't think about it, and enjoy. That kind of place. And that's just what we're looking for every now and then.

Wine Bar Review: Oscar's Vine Society Dubai

We love buying guides like Oman2Day and Time Out and browsing through their restaurant section. Perhaps you've noticed, but these guides are incredibly positive about almost every restaurant. A review for McDonalds is completely exchangable with one of Tuscany. But still, if these guides claim a restaurant or bar to be their favourite, we tend to believe them. That's why we visited Oscar's Vine Society when we were in Dubai.

This bar, located in the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road, has a low key feel to it, with wine barrels transformed into tables. There is a decent selection of wines by the glass, a couple of special wines offered by the bottle and a small menu for dinner. We started with a very good plate of cold cuts, and two glasses of white wine. A lovely, refreshing glass of Schloss Vollrads Riesling Kabinett and a bit more serious full bodied sauvignon blanc from Sancerre by Pascal Jolivet.

So far so good.

Time to order a bottle of red wine. We opted for a bottle of Chasse-Spleen, a magnificent Cru Bourgeois from Moulis in Bordeaux, but sadly it was out of stock. And here the difficulties began. The setup of the wine menu is good, with short descriptions per wine, so you don't need extensive wine knowledge in order to make a choice. But apparently the knowledge of the staff doesn't exceed the write-ups in the menu either. Our request for an equally good bottle of Bordeaux (preferably with a bit of age on it to avoid a tannin overdose) resulted in an utterly comic parade of bottles that were brought too the table. We got there in the end, but it took some effort.

The food didn't fare much better. Mr. R felt heroic and ordered andouillette, which tasted like, well, andouillette. Completely his own fault of course, although it seems a bit risky to place this on a menu with no more than four main course choices. Mrs. R ordered one of her favourites, a classic steak tartar. When made well, this raw meat dish is a delicasy, but Oscar's cook thought it would be a good idea to murder the taste with an overdose of gherkins and capers. An acidic mess. We asked for a new plate, only meat this time, as we didn't trust the cook to go easy on the gherkins. It didn't work. Instead of gherkins and capers, the cook happily sprayed the meat with an abundace of vinegar.

Conclusion: don't burn your palate on a main dish and stick to cold cuts or a cheese plate. Don't expect any real wine knowledge in this wine bar, but enjoy a glass or two from the standard selection. If this is the best wine bar of Dubai (as Time out suggests) we would be very disappointed, but we wouldn't mind spending some time here a next time in Dubai.

But we will also continue our search for a wine bar that we can call our favourite. And we will let Time Out know when we found it.