Category Archives: Dine In

The Cheesecake factory has brought on a lot of hype since it’s launch at Dubai Mall. I had planned to go a few times but for some reason never got the opportunity to try it out. I have heard a lot about how the place was really huge, how the quantity is excessive and how the food was delicious.

All sounded great, and with all the hype I needed to give it a try. I still have not tried the one at Dubai Mall but when the one at Mall of the Emirates opened, for some reason I was free and had nothing to do but try it out!

So we had a trolley with some bags and walked up to the restaurant. It was in a corner beside Virgin. I like the design of the area a lot better than the open to the hotel layout of before. We were welcomed at the front desk and were told the trolley wasn’t allowed inside. They promised they will keep the trolley till we were done but it was in the middle of the mall, surely the trolley would disappear! (It did when we were done..) Either way, we asked for a table for two. There seemed to be a huge number of staff! I mean literally too many people going and coming with orders, all wearing neat clothes in white like food angels or something.

The waitress, while showing us to the table, engaged in some small talk mentioning the offers and sales happening around the mall and how it was busy these days (it was during the Dubai shopping festival) and was really polite, smiling and happy to serve.

The place was really nice! Fresh and brand new. Well, it was. There was plenty of seating, I mean this place is literally the biggest restaurant I have ever entered. Tables and booths everywhere! We were shown to a booth that had a window looking Ski Dubai. I liked that. There were tables in various sections and sizes from the beginning of the restaurant, by the bar, to all the way next to Ski Dubai where we were, really a huge place with plenty of seating options and locations. Beautiful, calm and lovely place.

The thing I didn’t really like was the fact that it was a little tight. I am not the fittest person on the planet and it was a little tight, but wasn’t uncomfortable, it was very comfortable actually just a bit tight.

Soon after sitting down we were introduced to our server (who was a trainee so we were also introduced to the actual server training him) and we were greeted, welcomed and told some specials.

For a brand new place, the menu was a bit worn down around the edges. Not sure if this was brought on from the other branches or if they have had that many visitors since the Mall of the Emirates branch launch. Speaking of the menu, I wasn’t happy. You see, not because there was anything wrong but because there was so many options! I mean I can blindly say this is literally the biggest menu I have ever seen, there was at least a few hundred things to order.

That threw me off. I mean I like when I have a good selection that I can’t pick between one of two or three options but there I had to pick between 20 or 30 things that I wanted to try. I believe it shouldn’t be that huge.

There was wide varieties of everything from several salads to like tens of everything, tens of seafood options, tens if not twenty pasta options, tens of steaks, it was endless. I decided to clear my head from a lot of distraction and go with the basics to try out the place for what it can really do rather than ordering something unusual and ending up with a crappy review because of my choices.

While taking our order, the polite waitress asked if we would like some bread and butter, which we agreed to.

As soon as the bread was brought they had served the water, something I always appreciate about a restaurant not leaving the water till late.

The bread was freshly baked and were yummy! especially the brown bread for some reason.
The place was crowded but we were told the food out be out within 15-20 minutes, which seemed reasonable.

For starters I went with a Wild Mushroom soup. I just liked the way that sounded for some reason.

The surprise to me was that I was between ordering a bowl or cup. I didn’t want to get too full before the main meal especially after what I was told about the place (more on that later..) I decided to go with a cup. If this was a cup what on earth is a bowl! It was huge! I mean, this is what other places consider a bowl if not more. It was a lot.

As far as the soup’s taste was concerned, it was lovely. There was a certain specialty to the way it tasted, unlike any other Wild Mushroom soup I have ever had. It was a bit peppery and the mushrooms were just delicious. The soup was just the right side of thick and seasoned perfectly. I didn’t need to add anything. It was just creamy and delicious, I didn’t want to fill up but I finished it… by the end of which, I was actually full!

For the table, we had ordered a Greek Salad. Here’s the thing about the Cheesecake factory which can go both ways, good or bad. The salad wasn’t on the menu but when it was asked, they had it. Also during the specials we were told of fish dishes that weren’t on the menu, which means they have selections above the selections from the menu! How much food do these people make!

I would be lying if I say I had anything more than two bites of the salad. After the soup, we couldn’t risk eating the salad and literally not be able to eat the main course! The salad was clean, fresh, crunchy and well seasoned with herbs. The cheese was really nice and went together lovely. This is of course after having eaten it later at home. Would have been even better at the restaurant.

Time for the main course, which after the bread, soup and salad was literally unnecessary! I ordered Fettucini Alfredo with Chicken


Before I get into the dish, while ordering we were asked if we want full portion or half. When I asked what was the difference we were told that the portions were really generous and half portion would be more than sufficient for one person. Now I have heard that they serve really large portions so I was really tempted to order a full portion just to see how big it can be but then… chickened out. I was already full, sue me!

So, the half portion is technically the size of other place’s full portion and a bit more. There was, to me, a full plate! Now, the dish.

The pasta was really nice, soft and cooked really well. The chicken was sufficient and really nice too, soft, juicy and tender. There was a little more sauce than I would personally prefer but then again there was a lot of pasta.
The sauce was rich and creamy, slightly salty as it should be and just delicious. I really liked it. Might not be the best Fettucini Alfredo I have ever had but certainly one of the best with ease.

Right after the dish had arrived, the waitress had come with Parmesan cheese and asked if we wanted some on top of the pasta, which when we agreed she started rubbing against the grater she had. yumm!

Now obviously, Neither of us could finish the plate and we had to take the salad and the remaining of the pasta as a take away. Here is the funny factor, almost everyone walking out of The Cheesecake Factory had bags in their hands. I can imagine no one got to finish their plates. Speaking of the take away bag, unfortunately I have no pictures but they placed the food in their own plastic containers with their branding which can be microwaved, so just perfect in terms of continuing your meal.

I have to throw out a bit of an opinion here, the restaurant is beautiful, the service is lovely and the food is really good, but I was honestly expecting a little bit more from all the hype I had been hearing.. A simpler menu, more spacious seating, more flare out of the food presentation… or maybe I just have good food too often.

The Service. It was brilliant. From start to finish, there was something special about the service. When we arrived everyone at the entrance had welcomed us, so hearing about 5 welcomes does make you feel special, while showing us to the table engaging in light small talk about shopping and the sales happening in the mall, while enjoying our meal there was plenty of servers around to ask for any query or question, while the food was served being asked by the manager how our meal was and finally while leaving being greeted and thanked by everyone on the way out really does show how much they cared about customer satisfaction. The service was really good, the staff were really polite, sweet and attentive to what is happening.
At the time there was a lot of servers who were still training so I observed a little confusion with some people who are still new, but after things roll I am sure it would be absolutely smooth.

The Value. 1 large bottle of still water, 2 Wild Mushroom soups, 1 Greek salad and 2 Fettucini Alfredo with Chicken dishes came to a total of 235 Dhs. I think this is good value considering the fact that there is a really high quality and quantity of food. Just do note that the menu entries and prices are of the half portion not the full portion.

Ratings:
The Place:   7 / 10
The Service: 8 / 10
The Food:    7 / 10

Overall: 7.3 / 10

I’d really recommend The Cheesecake Factory, it certainly is one of those special restaurants that everything is smooth sailing, whether the quality of the place, the service, or the quality of the food (and quantity of food now that I mention it).

Alright, it isn’t exactly in Dubai Mall. It is at Souq Al Bahar, but I mean it is considered Dubai Mall in a way, just right across.
I haven’t eaten there before and thought i’d give it a try and the weather is just beautiful for outdoor meals. Unfortunately at the time of this review a lot of restaurants in Dubai Mall have shisha restrictions, and Zahr El Laymoun was recommended. Recommend me a restaurant? sure about that? alrighty…

The place is very warm, it is actually to the left of the crossing bridge. So to most of the restaurant, the fountains aren’t seen but there are lovely tables by the water overlooking the mall and The Address.

They have two levels of outdoor seating, and indoor tables as well. We sat on an upper level with the view seen above. Absolutely stunning. When we walked in a server came to us asking if we wanted a table and had told us the tables on the bottom level were all full and there were a few lovely tables on the top. When we arrived there another server welcomed us and showed us the empty tables. Simple straight forward service.

The restaurant has unique tables and chairs, attempting to get a comfortable look and feel to the place.

Their menus were interesting as well, it wasn’t a normal menu but a large board!

I guess the appeal is to have everything right there, but still was rather larSoon after ordering the food they started to arrange things and set the table up.

For the table, they had brought a little metal tray with tissues, spice, zaatar, salt and oil.

For us, they had placed the table setting with the plate, fork and knife. The thing is, I like to keep a keen eye and I could see little chips on plates and glasses which I think shouldn’t be served. I mean I understand this kind of thing happens and maybe it isn’t cost effective to throw away a plate when it gets chipped but still, we are sitting in Souq Al Bahar, and it is supposed to be a higher quality experience.

For starters we went with Vine Leaves, Tabbouleh and Hommos Beiruty.

While serving the starters the server brought a little rectangle plate which had some spices, sesame seeds and added the table’s oil on top of it. An observation I had was the quantity was a little smaller than I expected to be honest.
The vine leaves for instance came in a little bowl with 3 pieces laid on top of potato. The vine leaves wasn’t bad, vinegary and fresh, the stuffing was nice as well, rice wasn’t overcooked or chewy.
The Tabbouleh was fresh and the greens seemed all cut freshly and was still very crisp. The lemon made it very zesty and nice on the taste buds.
It was the first time I order hommos done in the Beiruty style. Essentially was ordinary hommos with pine nuts, cuts of greens and other random stuff.. It isn’t bad but I guess I just prefer the plan hommos.

The starters came with a bread basket too

It has a few pieces of circular bread that was a little hard, but warm, nice and thick. It didn’t have a real flavor or anything but wasn’t bad. On the bottom there was a packet of ordinary Lebanese bread.

As far as the main meal goes, we ordered a Mixed Combo Platter

Continuing with the “lesser quantity than similar restaurants” theme, the mixed combo platter came with 2 skewers of Shesh Tawooq (Marinated chicken cubes), Meat Kebab (Marinated meat cubes), Kofta (Minced meat on a skewer) and on the side garlic paste, light yogurt and two pieces of bread with a spicy sauce and onions. The platter’s garnish was essentially a grilled onion (a tiny one) and a grilled tomato (which wasn’t really grilled)
The Shesh Tawooq was really good, marinated well, grilled really well and still juicy. The Meat Kebabs were alright, marinated but a bit chewy. The loveliest was certainly the Kofta, it was very juicy, fresh tasting and delicious with the taste of the greens added to the minced meat.
The light yogurt was a new addition to mixed grill platters but it was really nice and creamy. The garlic paste was light and not too strong either. The spiced up bread was tasty as it was toasted and a spicy on the inside. Essentially just bread with a little spicy paste and onions on the inside.

The Service: I haven’t spoken much about the service because there wasn’t much to talk about but this was not a bad thing. There wasn’t much going on really, servers were around going and coming, listened to calls and provided what was asked. It was very plain and simple. Nothing extra ordinary, but no real downfall to service either. It was quite alright.

The Value: 1 large bottle of water, 1 mixed combo platter, and the 3 starters came to about 240 Dhs (excluding any extras like shisha). I think it is a bit overpriced because although the quality of food was good, the quantity is lesser than other restaurants with similar pricing. Surely I am comparing it with restaurants in the same level and type of food. For example, where they served 3 vine leave pieces, a comparable place would serve 6 and where they served 2 skewers of each type, a comparable place would serve 3 skewers of each type, etc.

Ratings:
The Place:    6 / 10
The Service:  5 / 10
The Food:     6 / 10

Overall: 5.7 / 10

I would recommend Zahr El Laymoun only for a change from the usual and for its nice ambiance, but what I would really recommend is to look around, as there are many other nice restaurants within 5-10 minute walking radius with nicer food (of similar cuisine), better value and nicer views even!

Mezza House is a really popular place around Down Town Burj Khalifa for many things actually; lovely Lebanese food, outdoor seating by the street overlooking Burj Khalifa, shisha and even a singer at night. Sounds good right? Well I had to find out myself. Admittedly I have been there before, but never with the intent or observation to review it. This time… that changed.

Walked in (in? it was outdoors… walked out? but we weren’t in… anyways…) and stood there for a few seconds waiting for anyone to take us to a table but the waiters were all too busy. Sat down at a free table with no sign of being reserved and we had to call a waiter to get us the menus. Service wasn’t up to a great start clearly. The place was almost full with about 2 or 3 empty tables outdoors, still I can forgive a little busyness but not being ignored of course.
Mezza House has a theme in presentation, especially with food. They use copper or copper coated/colored platters, bowls and utensils.

The theme begins from the placements on the table. One baring the table number and the second is the tissue holder.

Soon enough the menu had arrived and they have a wide variety of Lebanese foods to satisfy everyone’s taste. The word “Mezza” is an Arabic word for a type of starters, and they come as hot mezzas, cold mezzas and raw mezzas. The menu has big sections filled with all these starters alongside a lot of main courses and grills. They are famous for a very unique mezza experience, so I had to give some a try.

After ordering the food, they brought the table placements.

To start things off, we ordered some soup, and I went with their Mushroom Soup.

This was actually very interesting. I got this copper pot with a little holder and a little place under the pot for a little candle. There was no candle but I can imagine it would be a really nice way to keep the soup warm. Lifting the slightly hot lid revealed the soup, along with the spoon. As far as appearance goes, it was unique, I like that.
As far as the taste goes, it was really good. The soup was creamy, not too thick, not too watery, it was just right. The soup had a unique taste to it, unlike most Mushroom Soup I have had in the past, but in a nice way and that really was a good experience. The mushrooms were lovely too, slightly spongy (crunchy? I dont know had a little bite to it you could say) and tasted lovely.

While digging into the soup, the cold mezzas arrived. I ordered Vine Leaves and Tabbouleh.

These came in metal bowls coated with copper, keeping with their theme.

On the left we have the Vine Leaves. These were slightly vinegary, had cream and pomegranate sauce on top. It does give a little sweet / vinegar taste to it which is really delicious and unique. The only downside with the stuff vine leaves was that the stuffing’s rice was a little too over done and was too sticky on the inside. Which lead to it being a bit chewy and sticky in my mouth. The taste was there, but it needed to be a little less chewy. This is how they do it though, I have had the same experience before as well.

As far as the Tabbouleh, it was really nice. Fresh ingredients and a good amount of lemon which was very refreshing. If you are not aware what Tabbouleh is, you can read more on the Levant starter here.

For the main dish, we wanted some mixed grills so we went with the Combo Grilled Platter (which is a better value than two ordinary mixed grill plates).

This was a big one!

The platter is actually a wooden plank and the food is laid on a rectangle piece of bread (It was also covered with it, but took it off for the photo) the platter had:
Sheesh Tawooq (Chicken Cubes on the left). The platter had 3 skewers of the chicken cubes. They were really soft, tender and delicious! It was marinated and juicy. With the chicken skewers, they had some mushrooms which were also marinated.
Meat Kebab (Meat Cubes in the middle). The platter had 3 skewers of the meat cubes. They were a little hard. The marination was a little light and wasn’t full of flavor as the sheesh tawooq. Slightly stringy and chewy. Not bad, but not amazing either.
Meat Kofta (Minced Meat stuck to a skewer and grilled). The platter had 3 skewer lengths of the minced meat. These were lovely as well, they were marinated well, really soft and just melts in the mouth. Very nice.

The platter came with a half cut green pepper filled with garlic paste, grilled tomato and onion. Aside from the platter, came a serving of french fries.

These came in a little copper container as well. The french fries were ordinary tasting but were sprinkled with some spices, which did help make the fries rather unique. It was nice, although I would have preferred some more spices!

The Service: This is certainly the biggest (do I dare say “only” ?) issue I have had at Mezza House. The service was bad. We had to literally call down passing waiters, some would respond and some would just not hear the call. The shisha was brought quite quickly, but coal was changed only after hunting down the person in charge. After a little while, half way through the meal, all tables were full, and service levels just dropped. After eating, there was a lot left over and I had to tell two waiters to take the food away and wrap them up for take away. Some servers were quick to react and answer what was needed and others would just pile things up and things got delayed. Upon leaving, we just got up and left and no one was around to thank us or so, but then again it was outdoors so I am not complaining, it certainly didn’t matter but is an overall “experience” thing to expect.
Weirdly enough, there are a lot of staff walking around and even a supervisor or manager. I would expect service levels would be better than what it was.

The Value: 1 large bottle of water, 2 soups, 1 Combo Grilled Platter, 1 Tabbouleh and 1 Vine Leaves serving came up to a total of 242 Dhs. The price is a bit pricey, especially since the service wasn’t up to par, but the food is certainly delicious, unique and of a good quality.

Ratings:
The Place:    7  / 10
The Service:  4  / 10
The Food:    7.5 / 10

Overall: 6.2 / 10

I’d recommend Mezza House because the food is delicious, but be aware that the service might disappoint.

St Moritz is one of those places that give you a feeling that it is winter in the middle of Switzerland and not at all in the Middle East’s desert. This does have something to do with the location… or else it wouldn’t have worked at all.

The motivation behind St Moritz’s design is a cabin up in the snowed up mountains, and being right next to Ski Dubai, they are quite spot on. The restaurant is fairly large and has big glass panels overlooking Sky Dubai, and on the other side, the mall seeing all the people pass by.

Walking in, I was greeted by the staff, welcomed and was offered a table or a booth. I selected a booth and I was told I could choose where ever I like, facing the Ski or the mall. I decided to face the Ski for the full on Mountain Cabin effect!

They do pull it off in a way! Especially with this little thing to my right

That is right! A Fireplace! Okay Okay I’ll admit, it isn’t a real Fireplace. It is a Television, but come on! Stone wall with pictures and a live fire is such a fitting effect. They did pull off the feeling they wanted people to have.

Realizing I was in a restaurant I am to focus on more than that.

As soon as I sat, the waiter had brought me the Menu. The tables are set up with Sugars, Salt and Pepper Shakers, and a little pictured sheet per customer. The menu did have quite a bit of Salads, Soups, Main Dishes and Desserts. I was concerned they might have taken things too far and offer Winter Dishes and ruin everything but they had not. They did maintain the influence but it was ordinary plain, easy and simple cuisine.

Right after I made my order, they had brought over the Water and a Plate with Utensils and various sized Tissues.

I was wondering about Tissues earlier but now I had the option of two sizes. So far I did not have almost any criticism, and if I were to be extremely picky, I would say the Stainless Steel Utensils had so many scratches and that made me feel they were a bit old. Not something that really mattered as long as they were really clean, which they were.

In a short while, my main course had arrived. I usually have a starter, and although they did have a good selection of Soups and Starters, I didn’t feel like it because I had something else in mind, more on that later.

For my main dish, I went with their Grilled Shrimps. Essentially, the menu stated that they were grilled with a special blend of herbs.
The Dish had Arugula on the side, a Partially Grilled Lemon and a Cup of Sauce which was basically Ketchup with some spices.
The main factor was obviously the Shrimp and I got to admit, it was really good! The Shrimps were Grilled perfectly, not stringy nor too soft. and they have applied a sauce of herbs along the back of the Shrimp for flavor. The Shell came off quite normally and the process wasn’t too tedious. The flavor really showed and I certainly wanted more than 4 pieces! But that is the thing with Shrimp Dishes, they usually serve around 4 pieces. You may need an Appetizer and/or a Soup. I really liked it.

The reason I didn’t go for a starter was because I was rooting for a dessert!

That is right, that is a Nutella Crepe! It looked absolutely beautiful, really appetizing!

The Crepe itself was done really well, very soft, not too thick, not too thin, and it was nice and warm. The Whipped Cream wasn’t really required, more like visual aid. There was Nutella in the Crepe and on top, but the only thing I really have to say was, it needed a little more Nutella! It wasn’t necessarily little, but I would have appreciated more Nutella. I really liked this too!

The Service: It was good. When I had arrived I was welcomed and greeted, upon sitting the menu was there with him. The food had arrived quickly, and taken away quite quickly as well. Waiters have been around going and coming so there was never a problem making any request or orders either. The only bump I had experienced was the waiter I had didn’t catch on to me as fast as I would expect, I had to slow down and be a bit clearer, but that isn’t something wrong with the service of course. In the end I got my right order and in good time.

The Value: 1 Large Bottle of Local Water, 1 Grilled Shrimp and the Nutella Crepe totaled to a little over 100 Dhs, which I think is very good value considering the quality of the food and place.

Ratings:
The Place: 7.5 / 10
The Service: 7 / 10
The Food: 7 / 10

Overall: 7.2 / 10

I’d really recommend St Moritz. Good Food, Good Service, Warm Decor and Lovely Views, Sweet.

I have often passed by Biella in more than one mall but have never really tried them. Its weird because their decor and ambiance is all calm and relaxing, something I really like actually. So, while at the Mall of the Emirates, I thought I should give them a try.

We walked in and were greeted at the door and welcomed. The waitress asked if we would like to sit outside or inside. They have two seating areas, one on the outside where you can see all the mall goers pass by and have a view of a big fountain, and a more calmer and classier inside. Certainly went with a table inside!

Everything looked very nice and calm on the inside. Lovely colors, plenty of space and they do have a good number of tables both inside and outside, it is a fairly big restaurant.

They have booths and tables, all with nice lighting. There is reading material for people who I guess come alone or… aren’t speaking to who they are with perhaps… It is really calm in there.

The simple beauty continues with the table settings, with white table sheets, white plates, white salt and pepper shakers, glasses, tissues and a candle. Lovely.

Alright, I am impressed by the place, the layout, the decor and all, but all that is meaningless if they don’t do great food! So time to get down to business!

The waiter came and gave us the Menus, and going through the menu they have a big selection of Pastas, Pizzas, Specialty dishes and much more! The thing I did not really enjoy was everything had a heading that is in Italian. Which means, I have to read the description for every entry in the menu to have a clue of what is going on. I found that annoying. I understand their view and where they are coming from, but certainly not my thing. I do not want a menu filled with entries I cannot understand and having to read every single description to find out what it was, especially with a big menu.

After quite some time figuring out what to order, we were ready to order. It did take quite a bit to get someone’s attention, which is weird since there are a lot of people going and coming in the Restaurant, but everyone seemed a tad too busy.

When we did get to order, the waiter was polite and knew all the Italian dish names, which was a nice thing to know.

A little bit after ordering Water, Drinks and the food, they had brought over the Bread Basket (apologies for the blurry shot)

I was sitting in supposedly a classy nice place, I would expect more than one type of bread, and expect it to be warm. It wasn’t. It had a touch of “just throw it together” to it.

Moving on… I ordered the “Contro filetto di manzo”

yes, it is a Grilled Steak. The menu describes the dish as follows:

“Grilled rib eye steak accompanied by rocket salad and shaved Parmesan, served with balsamic hollandaise”

Pretty straight forward I believe. I had ordered it Medium Well. At this point things started to take my attention away from the lovely place. The food had arrived but the Water and Drinks had not! Maybe I had indulged in conversation not to notice but when the food came and the drinks didn’t I was surprised.
I called a waiter and told him that the Water and Drinks had not come and he said he will check on it right away. I few minutes later, the Drinks came but the Water didn’t. I had to point that out again and then they brought over the water.

So putting that beside me, I dug into the steak. First of all, the temperature wasn’t perfect. It was more close to Medium than the Medium well I asked for. The Steak itself, as a component in the dish, was good. It wasn’t amazing, and I have had much nicer steak before. The rest were not bad on their own. The Rocket Salad was alright, except I did not really like the fact there were long stems. At least cut off as much stem as possible. The Balsamic Hollandaise sauce was nice, but I just didn’t feel it went perfectly with the steak.

I do not really care about it being a flop or not, as much as the fact that I really wanted to love Biella. It didn’t make me fall in love with them.

The Service: It is hard to put a finger on a decision of good or bad because there were moments where the service was really good, like when interacting with the waitress while walking in, or the waiter who brought on the menus or the manager that took the order. They were all polite, listened and were willing to help and explain. On the other hand, having to find someone to call for a few minutes even though people are going and coming does show a little lack in attentiveness and secondly, the whole incident that the Drinks didn’t automatically show up right after ordering was a bit of a confusing factor, which became alarming after I had to remind them even after the food came! Upon leaving again, things switched back, they were very polite and very welcoming. I just think they do have good standards of service, but there are important factors that drop from them, like attentiveness, an expected scenario where drinks should leave right after the order is made, etc

The Value: 1 Large bottle of water, 1 Soft drink, 2 Main dishes (Cost near similar) came to just under 200 Dhs. I was not happy with that, I don’t feel the experience was worth it. They have the right looks, the right feel, but the  overall experience and food didn’t cut it for me.

In no means am I doing a comparison, but I did take a look back at my More Dining Experience Review after I finished this review and I really see why I was not happy with the Dining Experience.

Ratings:
The Place:    7  / 10
The Service: 5.5 / 10
The Food:    5.5 / 10

Overall: 6 / 10

I would usually recommend a restaurant with an explanation in their defense if the rating was over 5, and recommend a restaurant if they get a 6, and really recommend a restaurant if it gets 7 or more. but with so many restaurants so close that serve similar cuisine much better… I am not sure I will recommend it this time…

After my first time to try out Mandi (I reviewed Bait El Mandi here) I was curious what are the better or best places to make it. I asked around and a few friends recommended Freej that is located in Jumeirah Beach Centre.

Went with a few friends to figure out how much better could it be.

First thing I found out was that there are two types of Mandi. Regular Mandi (where the Rice and Chicken are Cooked together in a specially designed buried oven) and Mazbi or Muzbi (where the it has the same Rice as Mandi but the Chicken is grilled rather than cooked in the oven)

I prefer my meats grilled so went ahead with the Muzbi.

As with the tradition of Mandi places, there is seating on tables and on the ground. The staff welcomed us at the door and offered any place we would like to sit. In order to keep things as original as possible we selected a place where we could sit on the ground. The decoration is fairly traditional and kept simple, there are TV screens around and all ground seating areas are fairly closed but not entirely private.

The seating areas are large enough to fit like 10 people each, with carpets all round and cushions. There is a table in each one that holds all the shakers, plastic sheets, menu and bottled sauces.

Soon after ordering, they set us up with the plastic and got us the essential starters

They placed the plastic, brought each one Spoons, Forks and Yoghurt. As for all of us, they served a plate with Cucumbers, Lettuce and a bowl of Tomato Sauce. Most people like to eat these foods with their hands but serving Spoons is good

To start things off, I ordered a Jarjeer Salad (Arugula Salad in English)

This was really good! It was very refreshing, with plenty of flavors from the Arugula, Tomatoes, Spices, lemon juice and onions, it was extremely fresh. The leaves were cut up small as well so going at it with a Fork was pretty easy. It seemed clean and prepared freshly which is exactly what is expected.

As for the main dish, the Muzbi had arrived!

The first thing on my mind was that it was huge! and it really was!
The Chicken served was half a chicken but it was a big half! I got to admit, it was grilled perfectly! One of the most perfectly grilled chickens I have ever had. It was super tender, soft, juicy and really delicious. At first I thought it might be a little dry but once I dug in, it was really tender!
As for the Rice, it was really good as well! It wasn’t dry and had nice flavor to it. Especially with the chicken, it was really good. The rice hardly even needed the Tomato Sauce, which was pretty straight forward as a typical Tomato Sauce with slight herbs. The thing is, with this quantity, there was no way I could finish it! There really was a lot of rice! I really did enjoy this dish!

The Service: It was very good. We were greeted at the door, welcomed to any seating area we required, our orders were taken quickly and with a smile at all times. The waiters were available going and coming all the time so making any orders was a breeze. They served the food quite professionally and were always happy to serve. Upon leaving again we were greeted and thanked, quite good service I must say.

The Value: 1 Jarjeer Salad (Arugula Salad) and 1 Muzbi totaled to a little less than 50 Dhs, which is fairly reasonable considering the huge portion and very good taste. I did not know how to properly judge the value based on my previous experience, but this certainly is on par and better since it was absolutely delicious to have. Good Value.

Ratings:
The Place:   6 / 10
The Service: 7 / 10
The Food:    7 / 10

Overall: 6.67 / 10

I’d recommend this place. Their Muzbi is certainly worth a try.

I have been meaning to try Just Falafel for some time and today while thinking of what to eat, I saw it right in front of me!

The JLT branch is pretty small, it has 2 tables in the middle, bar stools and a counter around two sides of the wall. The Other end is where the action happens, a counter where they make the sandwiches.

The menu is on the board, and right under the glass panel is where they prepare the food. They have containers for all the kinds of salads and ingredients they use. It is done right in front of you, if you choose to watch.

I didn’t know what to expect or know what to order, so I went for something a little basic. I ordered “The Lebanese”.

It came with a canned drink and French Fries. The Fries were thin, well salted and tasted nice.

The Sandwich is double wrapped (one from the bottom and one from the top) pretty straight forward.

So the Sandwich itself! It has the following ingredients:

“Falafel, Cucumber Pickles, Turnips Pickles, Shredded Parsley, Shredded Mint, Tomato, Tahina Dressing”

The bread I chose was the Saj bread. For one, I thought it would taste better and two, the Pita bread is the small round bread. They prefer it as “Big” and “Small”. It was a little thick (Typical Saj) and I have tasted yummier Saj breads before.

How did it taste? I asked myself that question after a few bites.
It was good. I tasted the Falafels (They squish them in the bread. Helps them stay in place) but they were over powered by all the salad in it. If you check above, there isn’t a good balance between the Falafel and the salads. I should ask for a little less salad the next time. They essentially squish in about 4 Falafels.
I personally liked it. It tasted quite nice and is filling.

I wanted to actually get to taste their Falafels on their own, so the least I could get was a plate of 9 Pieces (This could be a meal with Fries and a Drink if you like)

Now I really got a first hand taste at their Falafels! They were very hot. Fresh out of the Fryer.
I dug right in and it was Crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. It was flavorful but could have used some dip. I did not get any, but I would really recommend the Tahina Sauce (A cup is for 2 Dhs) they also have Hommus if you like. Essentially, the Falafel were up to expectation. I shall be visiting, next time I want a quick bite.

The Service: There was not much interaction with the employees but they were polite. When I asked about the menu, they explained how the whole thing works, explained the sizes, breads, combo’s and sides. I did witness some arguments between the Cashier and the Delivery guys, which I do understand can happen but should not be in front of the customers. The food was brought to my table.

The Value: 1 “The Lebanese” Meal and plate of 9 Pieces of Falafel came to 22 Dhs (18 for the Meal, 4 for the 9 Pieces Plate). That’s very good value! Certainly less than most fast food and Definitely more filling than any fast food for the price.

Ratings:
The Place:   6 / 10
The Service: 6 / 10
The Food:    6 / 10

Overall: 6 / 10

I’d Recommend this place. Nice Fast Food that is Healthy, Vegetarian, Light yet Filling.

The last two times I wanted to try Paul, it was at Mall of the Emirates and there was a waiting list. I am not a big fan of that, I mean, there are plenty of restaurants. While at Deira City Center, I found a table (One of 2 that were empty by the way). They really are busy in almost all their branches, I needed a piece of this!

Before I start anything, I like the french decor and all, but the thing I hate about most Paul Cafe’s, especially the ones in malls, is how close tables are to each other. I seriously dislike sitting at a table with people right beside me. I managed to find a table where there wasn’t anyone that close and it was pretty decent. They need to space it out a little. I like my conversation and food, as private as possible. Even with the setup I had done, there was someone right behind my right shoulder.

After we organized the table ourselves, the waiter came running greeted us and confirmed everything was alright. He handed us the menus.

The menu had quite a good selection of foods and most of the menu is pretty clear in the picture. The waiter had told us that there are two specials for today, the two with pictures on the right of the menu. Those are what we had.

But first, right after ordering the waiter set up the table.

It was a full setting of 2 Knives, 1 fork and 1 Spoon (for the Soups we ordered).
For the table, they brought a basket of assorted Bread, Butter and Oils. The Bread were flavorful but were neither warm or seemed that fresh. Later upon leaving we saw a rack full of Bread Baskets. They stay there for new tables rather than come from the Kitchen.

The first Soup was the Creamy Chicken Mushroom Soup

Brown was not the color I was expecting. The soup was watery, not thick. There were slices of Mushroom and small cubes of Chicken inside. The taste was quite alright and there were some flavors going on, but was not special in any way. It was ordinary Mushroom soup with Chicken.

What was a surprise though, was their Onion Soup.

The very first thought was… That does not look like what I ordered. but then, the top was lifted.

And the soup was inside! The Bread was the bowl holding the soup! Impressive touch! Second thought was, better finish the soup before it eats its way through the bread and have a huge mess!
It was really flavorful, it seemed more like a Sauce for a Dish, but no, it was a really nice soup. Eating the top with the Soup was really nice too. The Soup was thick, creamy, and had plenty of french onions in it with plenty of flavor. I really liked this soup. It was pretty filling as well!

The first Special was the “Duo De Cabillaud Et De Crevettes” In English that is essentially, Grilled Cod Fish Filet and Shrimps.

The first thing I noticed after seeing the dish, is something I usually never see anywhere.. It looks almost exactly like the dish in the picture! That never happens!
The description says:

“Grilled fresh cod fish filet and shrimps, roasted potatoes, sauteed leeks and carrorts, served with creamy sauce”

The serving delivered exactly that and was delicious! The Cod was perfectly grilled and was cooked throughout to the perfect temperature. It was warm and the meat softly pulls away. The skin was on the bottom holding the piece of fish together.
The sauce was fresh Creamy White Sauce with Leeks and Carrots. It complimented the fish perfectly.
On the side, there were 4 Roasted Potatoes. They were soft, yet not too soft. Flavored and seasoned well.

The second Special was the “Filet De Boeuf Grille” In English that is essentially, Grilled Tenderloin Steak.

This one did not look like the picture, and after a bite or two, I could not care. The Menu describes this dish as:

“Grilled USDA beef tenderloin served with pomme neufs, whole beans and carrots with your choice of pepper or mushroom sauce”

Straight to the point, it was delicious! The first thing I wondered was how was my Steak Levitating? It turned out to be a piece of bread underneath.
The Steak (Ordered well done) was perfectly cooked. I may say this often when something is cooked real well, but with steaks, I always have it cooked a little under or a little over. This time, it was spot on! The Steak was soft, juicy, really flavorful and the cut of steak was good too. I would have preferred if the Steak was a little warmer than it was. I haven’t had a good Steak like this in a very long time.
There were whole beans and baby carrots which were lightly seasoned and were fresh.
Instead of the “pomme neufs” french fries, I ordered the Mashed Potatoes. It was lightly seasoned but plain. With all the fancy good food going around, I would expect they could have cut up some greens or something in it. A little salt and it was alright.
The Sauce disappointed. I ordered the Mushroom Sauce (thought it should compliment the Mushroom Soup I had earlier). It was served in a little cup. The flavor was alright (nothing really special) but was stone cold. That Sauce, if warm, poured over the steak would have been great. I used a combination of HP Sauce with a touch of Tabasco and created a yummier sauce for the Steak.

The Service: It was pretty good. The place was open and anyone could enter from anywhere so there was no one to greet and offer a place to sit, so we sat ourselves but once the waiter had come to us, the good service began. The server was polite, always smiling, listened (Something very important) and responded to what I asked or inquired really well. Empty plates were removed quick and after the meal (around the time of the check) asked if we would like any dessert for here or take away. Upon leaving we were greeted and thanked.

The Value: 1 Onion Soup, 1 Chicken Mushroom Soup, 1 Grilled Cod, 1 Grilled Filet, 2 Pepsis and 1 Large Evian Water came to exactly 268 Dhs. I think it is alright in terms of value for the good quality of the food.

The Ratings:
The Place:   5 / 10
The Service: 7 / 10
The Food:    7 / 10

Overall: 6.3 / 10

I’d recommend this place. Just keep in mind that most branches are very busy, and seating is very tight. The food might be worth it though.

A new day.. A new quest to satisfy my urge to try something different.. I didn’t feel like sandwiches or any of the usual foods, and the conclusion was reached. Aroos Damascus.

Before anything, this is not any sort of fine dining. So the expectations of service and the place’s quality had to be lowered a lot. We walked in expecting good filling traditional Syrian food. Nothing else.

They have a big restaurant, literally taking almost the entire front of a very wide building. They have dedicated areas for families with seating out doors as well.

The dining area is very straight forward, ordinary tables, simple chairs. Nothing fancy, nothing special, just a place for people to sit, eat and leave, no admiring artwork or lounge comfort here..

So what food do they have?

Aside from plenty of Syrian Traditional dishes (I had one) they have a lot of food! The menu has almost all salads served in Lebanese and Syrian places, Shawermas, Roasted Chicken, all sorts of Grills, Pigeons, Sajs, and a lot more!

All tables are set up with the basics

Oils, Salt, Tissues and Toothpicks. Nothing fancy as I said before.

There was a Bread Basket but it was empty. The interesting thing about Aroos Damascus, regarding bread, is that you are not charged for bread. Once you order food, they come and fill the basket. Once its empty, they fill it again and so on..

The great thing is the bread is always fresh out of the oven! They give the table 4 or 5, and once its done it’s topped up with bread straight out of the oven. I love that! Especially since most of their salads and meals go really well with bread.

Also, once the order is placed they bring on platters of fresh Vegetables and Pickles.

It has a good selection of Vegetables. Their pickles are really nice, not too strong with good flavor.

We really didn’t feel much like salad so we at least had to have Hommus!

Delicious. Plain and simple. The flavor was really nice, it was soft, not grainy nor was it too seasoned. The thing that got to me was, the plate looks like it’s filled with Hommus, but in fact this is just pasted around the edges of the plate.There is about 1cm of Hommus spread around the plate. It was sufficient though, for 2 people.

For the main dish, I had the Syrian Fatteh with Chicken Shawerma

Many Arab countries have their own version of “Fatteh or Fatta”. The Syrian one is a dish that contains Chick Peas, Hommus, Yoghurt, Tahini, Garlic and Oil. It comes in various types, with oil, with Shawerma (like above), etc. But the base is the same for all.

It is usually had with bread or just with a spoon. It is very thick and filling so having this plate is pretty much all you would need to have. The taste was really good, I think the best I have had at a restaurant. The one with the Chicken Shawerma is the most favored since it has a good taste to it, and the Chicken just fits so well with the Fatteh. There is slight seasoning on top, but the dish itself does not need any additional seasoning.

On the side of the Fattehs we ordered, I wanted to try one of their grills, so I ordered a plate of Sheesh Tawooq

A sign of a good Arabic Restaurant is if they execute grills well. After the good Fatteh, I really wanted to see how their grill would be!

Was it any good?
It was. First of all, there was plenty of Chicken on the plate with a little fries on the side.
The Chicken was really good. The cubes were grilled on a skewer and were cooked well, not as tender as I have had in the past but not over cooked, just in the fine line before being a little dry. It was very good though, and it had a slight taste of the smokiness of the grill, just a slight bit always gives it a nice flavor.The Chicken cubes were delicious.
The Fries were ordinary fries, not crispy, just soft and needed some salt.

The Service: Here’s the thing, they do not have bad service, just not good or special service. For instance, when they came to serve Plates, Forks, Knives and Plastic Cups for the Water we ordered, they were on top of each other and the waiter just placed it on the table. We had to take and arrange them ourselves. Placing things on the table is done quick and where ever, its fine. That’s the thing here to keep in mind, they aren’t serving badly because if you want something they are around and quick to serve, polite and attentive! It’s just, they aren’t garnishing any service. They do one thing only, food. They do not focus on “Dining Experience”. Ironically exactly what I review…

The Value: 1 Fatteh with Chicken Shawerma, 1 Fatteh with Oil, 1 Sheesh Tawooq Plate, 1 Large Local Water (not like they have any sort of International or Sparkling Water) and unlimited bread came to a total of 83 Dhs. Really good value, as the food we ordered would feed 3 quite well!
I couldn’t do more than 80% of the plate, neither did my friend and almost half the Sheesh Tawooq was left as well.

Ratings:
The Place:    5   / 10
The Service:  5   / 10
The Food:    6.5 / 10

Overall: 5.5 / 10

I’d recommend this place. I do wish to note, even though the overall rating is low, the food is good and it is worth visiting.

Ever since I can remember, I would see Oregano, would want to try it out. Recently I have been hearing about it again and decided it was about time I actually got to do so!

I drove over and parked across (There isn’t parking in front of it) and walked in. They do have seating outdoors, but in this weather…. that is just ridiculous to try. Walking in, I was surprised the place was actually empty!

It was kind of expected in a way… The location is in Office Park, Dubai Media City. That area is mainly Offices and Universities at night, neither are open.

Anyways, Leaving the empty dining room aside, upon walking in we were greeted and welcomed into the place. There are two levels, but I did not take a look upstairs, I’d assume the warm decor was similar. We were free to sit where ever we wished, and as soon as we did the waiter brought on the Menus.

The Menu was actually quite interesting! There is a really big selection of food, but not just a long list of food, but very interestingly, there were sections such as Ravioli, Pasta, Gnocchi, Pizza, Calzone, Risotto, and even Chef’s Specials section! That is of course aside from the starters, salads, desserts and more! I got to admit, I love their Menu! I found a lot of things I wanted to try, especially this “Gnocchi”, I had no clue what it was, but it looked real good!

As soon as we placed the order, the waitress brought the Table Setting for us.

The place isn’t too bright in lighting. One thing I noticed that did make a good impression was the Tissue under the Knife and Fork. It was one of those Green/Eco/Recycled type of Tissues made from reused paper. I mean, It is not what I would really look for or care for, but when there, it is a nice touch!

Speaking of Tissues, the table had Salt and Pepper grinders and a bottle of water but no extra tissues.

A little bit after that, they brought on their Bread Basket

The bread was actually nice and soft! Except for the bread sticks which were a little hard, as they should be. Along with the Basket they brought Oils and Butter. Another point for a nice touch!

So time for the actual food, which did not take too long actually. The place was empty but throughout our meal, there was about 3 or 4 people that came in and made take-away orders.

To start with, I just had to try the Gnocchi! The picture in the menu looked like some kind of Curry/Sauce dish that you would have with Bread or Rice. When I asked the Waitress she said it usually is ordered alone. So I did.

I ordered the Gnocchi Siciliana

Before I get into how it was, the description might help everyone understand it a bit better.

“Potato Dumplings in a spicy sausage & mushroom sauce”

It was absolutely delicious. The sauce was lovely, thick but not too much, there was a lovely amount of ingredients and flavors! The only thing I did not fully understand was how the Potato Dumplings were spongy… It was like Potato Marshmallows.. in a good way! I really liked this dish!

About having Rice or Bread to eat it with, my judgement was right, it does need one of them. Thankfully, the Bread Basket was still around and it catered well enough.

For the second main dish, a Pizza was due! So we went with a Large Pepperoni Pizza

Before anything I got to admit, I absolutely love Pizza, so my expectations might be higher than usual.
Fortunately, it did not disappoint one bit! On the menu it was described as:

“Beef Pepperoni, Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce & Herbs”

The Pizza was thin, the crust was crispy but not too hard and the flavors were really there! I have to say that out of all the ingredients which were really good, the key factor that is lacking in most Pizza places is the “Herbs”. It really does have a strong effect on how the whole Pizza came together.
It had 8 slices and both dishes together, shared, was enough for two people. It was really hot and really delicious. The dough was soft beyond the crust, just right!

The Service: it was very good. The waitress greeted us when we entered, was polite, quick to respond, and was willing to serve. The serving was all spot on and straight forward. When asked a question about whether they had local water or how the Gnocchi was eaten, she seemed pleased to interact and explain. Upon leaving, we were thanked and welcomed again. Everything was smooth, nothing out of the ordinary or anything spectacular but plain good service.

The Value: 1 Large Pepperoni Pizza, 1 Gnocchi, and 1 Large Local water was 93 Dhs. I think this is good value for a place that is warm and comfortable as it was, has good service and most importantly really good food!

Ratings:
The Place:    7   / 10
The Service:  7   / 10
The Food:    7.5 / 10

Overall: 7.2 / 10

I really recommend Oregano. The Place, Service and Food really are up to expectations, and it is surprising that a place like this was there all along.

You can order Oregano Online through 24h.ae as well and save the hassle of telephone calls, wrong orders and wrong addresses while being able to go through the entire menu with ease.