Getting down to business
A business lunch doesn’t have to be boring. At the OnetoOne hotel, with not one but three venues to choose from (18oz, Wokcano and Sahriye), the hotel offers a relaxed lunch menu from 12pm to 3pm on weekdays.
Known for it’s lively atmosphere, entertainment in the evening and wholesome cuisine, we tried out a Lebanese lunch at Sahriye.
If there’s one thing to be said for Lebanese fare, it’s that they know how to do fuss free and deliciously easy to share starters. A range of pickles and chillies, salad and stuffed vine leaves, alongside the obligatory (and very good) hummus to dip and smother over some fresh, warm Arabic bread started the lunch in good style. It’s a hearty course too, served alongside the soup of the day. We were served lentil; pleasant, but not quite as piping hot as we like it.
It was then down to business with a main course of roasted chicken with potatoes and an option of rice for those feeling brave with a double serving of carbs.
The courses are brought out rather quickly at the start of the meal, good news for those who are on a tight lunch meeting, but a little over whelming for diners who aren’t on the clock.
As a whole, it’s a good and particularly filling course. The chicken could have perhaps used a little help with a sauce as it was a little dry, but the accompanying potatoes are a real treat for the taste buds, and rescues the dish. Packed with garlic and lemon, the potatoes are softened with butter and rich in flavour.
Plates are cleared and with time for a rest, dessert rounded off the meal. Dessert brought more traditional options, and we were won over with mafroukeh – an indulgent mix of hearty clotted cream with sugar and nuts – simple and yet so satisfying and delicious.
The service at Sahriye is wonderfully slick and the food on the whole enjoyable and certainly value for money. We’d perhaps suggest that the service slows down just a notch; no one likes cold soup unless you’re actually ordering it, and a little more thought in the menu may really help seal the deal for business lunch at Sahriye.
Charlie Kennedy
What? Business lunch at Sahriye
Where? OnetoOne hotel
Cost: AED 58 for three courses, inclusive of taxes, not including drinks
We say: It’s surprisingly quiet in Sahriye at lunchtime with an entirely different feel to the evening crowd – but go for business and enjoy an uninterrupted lunch
Contact: 02 495 2000
