Arabian Nights
When we entered Atayeb at the Yas Hotel, we were immediately impressed with the luxurious surroundings. The warm orange lighting quickly sets the mood for a very relaxed and romantic night out. Sections of seating can be separated off by long silk curtains to ensure maximum privacy if need be. We can’t help but feel like we’ve stepped into some type of Aladdin-themed dining room, but that’s perfectly fine with us.
You are definitely spoiled for choice; the Pan-Arab dining restaurant boasts a whole range of dishes and drinks from Tunisia, Lebanon and Morocco. To start, we sampled some traditional Arabic mezze including fattoush and fatayel salad.
Though we’ve never met any fattoush that we didn’t like, the pita chips in this version were fried into spirals to make this salad a bit more festive. The fatayel salad, a combination of julienned beetroot and arugula leaves, was paired with perfectly cooked slices of lamb.
Our favourite portion of the meal however came as a surprise to us, since we’re typically chicken liver-averse. Sawdah, a warm dish of chicken livers, mixed leaves, mushrooms and onions is something, however, that is absolutely not to be missed. Dressed with a pomegranate molasses, this dish was warm, tangy and sweet.
For our main we were served Mouzat bil Laban, a braised lamb shank in yohgurt sauce with butter rice. The lamb was fall-off-the-bone tender and the rice was buttery and all around yum. It may be a bit rich for some people, especially after having a few appetizers but we cleaned our plates so quickly that not only was our guest impressed at our efficiency but also pointed out that the kitchen might not have to rinse the plate clean.
After all of that delicious food we still managed to find room to sample some dessert. In front of us arrived a platter with a date flavoured cake, vanilla ice cream and berry compote that was meant to be eaten together despite being served individually. Lovely eaten together or eaten separately, we couldn’t think of a sweeter way to end our deliciouse and lavish meal.
Sawaiba Khan
What? Atayeb Restaurant
Where? The Yas Hotel
Ramadan Timings: 8:30pm to 2am, every day
We say: Celebrate the season in style!
Contact: 02 656 0600
