Italian, Indian, Lebanese, Thai. These cuisines are all well represented in the capital but when it comes to north African food we’re short on options – not to mention, rather ignorant.
So it’s with excitement that we venture to the Moroccan and north African eatery Almaz by Momo in The Galleria hoping for an authentic experience.
The theme begins at the restaurant’s façade, which is decorated with hypnotising octagonal tiles. Inside, velvet sofas hug the walls and traditional lanterns hang low. It’s quiet, but that’s because everyone is on the terrace enjoying the weather – so that’s where we settle in, too.
The staff – who are a mix of Ugandan, Moroccan and Lebanese – are extremely helpful with navigating the menu. There’s a selection of hot and cold starters – some traditional mezze items feature – as well as couscous, tagines and main courses – including a few international dishes such as ravioli.
We start with zaalouk, a light salad of blended, smoky aubergine and tomato, and machuia, a puree of spiced roast peppers, which we scoop up with bread. The quinoa salad is bland but gets a boost of flavour from a sweetcorn puree and scoop of herby goat’s cheese.
For the main course we opt for a traditional tagine – a fragrant mix of roasted broccoli, zucchini, potato, carrots, olives, asparagus and sundried tomato served in an earthenware pot. The beautifully spiced dish is complemented by a mound of fluffy couscous.
Our guest barely lifts her head up from the couscous merguez, which comes topped with chickpeas and golden raisins, served with vegetable broth, Moroccan lamb sausages and seriously spicy harissa chilli paste.
Eager to see what else Almaz has up its sleeve, we opt for the pistachio macaroon for dessert. Fresh raspberries and dollops of pistachio mousse are sandwiched between a large green macaroon and a pink chocolate shell that’s hiding more mousse – this is all topped with a tangy raspberry sorbet. The colourful dish faces tough competition from our guest’s dessert: a chocolate tart topped with a solid ring of salted caramel slivered almonds.
We end the meal with Moroccan tea and a plate of traditional sweets. We’ll definitely be back to broaden our knowledge of Moroccan cuisine.
Rachael Peacock
Details
Location: Level 1, The Galleria, Sowwah Square,
Al Maryah Island
We say: Meet the masters of Moroccan cuisine
Cost: AED 400 for two
Opening times:
Sun-Thu 10am-11.35pm,
Fri-Sat 10am-12.15am
Contact: 02 676 7702
www.momoresto.com
