Al Mawal in Al Bustan Rotana, Garhoud, Dubai - Restaurant Reviews

Al Mawal

This is Lebanese nightlife embodied within four walls. Lots of food, elaborately clad dancing women and a band with all the garnish of lip-lined singers 1 Reviews

This is Lebanese nightlife embodied within four walls. Lots of food, elaborately clad dancing women and a band with all the garnish of lip-lined singers.

Without a reservation on the weekends, your chances of being allowed even a peek into this harem are lower than it snowing in Dubai tomorrow. Belly dancers fall backwards over tables as they frolic around the restaurant shaking and shimmying for the onlookers, while the band is full of talent. The waiters were on stand-by the whole time, and were some of the most friendly I’ve come across in town.

For lunch, Al Mawal offers a quiet spot to eat and chat, serving big groups very well by swarming around their table in the hundreds with trays upon trays of food. To start, each table is served with a fresh salad of whole vegetables and leafy greens, almonds on ice and a mixed dish of pickles and olives. For drinks, their fruit cocktail is fresh and the wine selection comprehensive.

For menu starters, the vine leaves are strong but tasty (Dhs17 for a mountain) and for something different; hommus lahm (chickpea hommus with tiny lamb chunks and roast pine nuts) is delicious with their freshly cooked hot bread. Main courses are hard to face after the rush of starters but also hard to resist. Dhs35 will get you the plat du jour, which is a large rice mould, plus steak and stewed vegetables. The rice was very well cooked and had strange mini-spaghetti strands in it, while the vegetables were a bit strong. The seafood selection was small but inventive, and the shrimps (Dhs60) in lemon and ginger were delicious.

Dessert? Forget it. However tempting the massive plate of exotic fruits looks, you are not going to have room. Kicking back with a sheisha pipe is the only dessert option worth considering.

By Carolyn Robb