Dubai: The quiet residential area on the Hamriya-Mamzar road has very few attractions. Besides the port, customs house and beach park at the end of the road, there’s nothing else. However, as soon as you walk into Rainbow Steak House, situated on the ground floor of the Customs House, you realise it’s not so lonely out there.
It was 8.30pm, but the place was packed and the numbers kept growing as the evening drew on.
Don’t let the ‘Steak’ in the name mislead you. If you think you’re at a typical steakhouse, think twice. There’s steak, of course, but there’s also Arabic, Indian and South East Asian cuisines as well as delicious grills to boot.
One of Rainbow’s main attractions is its extensive multi-cuisine buffet (Dh84 per head) featuring more than 150 items - soups, appetisers, salads, grills, seafood, lamb, steaks, chicken and vegetarian dishes.
HUNGER GAMES
We were ravenously hungry and nothing short of the famed buffet could douse our cravings.
No sooner were we seated, a mini-barbeque pit with an assortment of kebabs was placed on our table. This is part of the buffet. The kebabs were juicy and had a smoky flavour and helped to warm us for what was to come.
When it came to the starters, it was a toss between seafood and lentil soup and an assortment of mezze. We chose the mixed seafood soup. Prepared oriental style, the soup was delicious.
The L-shaped restaurant has a casual atmosphere and can easily seat more than 200 people at a time. There’s also an outdoor seating area and private cabins that can accommodate up to six diners. There’s also free parking.
Since it’s a buffet, don’t expect staff to fuss over you – they are mostly busy clearing up after customers finish their meals. However should you need any assistance, they are ever helpful.
Before walking up to the buffet table, we decided to give one of the steak items a try. We ordered a filet steak accompanied by pepper sauce. The meat was well done but the muscle fibre was a bit off-putting. However, the pepper sauce did enhance the flavour.
Besides standard dishes, the buffet had some standout ones such as the seafood thermidor – mixed seafood in a white, cheesy sauce; Mexican enchiladas - wheat-flour flat-bread stuffed with spicy salsa and meat; barbeque chicken wings – grilled chicken in a tangy, smoky-flavoured sauce; beef fajita and grilled prawns.
Another interesting aspect of the buffet was the live seafood cooking station where you can select your seafood and have it grilled to your liking.
We went for shrimps, lobster, squid and other favourites.
Satiated, it was time for dessert.
We had a choice to make from crème caramel, soufflés, mini pastries, fruit trifle, Arabic sweets, vermicelli, ras malai and hot gulab jamuns. We opted for Umm Ali, which was absolutely divine. This popular Arabic sweet, made with puff pastry dough, milk and nuts and similar to a bread pudding, is a must-try here.
We came out satiated and without any doubts as to why this buffet is the most popular one on this side of town.
Details:
Meal for two: (Dh150-175); buffet Dh84 per person, Dh42 for kids (5-8 years)
Location: Ground floor, Customs building, Al Muteena (near Dubai Hospital-Hamriya Port)
Contact: 04-239 8301
We recommend: Seafood thermidor, mix grill, grilled seafood, Um Ali.
