If fresh homemade breads, towers of dried fruits with white chocolate and moutains of salads sound like your kind of iftar, don’t go past the Sheraton at Mall of the Emirates.
With a great central location that allows easy access to the mall afterwards, this is an iftar experience that will appeal to families, shoppers and visitors during Ramadan.
And appeal it does, the tables at Sanabel restaurant were buzzing with diners, busy loading their plates and listening to the traditional live music.
“Our iftar has been fully booked, with a large mix of corporate guests and UAE residents,” explained Sampad Barua, assistant restaurant manager.
The buffet selection reflects this mix – international dishes like Goan fish curry and lamb meatballs sit alongside local mixed grills and shish barak. The hot and cold mezze include a huge range of dishes from pasta salad with smoked duck, smoked mackarel with sesame to tofu with chilli, spinach fatayeh and lamb sambousa.
The main dish of the iftar is rotated each day, as are the desserts, to allow greater variety for hotel and returning guests. On this evening it was chicken biryani, a not-too-exciting presentation of the popular dish. However, it’s appealing that the main dishes are served in smaller hot trays and replenished often, rather than allow for masses of food to sit untouched for too long.
Special mention of the delicious chicken kebabs, so juicy and tasty, and the wonderful breads on offer: everything from cheese, garlic and plain nans to spiced, olive and tomato breads, all of which are made in-house. Yum!
A fresh juice bar will serve you up to 16 varities of juices.
If you haven’t devoured too much of the striking white chocolate towers coated with preserved or dried kiwis, pineapple, mango, apricots and dates that adorn the buffet, the dessert selection is immense. Refrigerated small plates of raspberry swiss roll, mango panna cotta and homemade icecreams and sorbets were quickly depleted. But some, such as the mini lemon cheesecake and crème brulee, lacked any real depth or flavour.
This iftar did have many groups of Arabic diners, a good sign, and the local sweet selection was most popular. The restaurant’s lighting is a tad dark, but a nearby café area is set up for children and teenagers to chill out and play Wii or playstation.
The hotel’s promised oriental style tent is closed at the moment, but if you need a breath of (hot) air afterwards, the 24th floor of the hotel offers what must be one of the most stunning views in Dubai.
Timing: Sunset to 10pm
Price: Dh120 per person, Dh99 for groups of 10-40, Dh 89 for 40 – 100
Reservations(recommended): Call 04-3772000
