Eating Shangri La, Oman

As mentioned in a previous blog post the hubby and I spent four nights at the Shangri La Al Husn in Oman. Staying at the hotel means you are walking distance or a short golf buggy ride away from a wide variety of restaurants across the resort. We tried four.

Sultanah:

Sultanah is located at Al Husn. It is a smart restaurant that requires reservations and has a dress code of long trousers and closed shoes for men. You can sit both inside and outside but I would recommend outside under the stars overlooking the ocean by candle light. The service here is incredible and it is definitely the place to go for a treat.

Each day there is a "special" set menu themed from around the world. These look delicious and reasonable value, however, we decided to dine a la carte. I had the scallops and the hubby had the soft shell crab to start. Both were delicious and beautifully presented. They were served with a warm selection of homemade breads.

The main course was a little frustrating. They had run out of several options including the grilled king prawns, which I had my eye on. For an 8:30pm reservation I was hoping the food would have lasted a little longer. We both settled for the 200g beef tenderloin with béarnaise sauce, truffle & parmesan fries and creamy spinach. Everything was cooked to perfection and delicious, however, at £40 per head for a main course not cheap.

With a large glass of wine each, mineral water, two courses, taxes and service the bill was just under £200. This was a very romantic and special meal and the food was lovely. I would thoroughly recommend for a treat evening but maybe try and go a little earlier to ensure your first choices are definitely going to be available.

Al Tanoor:

On our second evening we went to Al Tanoor located in the food court. The restaurant was bustling with a great atmosphere. There is inside and outside dining and no dress code other than no beach or sports wear. No reservations are required. The restaurant is mainly buffet (mineral water is complementary) and the selection is incredible. Everything from fish to Indian to pasta to rack of lamb right through to their signature Arabic cooked to order kebabs, flat breads, dips and salads. There was even a chocolate fountain for desert. The hubby went to town with the array of foods!

I, however, was not hungry enough to warrant the £40 per head buffet charge so went for their reasonably priced a la carte menu (you will need to ask for this as it is not widely advertised). I chose the chicken mahkani (which is also available from the buffet). The dish was delicious, it came with rice, pappadums, chutneys and naan bread. There was way too much for me to finish alone and at less than £15 was good value in comparison to the buffet.

Capri Court:

On our third evening we chose to dine outside at Capri Court. This restaurant also has a long trouser and closed shoes for men dress code and requires reservations. The restaurant is Italian themed and the service whilst pleasant was a little slow.

As an FYI the portions here are huge. We do regret not sharing a starter as neither of us could finish ours. I went for the mozzarella and tomato salad whilst the hubby had a plate of giant scallops. For main I had green pappardelle pasta with mixed mushrooms and he had lamb rack with mashed potato and baby vegetables.

The prices at Capri Court are reasonable for Oman with mains ranging from £15-40. We splashed out on a bottle of red wine and some mineral water so our bill was around £150. The setting is lovely, you can hear the ocean and are set a little back from the noise of the food court.

Tapas:

Tapas is located in the middle of the food court. No reservations and only the resort dress code apply. The service was abysmal. It was incredibly slow and disorganised. The restaurant is next to the noise of Al Tanoor and the food just isn't up to scratch. We tried several tapas dishes:

Lamb Sate
Garlic Grilled Prawns
Hummus
Patatas Bravas
Mini Beef Burger
Braised Oxtail

The hubby had a beer and I did not drink as wasn't feeling 100% so the bill wasn't too bad but I think we both would rather have run to Al Tanoor for more Arabic food and neither of us would really recommend Tapas.

With so many places to eat at the Shangri La you will be spoiled for choice and definitely find something you love. There are still so many restaurants we did not get to try and others we wished we could have gone back to! Happy Holidays!