Abu Dhabi needs more eat-in options that fall somewhere between fine and casual dining, and the new Karamna Beirut restaurant at the Ramada Inn Abu Dhabi is close to getting it right.
A small glass lift delivers you directly to Karamna Beirut’s dining room on the hotel’s mezzanine level. Arabesque wall carvings, mosaic tiles, gilded ornaments and stained-glass chandeliers impart a subdued sophistication. Black-and-white photos of Beirut from the 1930s, 40s and 50s dot the walls while music by the Lebanese singer Fairuz quietly adds to the ambience.
Unfortunately, the restaurant is glaringly bright. If only they would dim the dozens of small, recessed lights in the room, it would create a more intimate atmosphere. Another issue was that although the restaurant opened in August, we were the only two people in its 98 seats throughout our meal.
The menu features some interesting twists on traditional dishes. There’s chocolate hummus, pumpkin kibbeh (more on that later) and blackberry kebabs. Elsewhere on the menu you’ll find lamb and sheep brains, lamb tongue, lamb eggs (testicles) and frogs. It’s a haven for adventurous eaters.
We ordered traditional hummus, which was creamy, extra lemony and beautifully presented as a makeshift bowl filled with whole chickpeas and olive oil. But the beef sausages we ordered were a miss. Served in their casing, the sausages were crumbly and too dry, but we loved the sweet, lemon-infused piquant sauce they came with — perfect for dipping our Arabic bread. The pumpkin kibbeh is a must-try, although the name is misleading: it definitely did not contain pumpkin and due to the language barrier, I was unable to get an explanation from my server as to why not.
The fried, gritty shell of the kibbeh cocooned whole chickpeas, cinnamon and tender, sweet onions. It was just as sweet as it was savoury. In fact, this meatless version of kibbeh could have almost passed as dessert.
The mixed grill elicited mixed feelings – the lamb and chicken were cooked well, but the beef was tough and overdone. The single lamb chop was gamey and tasted a bit off. The surprising star of the grill was the oft-ignored flatbread with chilli sauce, onions and parsley. It was crispy and drizzled with sweet pomegranate oil, which balanced the spicy aspects. We also ordered grilled pigeon, which came with its head (and eyes) intact. It was tough to get the meat off the tiny bones, but we persevered. The taste was akin to a salty, gamey version of dark turkey meat, but we ultimately concluded it was just too much effort to gnaw around the skeleton for the minimal amount of meat.
For desserts, we opted for halawet jebn (sweet cheese with semolina) and mafroukeh, a pistachio semolina cake filled with clotted cream. The large portions of each were so drenched in rosewater, it was the only thing I could taste.
Karamna Beirut is perfect for those looking for authentic Lebanese cuisine in a higher-end atmosphere than is afforded by Lebanese Flower, without the price tag of Li Beirut.
A meal for two at Karamna Beirut, Ramada Inn Abu Dhabi costs Dh356. For reservations, call 02 401 9000. Reviewed meals are paid for by The National and conducted incognito
sjohnson@thenational.ae