Fancy Indian cuisine with a twist, authentic German dishes, Vietnamese or Lebanese? We pick out six new restaurants to whet your appetite.
Royal Biryani
Abu Dhabi
Royal Biryani opened this month in Al Seef Village Mall in Abu Dhabi. The 2,000-square-foot restaurant focuses on Indian cuisine with a contemporary twist. The menu features more than 20 different biryanis and curries and a list of mains that includes Punjabi chicken tikka and drumsticks stuffed with minced chicken, cheese and raisins served with saffron mashed potatoes. Starters include lamb dumplings, corn-coated crunchy fish and kidney bean bites. They also have daily lunch-box specials. For dessert, try the apricot stew - a Mughal stew made with dried apricots and almonds. "Traditionally Indian food is associated with richness and spices," says head chef Girish Chandra. The restaurant also has a range of fusion mocktails such as the Sassy Lassi and Latin Love.
. Royal Biryani is open from 9am until midnight. Call 02 448 8556
Brothaus
Dubai
Brothaus, a German restaurant in the newly opened Steigenberger Hotel Business Bay, is now open.
While it also serves international cuisine, the eatery has a focus on German fare including a classic German breakfast with cold cuts, chicken liver pâté, Edam cheese, boiled eggs and butterbrot; Apfelpfannkuchen - a classic German pancake with pan-roasted apples, cinnamon sugar and crushed hazelnuts; Stulle - a German sandwich with butter, egg, mayonnaise and turkey; Doners - both veg and non-veg; sauerkraut cream soup; curry wurst with vanilla-scented mango and tomato curry sauce; chicken schnitzel salad and more. There's also a range of freshly baked German breads and a handful of protein shakes on offer. There's a tapas menu, too, with chicken schnitzel bites, beetroot hummus, pretzel with sweet-and-sour mustard and beef boulette with potato salad.
Throughout Ramadan, the restaurant is offering free coffee and 25 per cent off the final bill for tables up to four people.
. Brothaus is open daily from 7.30am until 11pm. Call 04 369 0000
Bazxar
Dubai
Create Hospitality, the same company that brought El Sur and Pret to Go to Dubai, has just opened Bazxar in DIFC.
The restaurant focuses on Mediterranean cuisine, Vietnamese food and a whole section of the menu called the "meat district".
The Vietnamese offerings include wok-fried noodles, bahn mi, crispy bao and an Asian salad. From the meat district, bites include nachos, chicken-friend lamb, popcorn shrimp, crispy mac and cheese, six different burgers and three hot dogs including one called the Tennessee Prom Queen - with slow-cooked beef chilli and melted cheddar cheese. There is also a short and sweet breakfast menu served from 8am to 11.45am.
. Bazxar is open daily from 8am until midnight; until 2am on Friday and Saturday. Call 04 355 1111
Al Falamanki
Dubai
Al Falamanki, a restaurant from Lebanon, has just opened its first international branch in Dubai, across from the Four Seasons Hotel on Jumeirah Beach Road.
Opened in 2008, Al Falamanki is a nostalgic cafe that transports guests back to 1960s Beirut. The founders came up with the concept after hearing about Al Khalil Al Falamanki, a Lebanese wrestler-turned-bodyguard who lived life to the fullest, travelling the world and winning over local and foreign celebrities.
The Dubai location, a makeshift shrine to Al Falamanki, is filled with items from his personal collection. The restaurant seats up to 500 people and has a casual atmosphere with music from Fayrouz and Sabah. Al Falamanki's signature dishes include classic tastes of Lebanon with a personal touch including Khalil's saj with thyme, and a cheese mix made exclusively for Al Falamanki and kbaibet in yogurt - fried kibbe balls mixed with garlic, pine nuts and coriander. Throughout Ramadan, Al Falamanki is serving a set menu (Dh150) with traditional dishes such as hashed chicken, sumac potatoes, cheese rolls, fried kibbe and main options that change daily.
. Iftar is served nightly from sunset until 3am. Call 04 550 9142
Petek
Abu Dhabi
Petek Restaurant and Sweets, a new Turkish restaurant, has just opened in the capital as the first branch in the UAE. The Turkish restaurant is a joint venture between Rasool Khoory & Sons Group and the Bagul family from Turkey. The restaurant, whose name means "honeycomb" in Turkish, has built a reputation of serving up a mixture of unique flavours in its Turkish dishes.
The restaurant, located on the ground floor of the Rolex Building at World Trade Center, is a 1,300 square metre venue spread across three levels. At the opening, founder and owner of Turkish Petek Restaurants Group, Serkan Alpagul, said: "It is our pleasure to open a new branch here in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with the prestigious and pioneering Mohammed Rasool Khoory Group. At Petek, we personally supervise every item we serve, guarantee the purchase of best quality raw materials, rely on renowned recipes for the preparation of our dishes, purchase and store the best quality nuts such as pistachio, pecan and hazelnut according to the sites and season of their cultivation, and finally, make breads in our own brick oven."
This won't be the only branch for the restaurant. Yousof Mohammed Rasool Khoory, the CEO of Mohammed Rasool Khoory & Sons Group, said there are plans for a second branch within the month at Marina Mall and a third branch is scheduled to open on Airport Road in three months.
. During Ramadan, Petek Restaurant and Sweets is open from sunset to 1am. After Ramadan, the restaurant will return to its regular timings from 9am to 1am.
Jamaican restaurant Miss Lily's to open in Dubai
Miss Lily's, a Caribbean eatery with two outlets in New York City, will open in the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Dubai this Eid.
The casual restaurant is a beach shack-meets-Jamaican diner and will give foodies an authentic taste of island cuisine in a lively atmosphere, complete with reggae music. Miss Lily's executive chef, New York native Adam Schop, has curated a menu packed with Jamaican flavours. The menu includes the signature jerk chicken, jerk corn grilled with toasted coconut and jerk mayo, pimento short ribs and hot pepper shrimp. Dishes exclusive to the Dubai outlet include king crab with scotch bonnet sauce, jerk barbecue short rib steamed buns and Jamaican pepper rib-eye steak. The restaurant will be split into three areas: a dining room that seats 40 people, a bar and a lounge area, which together will seat an additional 40 people. There will also be a private chef's table just off the kitchen for up to 16 people. Miss Lily's claims to be the only restaurant in the region where guests can sip on Ting, Jamaica's beloved grapefruit soda.
. Miss Lily's is set to open on the first day of Eid. Hours are 6pm until 2am. Visit www.misslilysnyc.com
sjohnson@thenational.ae
