Whenever I get an invitation from The Palace Downtown, I’m fleet of foot to accept. Is it because it always feels like a bit of a royal affair, on virtue of the decor and the name of the hotel? Or is it because I always have a smashing good time whenever I’m there, regardless of the occasion? A bit of both, perhaps. But the real reason is their green tea. I know, I know; but just hear me out. The entire Emaar Hospitality Group serves TWG water fruit green teas, and it’s a small (but consistent) detail that has my green tea lovin’ palate all Pavlov-ed out.
Fast forward to last week, when I was invited to the Iftar preview at Ewaan last night- even though I was pretty Iftar-previewed-out-enough-to-last-me-a-year already (and Ramadan hasn’t even started yet)- I was enthusiastically on board right away. Think Palace Downtown, ok? Think TWG water fruit green tea. Yas.
Fast forward to last night. As expected, it was as magical an evening as every evening always is at The Palace. I think I’m going to promote it to the top of my list of favorite hotels in Dubai, and bump Bab Al Shams down to second place. It was my first time dining at Ewaan though, (still a newb in Dubai, remember?), so I was pretty excited to see if it lives up to all it’s hype.
Here are the first things I noticed: 1. The theme was very Arab, which is always a treat to tourists, especially in Ramadan. 2. They’ve extended the restaurant outdoors, so there’s now semi-outdoor and outdoor seating available where one can have shisha with suhoor (ala carte or buffet), and 3. It was (true to most Arabic themed places), very dimly lit, so taking nice pictures will be a challenge. Then again, I haven’t been to a single Iftar buffet where pictures weren’t a challange, so yeah. Buffet plates = ugly but delicious mess.
As soon as you walk in, you’re welcomed by little chests, hills and even mountains of dates, dried fruit and every imaginable nut, adorning the walls and pillars. A selection of chilled Ramadan beverages, as well the a gentleman offering Turkish coffee, while another offers Arabic Gahwa, all make for a very welcoming sight. The variety of food wasn’t as overwhelming as most other buffets, but maybe that had to do with how it was laid out in a very organized manner. I like that, I like being able to survey quickly what my options are and calculate what I want to put on my plate.
I’m not going to start listing down all that they had on display, but let’s just say that the only thing they didn’t have that I’ve seen at other Iftars was sushi- and frankly sushi has no business being served for Iftar. Also, the ratio of hits:misses was much better than some of the other iftar’s I’ve previewed. My favorite things there were the Tandoori salmon, Sayadiyah, Ouzi, spinach fatayer, cheesy spring rolls and SUCH a great selection of dessert.
The price of the Iftar is AED 240.
You can make a reservation on 04 4371627
