Kamoon

Located in Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana, Kamoon serves classic Arabic cuisine. The restaurant offers indoor and outdoor seating. During the cooler months, be sure to enjoy Kamoon’s spanning outdoor patio which boasts fantastic views of the city and the tranquil Arabian Gulf.

Indoor the restaurants decor is clean and minimalistic, we take a table by the window and begin to review the menu. The menu at Kamoon offers a wide variety of Arabic favourites from cold to hot mezza, soups, charcoal grills, seafood to desserts. To start we order a selection of mocktails, although the hotel is dry the beverages are that creative, it won’t make the slightest bit of difference to your dining experience.

From the Cold Mezza we select the Baba Ghanouj; puree of grilled eggplant with tomatoes, capsicum, pomegranate sauce, lemon, onion, garlic and parsley alongside the Rayhaan Tabbouleh; parsley, pineapple, white onion, red quinoa, basil, mint, strawberry and lemon and the Fattoush; lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, mint, sumac, onion, zaatar, walnut, radish, pomegranate seeds with fried Arabic bread. Not only does chef cover the basics well, but he also takes it up a notch by implementing his own unique twist to these classic favourites, strawberry in the Tabbouleh and pomegranate seeds in the Fattoush, these ingredients offer a surprise twist much to our enjoyment.

From the Hot Mezza we enjoy a Falafel Platter; deep fried chickpea falafel with sliced tomato and tarator sauce plus the Cheese Sticks; deep fried pastry roll filled with haloumi cheese.  The Cheese Sticks are tasty, but the Falafel Platter is what wins us over. Perfectly cooked, as we bite into the Falafel our mouth is filled with aromatic flavours, dip in the tarator sauce and the taste is perfection.

For the mains we select the Kamoon Tawooq; grilled chicken marinated with cumin, served with French fries and garlic sauce and the Eraydess Meshwi; charcoal grilled jumbo shrimps, with French fries and tarator sauce. Again, the mains do not disappoint, the light smoky grill flavour ascends throughout the chicken, giving a ‘mmm’ moment with every bite. The jumbo shrimps are probably our favourite dish of the night, plump and flavourful. The portions are extremely generous, and most can easily be shared by two people, even the jumbo shrimps come as a portion of four.

To conclude our evening, we make our way to Kamoon’s Tent which has remained during the summer months to offer guests an alternative dining space. Here we enjoy a Moroccan tea and start to decide upon our dessert. The team, who have been exceptional throughout the evening with their recommendations, suggest we try the Kanafa. The Kanafa arrives, as our fork breaks through the crisp outer dough it reveals the creamy sweet cheese. Quite possibly the best Kanafa in town!

In a city filled with Arabic restaurants offering a tempting array of cuisine, selecting one can sometimes be a chore. However, if you haven’t dined at Kamoon we would highly recommend adding this restaurant to your list of Arabic restaurants to try, you won’t be disappointed.

Baba Ghanouj AED 37

Rayhaan Tabbouleh AED 37

Fattoush AED 39

Falafel Platter AED 37

Cheese Sticks AED 37

Kamoon Tawooq AED 90

Eraydess Meshwi AED 150

Kanafa AED 44

Kamoon, Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana, 02 657 0000