It does feel odd arriving at an international sports resort knowing we won’t be taking part in any activities. We’re here to eat so ignore the karting track, shooting range and wakeboard park, and focus on the food at Como.
The interior feels like a chain hotel’s lobby: white, blue, green and clean and plenty of pale wood. We opt to sit on the outside terrace closer to the sporting action, in spite of our waiter’s obvious preference towards us sitting inside.
We start with zuppa ala Genovese, a farmer’s style soup loaded with chunky veg and pasta, along with a giant platter of deep fried calamari. The soup is a tad oily and we are left wanting more punch from the pomodoro. However, the mix of beans, carrots, courgette and pasta is tasty and filling. All that said, soup may have been a bad choice considering it’s 35 degrees.
Thankfully, the squid comes with a wedge of lemon and a decent tartare sauce, because it is inescapably bland.
Happily distracted by the wakeboarders flipping and spinning, our attention is brought back to the table as the creamy chicken and broccoli penne, along with the chicken and asparagus risotto, are plonked on our table.
Both dishes are pleasing. The risotto is cooked well and is flavoured nicely with saffron, while the chicken penne is creamy and rich. We would have liked more greens on each but they are two decent meals in hefty portions. Maybe go easy on the rice and give us more vegetables next time, chef?
We don’t have any room left for dessert, but if your stomach is bigger than ours, we like the look of the apple crumble with toffee caramel, FYI.
Como offers big portions with some decent flavours and it’s good to see it’s not just some regular burger joint.
Now, where’s my wakeboard…
The bill
Zuppa ala Genovese Dhs28
Calamari Dhs35
Chicken Penne Dhs40
Risotto Dhs67
Total Dhs170
The bottom line Basic and easy Italian tummy filler.
