Any restaurant serving Middle Eastern food in this region has to probably work twice as hard as the rest. Not only is it catering to palates that are familiar with the flavours, but it also has to battle it out with the scores of other joints serving the same cuisine.
Wanasah Lounge, the Middle Eastern restaurant at Al Raha Beach Hotel, got itself a little makeover recently in a bid to keep itself fresh and updated. The folks in charge slapped on a fresh coat of paint and tore apart its interiors to stitch on new ones. The place does look lighter and brighter thanks to the absence of those heavy, billowy sails that used to line the ceiling.
The couches and low tables are ideal if you’re lounging around at a friend’s place, but uncomfortable given it is a restaurant. Granted it’s also a ‘lounge’, but it could benefit from the addition of a few regular dining chairs and tables.
On arrival there’s nobody at the door to greet us or show us to our spot. We notice four other tables are occupied as we sit down at ours. The two-member floor staff seem flustered and overworked, as they run between tables. Despite this they are welcoming and charming when they meet us at our table.
The food selection is small, occupying only two of the seven-page menu. We begin our evening with the Wanasah special, an assortment of four hot and five cold mezze. The appetisers do the job, but are ordinary.
For mains we claim the pizza Levante with Mekanek sausage, olives, onions layered on top of a spicy tomato sauce. The toppings are generous, but we are not sure if the combination works on the base of a pizza.
We skip dessert, pay the (tax inclusive) bill and leave thinking about what could have been.
The bill (for two)
Wanasah special Dhs39
Pizza Levante Dhs66
Total Dhs105
The bottom line Sadly, the food is not worth the drive all the way out to Al Raha.
