Sennara is curious place with a not particularly inviting facade and a setting that’s even worse. If it were ever possible for the atmosphere of a restaurant to kill its food, it would be here. In fact, the stifling wood furnishings, dim lighting and melancholy Arabic classical music kills said food and then buries it 10ft under. Which is a real shame, because it’s actually quite good as far as Eastern Mediterranean seafood goes.
Once we were seated, our waiter explained how things work. First you make your choice of seafood, and then you decide how you want it cooked (char-grilled, deep fried, steamed or Provencal) and finally you choose your sauce. We ordered the most popular thing on the menu, grilled hammour, and complimented it with a starter of artichoke flower. While these were being prepared, we ambled over to the fish tank – strategically placed above the iced display of the day’s fresh catch in all it’s wonderful varieties – and wondered if the fish were upset about having to put up with this constant reminder of their imminent demise. There was that sad-looking crab, after all. His unhappy face depressed us a little, so we sought the good company of the polite staff who were happy to talk us through the six different varieties of salt on our table.
When our starter arrived it was sitting in a generous serving of lemon juice and olive oil dressing. We took a moment to appreciate the flower in its entirety and then started plucking off its petals and gnawing at the fleshy bits. By the time our main course was served we’d reached the heart of the artichoke and were smacking our lips with satisfaction. Our hammour was conveniently splayed open, so we didn’t have to worry too much about picking for bones. It was served with lemon butter sauce (there are more exciting ones on offer but we believe in the beauty of simplicity). Amply drizzled and sprinkled with our choice of black salt, we tucked in to find the fish fresh, tender and beautifully grilled.
The food at Sennara is great value for money, but this joint is in dire need of a face-lift. As it stands, it’s the kind of place one would come to wallow in one’s woes as opposed to somewhere you’d enjoy dinner.
The bill (for one)
Artichoke flower Dhs25
Hammour Dhs67.50
Total (excluding service) Dhs92.50
