The spelling isn’t too far off the mark, and neither is the food, but something is amiss at Kwality. It can’t be the establishment itself – tastefully decorated, clean and spacious; neither can it be the staff, who bent over backwards to accommodate our little group, entertaining the kids throughout our meal as though it was all part of a waiter’s duty. No, the trouble with Kwality is its current location. If there was ever an establishment that has suffered as a result of Salam Street’s renewal, this is it. Accessing it takes luck and the kindness of strangers, neither of which are in plentiful supply in downtown Abu Dhabi during rush hour.
Our advice is to walk, if you can, and admire the contortionist parking skills that drivers in the capital so readily display. If you come across a large Kwality sign peering out from a backwater along Hamdan Street, keep on moving. It’s not your destination. The restaurant itself is hidden down the side of a crumbling building that overlooks a deep pit where Salam Street used to be. Best to ask directions, otherwise you could be walking for hours.
We can only assume that most people had given up and gone home by the time we arrived. Time Out had the whole two floors of the restaurant to ourselves, as well as the full attention of the waiting staff. In normal circumstances this might suggest that the food isn’t much cop, but the ongoing regeneration of Salam Street does not constitute normal circumstances. The Kwality chefs drew a yoghurty line under this point with their first dish, dahi papdi chaat; a kind of fruit and chickpea free-for-all, basking on crunchy dumpling Lillos. It was a killer mix, finished off with only the clink of our feisty spoons as accompaniment.
The Goan fish curry that followed was a work of art. On first tasting, the food appeared fairly spicy. However, rather than burning the interior of the mouth and wrecking the meal, as relatively cheap curry so often can, it rewarded us with a flood of flavour, so much so that we could only assume that some kind of trickery was afoot. The navaratan korma wasn’t far behind, missing only the chunky goodness that fresh hammour lent its companion. The spice master at Kwality ought to be given a pay rise.
As is so often the way in Abu Dhabi, the best places are to be found some way away from the hotspots. Kwality demonstrates this in spades. Let’s just hope that it’s still there when the Salam Street dust settles.
The bill (for two)
Dahi papdi chaat Dhs12
Goan fish curry Dhs28
Navaratan korma Dhs18
Sabzi ki biryani Dhs22
Naan for two Dhs8
Fruit cocktails Dhs24
Total (inc service charge) Dhs123
