Tried and tested: Iftar at Fairmont Dubai

No two people are the same, and no two opinions on Iftar food are equal, or so it seems.

I visited Cascades restaurant at the Fairmont Dubai for iftar with two friends over the weekend.

We received a warm welcome on arrival and had a choice of tables beneath the soaring atrium, whether near the buffet, in front of the TV with a bird’s eye view of the Egyptian soap operas or further away in our little area of calm with pleasant Arabic music. We chose the last.

Three diners and three completely different views, but we were all agreed the dates were good! I couldn’t stop at just one.

We enjoyed them with a choice of fresh juices and a selection of traditional drinks including rose milk (which was a bit too sweet for me), tamarind juice, date juice and my favourite, laban.

There was a wide variety of iftar favourites on the buffet. We started with the lentil soup.

Just what makes a good lentil soup? Well, Fred loved his and thought the freshly squeezed lemon just prior to eating was the secret, Graeme wasn’t at all excited by his, but I was enjoying every spoonful of the creamy flavourful soup as it warmed my empty tummy.

Next was the seafood. Juicy plump mussels, smoked salmon and shrimps. Graeme thought his mussels were dry – just goes to show opinions differ. I took great delight offering sound effects as I devoured each and every mussel on my plate.

With a selection of mezzeh, both hot and cold, I was happy since I’m not one for the stew/casserole style dishes and the babaghanoush and fattoush salad got the big thumbs up. What is mezzeh without flat bread? But both Fred and Graeme felt the bread was dry.

Since I don’t eat bread at night, I couldn’t comment.

Graeme wasn’t without praise though – his favourite among the main courses was the lamb and chicken stew, which he said worked well together, as well as the kofta from the grill – surprisingly tender despite having been in a chafing dish for some time!

A favourite for Fred was the lamb and chickpea fattah, which he said had an interesting mix of textures and was delicious.

He was so excited about this dish, he had the chef came over to explain the entire cooking process – turns out the base ingredient is lamb trotters! But it was so soft, succulent and well cooked, he said, that there was no reason to be squeamish.

For me iftar isn’t iftar without the traditional lamb ouzi. But I wasn’t disappointed – it was mouth-wateringly succulent.

The dessert buffet was a bounty of calorie-laden treats just calling out to be devoured.

The umm ali wasn’t spectacular but the kunafa was yummy – and thankfully not too sweet.

But the cheesecake really won my heart – almost New York-style – and thank goodness I was seated far away I could have easily gone back for more.

For the more health-conscious there was a great selection of freshly cut fruits but who wants those with so many other sinful treats like Arabic sweets, crème caramel, Black Forest gateau and a long list of other goodies on offer?

All in all a great Iftar experience, though the service could have been a little more attentive (that’ll teach us to sit at the far end of the restaurant) and the coffee was a terrible let down (quite the opposite of the casual dining outlet next door, Pronto), but they did have soy milk!

Finally, the little table that appeared while we were at the buffet especially to hold my clutch handbag didn’t go unnoticed and deserved a gold star. 
 
Iftar at Cascades at the Fairmont is available from Sunset until 8.30pm and is Dh150 per person. Details at www.fairmont.com

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