Cafe Bateel , a the leading Mediterranean restaurant, marks its 10th year anniversary with celebrations starting from 15th October 2017. Every guest is welcomed with a complimentary glass of Bateel's most famous sparkling date juice to mark its anniversary.
Myself and family leisurely spent this Friday trying their specially curated menu set for the 10th Anniversary celebrations. They have been known for serving the most delectable deserts in the region.
Cafe is divided into two dinning spaces. One with the formal sophisticated space with cozy atmosphere. And second one more casual outside seating area facing the marina. With the weather getting better , I am surely going to prefer seating outside sipping my favorite coffee. The space is well-lit up. And I loved the decor, which is modern with a touch of Arabic culture.
After a short briefing about the Afternoon Tea and the 10th Anniversary Specially curated menu we were served the sparkling date juice. Which was perfect to quench our thirst. It was served with fresh mint and lemon slices.
Cafe Bateel afternoon tea has two variants, the classic selection and the gourmet selection. In both the menu's only choices of hot drinks vary. The three-tier assortment remains the same. We had SILVER GREEN – Darjeeling green tea. I loved the timer, shown in below pics.
The assortment consists of the finger sandwiches, selection of desserts and freshly baked scones. All of them were freshly made using the best quality ingredients. I loved having the "Baba Ghanoush with pomegranate on the date toast" and "Tuna with tomato and mayonnaise on the olive tomato roll". For the desserts "Kholas Pecan Pie" was my favorite. All these bite size snacks perfectly went with my tea.
Appetizers which can be a good hearty meal as well, if you are on a high protein diet or vegan. They have something for everyone. All the dishes served were made of fresh organic ingredients.
On the left hand side is "Beetroot Kale", which is a salad made of kale, red chard lettuce, soft red beetroot, baby carrots, pumpkin seeds topped with marinated feta cheese and lemon dressing. This was absolutely fresh and flavorful. It's good for quick healthy bite.
On the right hand is " Bateel Quinoa Bowl", It's a salad made of Quinoa tabbouleh, avocado, jirjir, roasted butternut, beetroot, zucchini, onion, grilled Halloumi, cherry tomatoes and kale pesto. Served with your choice of chicken zaatar, marinated prawns. The kale pesto dip was amazing. All the grills topped on the quinoa tabbouleh were nice and flavorful.
In the bottom, "Super food salad with chicken". It's a Bateel's most healthy creation and one of their signature salad's. Slow cooked quinoa, lentils, beetroot, butternut squash, served with baby spinach, pea shoots, kale, mixed seeds and avocado dressing. You can choose to have it plain or topped up with Chicken or Halloumi Cheese. Its a was amazing, specially the dressing which I could taste till the last bite.
Vegan soup with borlotti beans, farro grains and kale was a vegan Soup. Who says being vegan is tough, with so many variety of vegan food available at Cafe Bateel, I would say it's not even difficult to eat vegan while dinning out.
Main course dishes were more filling and the portions were good enough in case if you have good appetite.
Seared sea bass fillet served with green asparagus risotto and saffron cream. The saffron cream was the star of the dish. It took the whole dish to a new level. The risotto was really yummy. I haven't had such a nice risotto in a while. And the sea bass was nicely marinated and grilled. Over all this is my favorite dish from the 10th Anniversary menu.
Its a traditional salted tart with kale, onion and green asparagus served with super food salad. I absolutely enjoyed the Quiche and the Salad as well.
Braised lamb shoulder served with warm Umbrian ferro grains, chickpeas, Greek mushrooms and caramelized onions. As mentioned to me the lamp is marinated for 30 minutes with various spices and later slow cooked in oven for 4 hours. Then kept to rest. It's finally prepared, just before serving to the guest. No wonder that the reason it was so tender and full of flavors. Making risotto out of ferro is definitely a healthier choice. Its one of those dishes, which has impressed me a lot.
Cafe Bateel has been known for creating some amazing desserts in the region, and there desserts for the anniversary menu have to be out of this world.
Its tartlet with caramelized apple, vanilla crème brûlée topped with pecan cream. Its mild sweet and full of apple flavor. Someone like me who love apple pie will definitely go for it.
Any cheese cake lovers here? The quintessential American cheesecake with light cream cheese on a crispy digestive biscuit base, topped with strawberries. Is definitely not healthy in any sense. But Friday is meant for a CHEAT DAY, so I enjoyed all the sweets without any guilt.
I was stumped with the extensive menu they are offering. I always had their coffee and desserts. I was impressed by the range of organic and vegan foods available in Cafe Bateel. Most of the ingredients are sourced from outside, to ensure the Bateel quality standards. Also, I loved the Afternoon Tea menu. The bite size snacks were just perfect to go with the tea. They have a lovely breakfast spread as well. Which I am looking forward to try soon. And the Sparking Date Drink is something you won't find anywhere else. It was very authentic. After my meal, I was served kahwa with dates. Being in Oman for over a decade now, I have tried different Kahaw's, but this one was powered with cardamom. The Arabic coffee is sourced from Yemen to get this authentic blend. I absolutely enjoyed it. And I would like to tell you guys, if you haven't tried Cafe bateel yet, then you are missing something really amazing.
The staff were very friendly and our orders were served in reasonable time.