Review: Anar - Emirates Palace

Special occasions call for special meals, and when you live in Abu Dhabi, it doesn't get more special than Emirates Palace. July is my mother's birth month, and that called for a trip to the iconic Emirates Palace. However, as I have often observed in the past and confirmed with others who share my palate, an expensive menu and top-notch service does not necessarily translate to a plain ol' tasty and satisfying meal. When the best part of the meal is the complementary salad - solely because of the freshness and superior quality of the components and not because it required any mastery from the chef - you know you need to adjust your expectations.

That was my recent experience at Anar - Emirates Palace. I made reservations a day before, but I found out upon getting there that that was completely unnecessary as the place was deserted except for two occupied tables. The interiors were quite impressive and were probably the only thing justifying the bill there because the food left me speechless - and not in a good way. As a beef-lover, I didn't have to pour over the menu for long and quickly settled for 'Tikke Masti' (beef cube kebab), while my mom took her time to pick between 'Ghaliye Mahi' (Hamour fish in tamarind sauce) and 'Tahchin Ba Morgh' (a rice dish with chicken and nuts in a crispy shell) . In the end, she went with the latter and her choice proved to be quite the appetite killer.

Soon after placing our orders, we were presented with a fresh garden salad with walnuts and feta cheese, and some traditional tafton bread. That's one part of the meal that I usually skip but gladly didn't this time. Our mains arrived within 15 minutes, with the kebab and the rice dish making a familiar and an interesting entrance respectively. I would rate the kebab below average as it tasted run off the mill and was too salty even when consumed with the accompanying saffron rice. The serving size was also average. In the menu there was no indication that my mother's 'Tahchin Ba Morgh' was baked in an egg coating, so when the dish arrived with a heavy egg odor, we were quite disappointed. She tried to brave the dish by avoiding the coating but soon grew weary and abandoned it after consuming one half. At this point I began to regret bringing her there as I bet she would've enjoyed an old favorite in a familiar restaurant more. However, she did point out that it was about the ambiance and service rather than just the food, and she was right because we couldn't fault those.

My friend did warn me about the food at Anar, but I had countered with 'How bad can it be?'. Guess I found out.