The monthly food promotion arriving into Dubai Chronicle’s mailbox turned into an invitation for dinner this September. And as Moroccan cuisine still sounds oriental and exotic even in the heart of Dubai, we welcomed the idea and went off to the Four Points Sheraton on Sheikh Zayed road to enjoy an evening with an exotic ambience.
It is easy to find the hotel, as it is located opposite the DIFC Metro station. There is a valet parking which is free of charge, providing you get a stamp at the entrance of the restaurant. At a first glance, the hotel’s lobby seems rather small, but when you consider the fact that the building is a tall tower, it makes a lot of sense. The hotel’s interiors are new and modern.
The Moroccan restaurant is situated on the mezzanine floor and it is one of the smallest restaurants we have ever seen. It has only seven tables that can host thirty people on the maximum. Don’t think about hosting any team building events, unless your team consist of a handful of people.
At the entrance of restaurant we were greeted by Driss, who is the Moroccan restaurants Maître d’hôtel. He is friendly and very well informed about all of the details we managed to ask about the Moroccan cuisine. Therefore, we entrusted him with the choice of our meal and he did not disappoint us even a tiny bit.
As for starter we tasted the Harira, which is a famous Moroccan soup that’s especially popular in Ramadan. The classic recipe uses fresh tomatoes, chickpeas and lentils, which are boiled fresh on the day, told us later the chef who is originally from Morocco. As we decided to taste seafood dishes, the second starter we tried was something similar to a pie stuffed with shrimps.
Of course, the main course deserves special attention as it was simply delicious – white fish with vegetables Tagine, and as second dish – grilled jumbo prawns with couscous. The Tagine dish is cooked slowly and therefore the vegetables and the fish melt in the mouth. Couscous is a traditional Berber dish of granules of durum wheat, which is cooked by steaming. It was served with grilled jumbo shrimps freshly marinated on the day.
For dessert, we tried a Moroccan rice pudding and small Arabian sweets with authentic Moroccan tea. Driss definitely know how to keep dinners entertained and we truly enjoyed watching him pouring the tea from a height into small coloured glasses adorned with traditional Moroccan ornaments.
Our diner continued for over two hours, during which we enjoyed unobtrusive Moroccan music. The contrast between the views of the busy Sheikh Zayed road from the restaurant’s windows and the peace and tranquility inside the dining room is rare to find in the hearth of Dubai.
Altogether, we had an enjoyable evening at the Moroccan restaurant at Four Points Sheraton and definitely will stop by again. Driss told us that it is open only in the evenings and the early visitors are businessmen wrapping deals over dinners, while connoisseur of food arrive from 9 pm onwards.
