Solia (Murouj) — Restaurant in Mubarak Al-Kabeer

Gave this spot a try and so glad I did!

Parking is available all around the Murouj complex, so that wasn't a problem.

Atmosphere was very nice, and service was fantastic. I explained that I didn't have service on my phone, and they didn't have free WiFi, but they gave me a tablet to order from, which worked.

Tausif (my waiter) was super awesome. Very attentive and helpful. After my order he presented fresh sliced bread (as in he sliced it in front of me from a bread cart!) and offered Greek and Palestinian olive oils and Italian balsamic. (I am not an olive oil expert so I can't tell you much difference between the two, except that the Palestinian olive oil tasted "greener.) He also gave me a small platter of Spanish olives. (I'm not a huge fan of olives themselves but they were actually mildly bitter and olive-y, which... not bad!)

I got the Josper lamb chops with asparagus and broccoli and I have to say that they were the best lamb chops I've ever had. They were basically meat lollipops, juicy and full of flavor. I didn't have to add any salt or pepper to them; they were seasoned perfectly, and although they were very tender (being medium rare), I wanted to chew on them for a while just to extract every bit of meat juice. This plate came to me sizzling hot.

Also tried the Le Blanche... which was GREAT! Very lychee forward with a floral touch... I couldn't really sense the coconut, but the drink was very nicely sweet. Beautiful presentation too.

Between the lamb chops, the olives and bread, and the Le Blanche... I accidentally created a balance of savory, sweet, and lightly bitter. It was a great culinary experience.

Definitely...

Reviewing my experience today (Wed, 13th of November 2019): As I have mentioned before, the staff is friendly, and the atmosphere is lovely, especially in the beautiful November weather. But I have to say that my food experience was underwhelming. I wouldn't recommend anything my companion and I had except for the avocado salad.

Although I ordered it cooked medium, the Solia steak was dry and tasted weak; I seasoned it (a lot) with salt and pepper. The spagetti with bolognese sauce was bland.

I also don't recommend having the falafel appetizer, mainly because I like when the outer crust is crispy, whilst the one at Solia had a soft consistency that somewhat reminded me of day old falafel.

I've taken off one star but have left my old review. To be fair the food I had that time was wholesome.

Old review: I recommend their seafood pasta and paella. The service crew at Solia's Murouj branch is polite and friendly. The atmosphere is suitable enough to socialize in (I mean proper socializing with phones away and flowing conversation). I recommend visiting in winter when you can enjoy their outdoor...

Let me start by saying the experience was very bad and disappointing. The order experience was not great, the waiter refused to take the order and said I need to order from their website through my phone which was fine then the other waiter came and said he can take the order from me directly which was what I asked for in the beginning but the waiter didn't want to do it and after I actually ordered from my phone the waiter asked me about all the dishes again and had to confirm from his tablet which is me ordering the whole thing again. Then the food came which tasted good but what I did not know is that it started a war with the insects, I struggled eating because I had to keep the insects away from the food with my hand, I just wanted to finish quickly so the insects wont go on my food. While going through this I discovered that the shrimp in the paella was not clean so I had to stop eating and ask for the bill. Terrible experience and definitely won't go...