Amara — Restaurant in Port of Spain

Made a reservation. Plentiful parking available. From the outside, it's very inviting. Upon entering, you are greeted warmly and given a seat. The interior is warm, and the decor is simply superb. The waiter was very friendly and knowledgeable. We were given some recommendations and decided on the Arnabeet Maklieh, which was "fried, seasoned cauliflower served with spicy taratour sauce." My friend ordered the Ghanem Meshwi - "tender cubes of specially prepared lamb tenderloin" - for her main and I ordered the Shawarma Beef - "thin slices of specially marinated beef roasted on an upright spit and served with Lebanese pickles and taratour sauce" for mine. The Osmallieh, "based crispy vermicelli with a layer of cream cheese." Their menu is definitely one that teases your palate, and the myriad of flavors experienced did justice to the price that you pay for it. It is expensive but...

One of the five Best Restaurants in T&T hands down!!!… and “my” Best Restaurant in T&T from now, considering all my travels throughout the years!… From the moment you arrive (make reservations), until you’ve finished and leave, the service is 2nd to none other in Trinidad… I commend everyone… from the servers, floor manager (excellent job at “being present” and not being afraid of “juggling” some orders when the servers were busy!) and my biggest compliments to your Chef(s) and food “preppers”. We were a party of 7, first timers… EVERY SINGLE DISH from the Cold/Hot MEZZE to the Main Courses were well presented and of delicious taste!… even the Arabic Coffee (w/ Cardamom) gave a special closing to our pre Mother’s Day dinner date! My hats off to a restaurant and especially their staff, that provides a truly pleasant dinning experience here...

The decor is beautiful and the food tasted delicious.

However that's where the positives end. We were seated right next to a large group of men, locals and foreigners, who were very very loud and grating especially the American. Our server's name was Katty, another foreigner, who we tried to get her attention for 5 minutes before we asked to be moved. She was clearly upset that we had to move and her face was swell up more than the pita bread we were served for the night. She dropped the food quickly and left and when we asked questions about the menu she looked irritated. The food was delicious but the price tag was a smidge too high for a basic Arabian meal and portion sizes...