Amala — Restaurant in Dubai

TLDR; Excellent fine dining food but let down by very average service and very expensive naan bread.

Sadly only 3 stars and here's why: my wife and kids visited on 21 October 2018 at arrived bang on at 7pm (when the restaurant opens). Sadly nobody was standing at the reception desk outside the restaurant so we had to wait whilst the attendant came out. This was sadly a poor start to what was to come.

We were offered a choice of inside or outside and opted for inside. Once seated the waiter assisted with the serviettes for each guest. The water ordered was served promptly. After reviewing the menu (average starter was around AED 40-60, with mains going on to around AED 90-150, mocktails AED 45 and most naan bread at a very steep AED 25 - yikes!). We had to wait to give our order and it seemed that our table did not really have an assigned waiter.

Once we got our order in (a manager finally took the order from us) the food was provided within ~20 minutes - we were given a very poor poppadom portion (for 5 guests) with a very average selection of 3 chutney flavours - which did not really stand out of the ordinary frankly. Once the food was on the table the waiters did not offer to make our plates and simply dumped it on our table and left. We were visited by the manager and another random waiter asking how our meal was going - it was going great (excellent taste here and far surpassed the poppadom freebie). We did reluctantly end up ordering more naan but at AED 25 for 3 triangular pieces, this was VERY much on the steep side, even for fine dining.

Wrapping up the bill took time as well. Nobody seemed to own our table and it was left to a random waiter again trying to figure out our bill and add our Entertainer discount to the tab. All in all, lovely food but let down by scrappy service. The management really needs to refine the service to make this restaurant compare to the...

Today our experience was so disappointing after having a very different perception about a brand like Zabeel Saray.

It started with the fact that after 3 phone calls to the restaurant over one week, at the time when we reached Amala, we were told that we can’t get a outdoor seating. Seating subject to availability is directly contradictory to Please do a booking. After waiting for 6 or 7 mins we were given an outdoor seating.

The person who graciously welcomed us saying he would be our server didn’t come to our table for 10 mins n on calling him he said that he will be back in 5 mins with a paper n pencil. Next after 10 mins another guy came who continued to be our server for the remaining 45 mins.

Took our order and food was served in 25 mins, after our starters was finished we recd the “welcome drink” The food was so sub standard that we decided not to go ahead main course. Bread basket was dry, fish koliwada was with thick batter, bhatti da kukkad primarily was tandoori chicken but nothing like it. We ordered for a green salad which came after all the food was consumed.

On the drinks front one of the guest was unhappy with the Moscow mule made with ginger beer. Another one was made which wasn’t upto the standard.

The reason why I penned down this review is the fact that it was sad that after informing them that not one celebration but two were being celebrated by our family the service was consistently poor with no coordination between the staff. The chefs did nothing to rescue the situation with their strictly ok food quality.

We are currently at a coffee shop eating food to fill...

As it happens, my wife had purchased a Groupon voucher for a Thali for two at this eatery.

Amala has been in this hotel for many years but today was our first visit. It seems the hotel are happy with this restaurant just catering to their hotel guests as you really do not hear much about this restaurant.

Obviously, the venue is decked out very majestically, in line with the hotel. I would say a tad stiff in decor and furniture. Beautiful high ceilings, decorated round pillars, water element, display kitchen and a great outdoor seating also (no good with the current heat)

Obviously all these finery comes at a cost. A Thali is priced at around AED 250...At that price I would hope to see gold leaf, fusion creations and new twists to old, old dishes. If one is to justify charging AED 100 for Butter Chicken that dish better have some magic in it or at the very least, the chicken used had a PHD....

One can go to a famous spot in Satwa and probably have a better butter chicken at a quarter of the price. Yes I can eat a Tuna Maki from a regular Sushi store also at quarter of the price I would pay in Zuma, say. But then again, Zuma's fish is specially flown in just for them, is probably the highest grade and hence the price difference.

Anyways, Amala offers a great ambience and for some decerning guests who are not familiar with Indian cuisine, they will appreciate the offering. However, if you are a foodie, you can put together a similar Butter Chicken at home with ingredients that are readily available at all supermarkets.

As they say, done it, been there and now ticked off my wish list of...