al iwan - burj al arab

great restaurant greatbuffetand an awesome service. the ouzi with baby lamb was definitely the highlight. great variety of food and appetizers and lets not forget the great desserts and fruits to end it all. pricey but i guess that's what u get when u wanna dine in burj al arab

we dined at this place like 4 times :) thebuffetchoices are very limited and the quality of the good is not that great! they could work on improving the taste of the dishes. the service is great and they make you feel comfortable:)

just to describe in 1 word - highly disappointed

so after a big disappointment from a restaurant at a place also known as 8th wonder of the world, i decide to write my first review on zomato.. after recommendation from a friend and going by zomato reviews and rating, i planned to celebrate a very special evening at al iwan, reservation done, husband's pic given (as they mention in confirmation email - pic can be provided so the guest will be greeted at the entrance), special comments mentioned that its my husband's birthday which r are able to celebrate together after about 5yrs so request to provide the best possible table with best possible arrangements..

we arrived at the restaurant and here the disappointment starts - first, sending pic was of no use, second, there wasn't any sort of special decor on the table (which i expected to be atleast a few petal of roses), the table provided was rather so secluded that even the waiters couldn't see us when we needed them, the view on the table was of a lobby (which actually gave a feeling like we were sitting in a lobby cafe/restaurant - a table close to the window or anywhere in quite and a more romantic ambience rather than a lobby view and noise would have been appreciated) , sitting was really uncomfortable with the semi circle kind of sofa.

after that next was the arabic bread, labneh and salad served at our table, with this high standard of restaurant one can never expect a not so hot arabic bread platter and a bowl of salad with really poor presentation - a few long sliced cucumber and capsicums...then the food buffet,buffetspread out nicely with quite a few options but the food was already cold - chef was there to explain us all the dishes but to our disappointment, from bbq to lamb ozi, everything was cold as if they were about to close the restaurant...

a complimentary cake was given for my husband and a rose for me....thankyou for that

however, the only reason to give 2 points is the friendly staff, the waiter (noor) and the lady on reception to whom i also mentioned that it was quite a disappointment specially in regards to the sitting provided.

i chose al iwan thinking a restaurant at the best location would never go rong on anything and make this very special evening even more special for us.......but i guess my choice was completely wrong...there was not even one single special gesture which could make it different from any other restaurant

disappointing...the choice of food in thebuffetis limited and there is no live cooking station. food is dry and really worse than average. we expected the service will be at least up to 7 star hotel standard but it turned out not even 5 star: the waiter forgot to offer drinks to one of our guest and there was nobody serving at the hot food session. the price clearly hasn't been reflected in the quality of food and service, simply overpriced. we don't recommend it to anyone.

ambiance:
great ambiance and service, the atmosphere within the burj al arab is amazing and cared for to the littlest detail.

food:
thebuffetspread is quite small, you would expect more.
also the quality of the food is good, it is not any better than other arabic restaurants around dubai. the shewarma was delicious but everything else was average.

i would recommend it for the ambiance and service, not really for the food.

i went there yesterday for a dinner with my fiance to celebrate her birthday .. i called and booked a table and i request for something spacial to celebrate, they said they can give a complementary cake but with out candle  .. anyway when we went there the service was very nice and the stuff was very friendly .. thebuffetwas very testy also and at the end they serve us the bday cake and they put the candle + they came like 3 to 4 to sing for her happy bday and they gave her a flower as a souvenir .

everything was perfect ( stuff,food,service )

really really disappointed with the variety of the food. ok so when i reserved my table on the phone they said they will send me a confirmation email which they didn't. then on the entrance the security guard wanted to see the booking reference. but any ways he let me in. when i was entering the view was to die for. the staff was very humble and nice they gave us welcome drink which was nice. but the decor didn't excite me at all. then the waiter shows us around thebuffet2 salad station no live cooking station if i count maybe 10 main course dishes. and dessert 😣 if anyone knows those arabic sweet shops where they wrap gifts and all! yeah so that was the sweet counter for us and two hot desserts, umali which was nice and thats it. and yes they bought grills on our table freshly made for which i was impressed but again no taste what so ever. and 1ltr bottle of water costs you 55 dhs. do not recommend to anyone save your money and do research you will find decent places in half the price from here with great food. my recommendation giardino in versace. so much better with vast variety.

this is one of the best restaurant i've visit so far in terms of the place which is located at the iconic burj al arab, i really loved the place, great ambience and very welcoming staff. food is purely arabic. many options to choose from main course to dessert in thebuffetsection. i had a great experience in this restaurant on which the staff will treat you like a vip.

burj al arab known for luxury and class being a 7 star hotel houses many restaurants out of which is this arabic , al iwan .
extremely luxurious interiors, comfortable seating which also has a view facing the sea. a very calm and tranquil place.
hospitality went above my expectations. each and every staff were polite , courteous , pleasant and had an eye to detail. we had small kids so their baby sear were laid down very beautifully with the table preset for them. this was very impressive. also, services like one being approached to hang their handbags on the edge of the tables were little element of surprise. they went extra mile to arrange snacks for the kids as per their choice. the food was explained to us (depicts their product knowledge). basically i found not a monotonous service but humans offering hospitality humbly .
thebuffetwas very presentable , clean and hygienic. 1 chef was constantly near thebuffetto help us with the dishes and recommendations.
the food i found wasn't any extra ordinary . have tasted the same at many places. less options for vegetarians , especially main course.
if you choose to visit this place , surely come for the service where they will make you feel like a king and of course the ambience and venue.
a very well done job to this team. certainly under pressure being located inside burj al arab to keep the fame, but still won my heart. hope the food which we pay so much for improves.

except for ambience and good service, thd visit was a total disappointment.

food was a total disappointment except for salads and desserts.

at such exorbitant price, it seems we are worthwile paying only for ambience and not food.

soft drinks for my 5 yrs old daughter was charged in thebuffetwhile they were free us!!! any logic? and that too it was not informed on arrival or on web site.

seems its the restaurant policy to grab whatever comes to hands rather than holding to clientage.

signature arabicbuffetrestaurant at the burj al arab.
nice and cosy ambience thats a stark contrast to the granduer of the lobby and atrium of this iconic hotel.
loved the one to one service. the staff and their service is really worth mentioning. thebuffetis also just right, not too over the top interms of the number of dishes, but just right. i expected a bit more varieties at the dessert corner but thats just me.
you habe got to try their harees and veil curry.

a once visit to burj al arab is on the list for everyone in dubai..
so as it we made it this resturant offeringbuffeton our anniversary...
internationalbuffetwith few indian dishes...
an expensive resturant to come for a special occasion...

service is good as they try to make your one time visit a memorable time...
they serve a small anniversary cake to celebrate and arrange the table too which was nice and kind of them...
food is ok...
a one time affair to go to the iconic hotel..
advance booking is mandatory to enter this 7 star hotel...
saw a lot of couples celebrating there so i guess it's more of as a one time visit to feel good on a special occasion...

located in the breathtaking burj al arab, we visited al iwan since it was featured in the 'luxury iftar venues' collection.

it is abuffetrestaurant offering arabic and middle eastern cuisines. despite the luxurious ambience and the lovely staff, the restaurant was surprisingly not as impressive as the hotel itself.

thebuffetwas well spread out with a good variety of salads, starters (such as fattoush, moutabel and hummus), meats (cuts of chicken and lamb), lamb biryani and desserts. however each item was quite medicore, even the desserts. there was hardly any flavor to any of the dishes and there was not one dish which made us want to grab a second time. the best items so far were the soups and the complimentary birthday cake which was a layered chocolate cake.

the service on the other hand was impeccable. the staff was very helpful with enquiries about the food and offered to point out the contents of the dishes which could cause an allergic reaction.

the ambience, without a doubt, was beautiful with embroidered red curtains and lavish seatings. we had the window seating which was perfect as it had a good view of the sea.

overall it was a hit n miss since the ambience is what made the dining experience worthwhile while the food was a disappointment.

we went there for lunch on a weekday and honestly i did not find thebuffettoo impressive, but not bad either. had better indian options than the arabic ones 😜.
for the price you pay, the service and ambience is not that good. it's in the main lobby area of the property and hence very crowded and noisy. certainly found the bab al yam restaurant within the same property much better.

i had been here for dinner.
firstly the hotel is 7 star and its most expensive.
the architect of this hotel is awesome specially the lobby.
coming to this restaurant its arabic restaraunt with palace ambience.
i had chosed dinnerbuffetwhich comes around rupees15000/ per person.
the arabic food was tasty butbuffetitems where less compared to the price we pay..
service is excellent no question about it.
worth visit.

regards
sri
(stunningshri@yahoo.in)