Iftar at Jumeirah Saadiyat Island: Beauty on Every Level

ARABIC FOOD

There are tons of options, all of superb quality and feeling very modern.

An excellent muhammara is a great place to start ... after visiting the table with massive amounts of dates, perfect for breaking your fast.

The lamb ouzi falls off the bone and the rice is full of texture and spice flavours - it's good quality meat and is the first thing we rated.

There are dishes of harees, lamb kawaj, a shawarma station, good fatayer, warak einab, kibbeh and cheese rolls, makdous, thareed beef and an excellent lentil soup.

FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD

The highlight for me is the chef working the tandoor, producing incredibly juicy smoky chicken - we could go back again and again.

There's a good sushi station, Indian food with dal and butter chicken and an incredibly good brisket.

Grills are super tempting: chicken, lamb, beef and prawns on skewers and a steak station that serves the best steaks we've ever had at either a brunch or an iftar. It's worth going just for this.

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DESSERTS

Arabic sweets are why we come to iftar and the table is large and the quality strong. The halawet al jibn is delicious while the squares of basboussa are moreish. We love the twist on katayef: they're stuffed with Nutella, and entirely too good!

For traditionalists, the huge Umm Ali is a must-visit, and the sticky date pudding makes for an amazing hot dessert.

Enter into the fun with the Turkish ice-cream guy - and the ice-cream is glorious!

But our favourite above all else is thebowlsful of banana pudding - this is texturally superb and just absolutely beautiful.

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DRINKS

There are three Ramadan juices, water, soft drinks and Arabic coffee to wash down your food.

The ambiance at this iftar is second to none: the twinkling lights in the trees, the Ramadan lanterns swinging in the breeze, the fabulous attention to detail and the interesting blend of modern and traditional make this an iftar to which we will return.

We recommend this highly.

Time: Sunset - 8.30PM

Price: AED280 per person, children 4-11 AED140, under 3 dine for free

Booking: 02 811 4342