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This month Paul Mercer and his colleagues from the office check out the executive express lunch set menu offered at Golestan, the Persian restaurant at the Sheraton Hotel, Bahrain.
The place and ambience
‘Relaxing and elegant with a Persian theme’
The décor at Golestan is quintessentially Persian. A blue and turquoise colour scheme with subtle lighting immediately creates a calm and relaxed atmosphere. The tableware is elegant with ornate charger plates and napkin rings. To give that extra sense of authenticity and tradition diners have an open view of a live clay oven which exudes a wonderful smell of freshly baked bread.
The service is first class. The maître d’ (Edward) and the waiting staff are welcoming and ever attentive; genuinely eager to ensure your dining experience is an out and out success.
The restaurant is spacious and can accommodate small and large groups. The lunchtime diners comprise hotel guests, executives and shoppers from the adjacent exclusive Moda Mall.
The food
‘Fabulous authentic Persian cuisine’
My colleagues and I sampled the express lunch set menu comprising three generous courses of fabulous authentic Persian cuisine.
For starters we were served a sumptuous green salad with feta cheese, walnuts, mint, radish, cucumbers, carrots and mango chutney together with fresh bread from the live clay oven and Mast-O-Khiyar (yoghurt mixed with chopped cucumbers). Each of the ingredients in the salad was fresh and the cucumber yogurt was well prepared and well seasoned. A high point is definitely the fresh bread, warm and aromatic. Make sure that you also try the fresh bread with cheese – it is delectable.
There are three options for the main course.
Joojeh Kebab Bestokhan and Koobideh (Chicken pieces and minced lamb marinated with saffron and grilled on a skewer). This was my selection. Succulent chicken and melt in your mouth marinated minced lamb with the unmistakable aroma of saffron. The lamb and the chicken were cooked to perfection. Accompanied with three styles of rice, Zereshk (pomegranate), Baghali (lima beans) and saffron. This was a very tasty main course. Flavoursome and well seasoned. I definitely recommend this dish.
Chelo Kebab Koobideh and Chicken Koobideh (Minced chicken and lamb marinated with saffron and grilled on a skewer). This was the selection of my colleague Sherif who was struggling to keep to his “low carb” diet and was severely tempted by the high carb rice options on offer. Sherif enjoyed immensely the minced chicken and lamb and noted the succulent chicken, the perfect blend of herbs and spices, the leanness of the lamb and the accompanying juicy grilled tomatoes. Sherif’s verdict “tantalizingly tasty.”
Khorest-E-Ghormeh Sabzi (casserole of baby lamb with red kidney beans and fresh herbs served with saffron rice). My colleague Shaikha sampled the casserole and was more than happy with it and was particularly impressed with the quality of the baby lamb. Shaikha’s verdict “the smell and look of the rice was captivating.”
Makhloot (a selection of Persian ice cream and faalodeh served with pomegranate syrup and lemon juice). We all tried the dessert and were all bowled over by the taste. Smooth creamy saffron ice cream with the refreshing chill of the iced rice topped with a sprinkling of pistachio nuts. Delightful.
We completed our “set lunch” with traditional Persian tea, sweetened with saffron sugar. A fabulous ending to a fabulous dining experience.
Value:
“Superb value for executives looking for a five star lunch ”
The “express set lunch” comprises three generous courses with a soft drink or mineral water and at BD10 per person it is a “steal” especially when you consider that this is truly a five star lunch. Superb value.
Lasting impressions
A must visit for hungry executives. Wonderful tastes and great value. A great place if you want to hold a business lunch. Whenever I next have a business lunch I’ll be having it at Golestan and look forward to trying the a la carte menu.
