Barbecue Delights is a delightful new addition to the range of restaurants and cafes in Seef Mall, writes Asma Salman.
Slightly removed from the humdrum of the busy food court, the restaurant sits invitingly on the first floor beside Euphoria.
The popular Pakistani/Afghani chain of restaurant opened its doors in Bahrain in May and as one of its partners, Pakistani Abdul Khaliq aka Mickey Khan modestly puts it, 'business has been good'.
Barbecue Delights first opened in Dubai in August 2004 and in a short span of time became renowned for its fine food and value for money.
The concept of Barbecue Delights was developed by Micky Khan and his team, who have successfully run the famous Barbecue Tonite concept in Pakistan's bustling metropolis of Karachi for over 15 years. After the success of the first restaurant, the second Barbecue Delights venture opened in 2009 at 'The Walk at JBR' - a prime location near the waterfront in Jumeirah Beach Residences, near the Dubai Marina.
Mickey Khan is a civil engineer by training but now manages his string of restaurants. He said: "All our recipes are tried and tested personally by me. I constantly make changes to improve our menu items. I think about the food first and money later and firmly believe that good raw materials makes good food and that is our philosophy."
The success of Barbecue Delights is its food and the fact that Mickey's team will not digress from the restaurant's basic philosophy of using quality produce.
The menu is a blend of Pakistani and Afghani cuisine with some Arabic dishes included for variety.
The restaurant uses a traditional style of charcoal-based cooking, with a lot of focus on pure ingredients and aromatic herbs and spices.
The cooking at Barbecue Delights is done in a specialised manner so that the juices within the meats and vegetables are retained and the taste maintained.
"I use tips from my bag of secrets so to say that will make the kebabs juicier or the fish more delectable for the palate," explained Mickey, who enjoys eating well prepared food himself and knows all the ingredients of every single dish on the menu.
The menu at Barbecue Delights includes an appetising array of grilled food complemented by an eclectic selection of sea food, vegetarian specialties and desserts.
A second Barbecue Delight restaurant is due to open in Budaiya later this year with an even more extensive menu on offer. Another restaurant is planned in Dubai Mall in the next few months.