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After the festivities and moonlit feasts that accompanied the holy month, things are starting to regain a sense of normality in Bahrain’s culinary scene.
And there are some rare and exciting gems still to be uncovered too, such as the Business Lunch Buffet at the Swiss-Belhotel Seef Bahrain’s Swiss-Café Restaurant.
It offers exquisite fare, a friendly team and most importantly of all, terrific value.
The outlet has a very relaxed atmosphere, with its polished wooden floor and pure white fixtures providing a gentle-on-the eye interior, as a water feature along one wall provides a tranquil backdrop.
There is a balcony lounge attached to the restaurant which, being on the 10th floor, provides superb views of the Seef and Manama area. When the weather cools in a few months’ time there are plans to stage a live cooking station and BBQ outside on the terrace.
As always, it’s the food that’s important, and under the watchful eye of Executive Chef Holger Lang, his team of chefs really cook up a storm. I guarantee patrons will be rushing to sample the fare once word spreads of the delights in store.
The native German, originally from Saxony, has spent 20 years travelling the world and has experience in countries such as Portugal, Russia, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia in his portfolio. He first came to Bahrain in 2010 to work at the Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain before taking up the executive role at the Swiss-Belhotel in March last year.
He said: “Bahrain is open-minded and cosier than other places in the GCC. That’s the same outlook that we have here, and we want to relate that with the food we prepare.
“We change our offerings on a daily basis. For example, on the weekends, we’ll offer more Arabic dishes because the majority of our customers come from Saudi Arabia. For the Business Lunch, we offer more of a Mediterranean selection, but it also depends on the market and the season.
“I go twice-a-week to the market, especially the fish market, to make sure I find the best ingredients and to see what catch is popular.”
Although the buffet lunch features regular staples such as hummous and an extensive salad selection, other dishes see regular rotation so no two lunches are the same.
Chef Holger explained: “I like the modern way of leading a team, which is sharing my ideas with them and letting them foster their own creativity in the kitchen. I like creative chefs who are allowed to develop their passion rather than cook to instruction.
“I just offer criteria or directions and then we try various dishes until we get it right. We have such a diverse range in the kitchen, with chefs hailing from the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Egypt, that we have a real fusion of cultures here.”
As I always do with buffets, I treated it as a four-course meal. Starters, main courses, second main courses and desserts. Sometimes the latter gets sacrificed for a third dose of main courses, but what was on offer here swayed me to leave a little bit of room … but more on that later.
To begin, I chose a nice pasta salad and hot mezzeh, which were small pastry rolls stuffed with minced lamb, cheese and other goodies. Accompanied with sweet chili sauce, they created an explosion of flavour that blended really well. I also tried an apple salad, which was certainly unlike something I’d tried before, and the tangy flavour was a little strange at first, but it somehow worked.
For the main course, I must have wandered up and down the aisle five times as I just couldn’t decide where to dig in first! Eventually I settled on the dawood basha (which is a fancy way of saying meatballs), and I’m glad I did because they were simply out of this world. My favourite food is probably Swedish meatballs, and these delectable delights left me satisfied enough to sway me over until the oft-rumoured IKEA finally arrives in the kingdom.
I also tried the grilled mini steak, which was cooked and tender to perfection, while the grilled chicken in pink sauce provided a slightly different take on an old classic, but went perfectly with steamed rice.
And, although I am extremely reluctant to try anything that comes out of the sea, photographer Ryan Bayona tells me that the hammour machboos was simply outstanding, as was the Thai lamb liver curry he also sampled.
Also available is a mixed grill station, containing a variety of meats which can be cooked to order for those so inclined.
My promise to save room for desserts luckily came to fruition, and I gorged myself on the melee of sweet delights on offer. Having just watched some of the Wimbledon Championships on TV, I finally had a chance to satisfy my cravings of strawberries and cream, while the chocolate mousse and truffle were so tasty and flavourful I had to be handcuffed to my chair to stop me going back for more!
I was also informed by Ryan that the fruit tart and the cream caramel were superb … but alas, no one would give me the key to find out!
This was easily one of my favourite dining out experiences to date, particularly in a hotel outlet. What makes it so incredible was the value. At just BD7 net inclusive of soft drinks from Saturday to Thursday, and BD8 for the Friday version, it was half or even a third of the price you’d pay elsewhere, but for the same or even better quality of food and service.
I can’t thank the friendly team enough for their hospitality and enthusiasm, from Chef Holger and his team who gave us a tour of the kitchens, to food and beverage manager, Kerstin Ryborz, and general manager, Herve Peyre. I was even offered a tour of the newly-opened B28 Lounge on the 28th floor, and I can’t wait to come back and try that out with the amazing views of the night-time skyline.
