As Ramadan is in full swing in the UAE, have you had the opportunity to try all these different types of iftars? From tents to restaurant fusions, keep on reading to see if you have tried them all.
1. Public Iftar Tents
Being the season of generosity, there are multiple public tents set up around the city. The main and most well known being the one at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. They have a real cannon that will be lit to blast to mark the end of the day’s fasting exactly at the time the sun is scheduled to set.
Did you know many iftars around the country broadcast the live stream video of this cannon?!
While I did not personally try out any public iftar tents, I’ve had a few friends who have celebrated iftar together amongst hundreds to thousands of people. In the first week alone, this tent has given out over 100,000 meals. The meal at public tents are often free of charge and consists of a simple boxed meal with water and fruit. They have a seating area which is usually very crowded and their turnover of tables is very rushed as they want to accommodate as many people as possible. This is open to anyone in the UAE.
2. Hotel Iftars
On the contrary, I have been to quite a few iftars set up hosted at luxury hotels. These ones are the most lush and lavished iftars. Most often they focus on the Arabic dishes such as a HUGE lamb ouzi and AMAZING Arabic desserts.
This year, my favorite hotel iftar is hosted at Shangri-la in Sofra bld. After witnessing the amazing sunset with the grand mosque view, we indulged ourselves in so many courses of seafood, Moroccan fishes, Turkish dishes, and more! One of the best highlights was their international menu. Did you know after 8pm their regular all day dining buffet comes out which features ceviche, cheese and sushi! It definitely crossed off everything in my iftar wish list. Cost is 258 AED pp, includes arabic soft drinks.
3. Ramadan Tents
These are the huge tents around the city which feature extravagant Arabic themed interiors with a full-lush buffets and late night/morning suhoor options.
What I love about these tents is the amazing feeling as you enter through their doors. The theme of these tents are so extravagant and you cannot imagine all the wonders they have inside. It is complete transformed into another world and they make it so comfortable you can pass hours and hours chatting and even playing games during suhoor.
This year I had the pleasure of visiting the Al Barza Tent by Sofitel Corniche. This tent really impressed me with the decor and high high ceilings inside. You will have to see this for yourself. Not only do they offer an amazing range of Arabic dishes, I especially loved to try their camel and rabbit dishes! YES, camel and rabbit meat. They have a lovely kids area as well to keep all the children entertained too. The tent also boasts two large screens that stream some of the best sports games. You guessed it, this tent will be up and available for your viewing for the World Cup!
Iftar Buffet will be served from sunset until 9pm | AED 225 net per person | Children policy: 0-5 years old eat for free | 6-11 years old will have 50% off |Complimentary Kids activity area for kids up to 11 years old | Suhour will be served from 10pm onwards on a la carte menu.
For Tent reservations and more information, call +971 (02) 813-7777 or log on to www.sofitelabudhabicorniche.com
4. Restaurant Iftar Concepts
This year I have been trying out more restaurants with their own Ramadan menu vs going to dozens of traditional Ramadan tents. I love going to these restaurants to get a little bit of the iftar celebration but at the same time enjoy different kinds of cuisines too during Ramadan. I was especially impressed with Bu! as well as Tamba’s iftar menu.
Did you know these venues are liscense and open for dine in the daytime too starting at noon!
The bu iftar menu is great because I love love Latin food. They tried to combine different Arabic elements which still make it feel like an iftar. We had cheese filled dates to begin. The guacamole and cheesy shrimps were superb. And the grills…. they were the best part! I love the fact that it is also a seated set menu which is a nice change from iftar buffets. Last but not least their desserts are some of the best which have unique elements which cannot be found anywhere else.
Bu!’s sharing style iftar menu is 195 net pp. A la carte of their ramadan menu is available as well.
I enjoy every visit to Tamba, they never fail to impress me. During Ramadan, guests are in for a huge treat as they have prepared an iftar culinary experience which features 9 courses of pure delight. Their fusion of modern Indian with some arabic iftar elements wowed my entire group. Some of the highlights were their smoked pineapple soup, their beef baba ghanoush, and you gotta love their root chips. The tamba sharing iftar is priced at 180 pp.
5. Family Cooked iftars
Of course the final and most important type of iftars are family cooked meals. Ramadan reminds us of sharing and generosity but also of family. For those of us who have family in town, be sure to spend the iftar together. The world’s best cooking starts at home.
I hope you enjoyed reading about all the different types of iftars available in the UAE. This year I have been blessed to be able to try different iftars with my friends and family. Happy Ramadan to everyone celebrating.
