Middle East - Anthony Ham [402]
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THE WORLD’S LARGEST RESTAURANT
Fancy an intimate dinner for…6014 people? It’s official: Damascus now boasts the world’s largest restaurant. Final recognition for Damascus Gate Restaurant (Bawabet Dimashq), in the suburbs of Damascus, came in May 2008, although the restaurant had been open since 2002. It’s an astonishing project where the statistics speak for themselves: US$40 million to build, 1800 staff employed in summer, a dining area covering 54,000 sq metres with a 2500-sq-metre kitchen that the Guinness Book of Records describes as a ‘mini factory’. With an aesthetic akin to a Las Vegas casino, Damascus Gate has decor that blends faux archaeological ruins, waterfalls and fountains with a menu of suitable breadth, ranging from local Syrian cuisine to Indian and Chinese ‘zones’.
It’s the brainchild of Muhammad Sannan, who told the BBC that size meant no diminishment in quality: ‘In this part of the world, all people care about is their stomachs, so the food has to be the best’. We prefer a more cosy dining experience and we figure that you’re not going to need our help in finding the world’s largest restaurant. If you do go there, however, whatever you do, don’t let them talk you into doing the washing up.
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Pizza Roma (Map; 331 6434; 3 Sharia Odai bin ar-Roqaa; pizza around S£100; ) If you’re keen on American-style (pan, rather than thinner Italian) pizzas, this is the most popular place in town. You’ll find it west of the Cham Palace Hotel.
Al-Masri (Map; 333 7095; Sharia Said al-Jabri; meals S£200; 7.30am-5pm) ‘The Egyptian’ is popular with local office workers, with a menu featuring the kind of home-cooked fare you’d find in Cairo’s backstreets, along with local favourites such as shakshuka (fried egg and mince meat) and shish tawooq (grilled chicken kebab, often served with garlic and lemon sauce).
Al-Arabi (Map; meals S£200) On a pedestrianised street off the southeastern corner of Al-Merjeh, Al-Arabi consists of two adjacent, cheap restaurants, one more casual, the other a little fancier with a separate family section. For the culinary adventurous, specialities include sheep testicles and sheep-brain salad with potatoes, but there are plenty of less challenging dishes including stuffed grape leaves, borek and kibbeh (cracked-wheat croquettes) with yogurt. We shudder to think what ‘Jew’s Mallow’ is and we think we know what they mean by ‘Unnatural Juice’…
Ghraoui (Map; 231 1323; www.ghraouichocolate.com; Sharia Bur Said; confectionary per 100g S£200) We start salivating just thinking of the apricot half-coated with chocolate almost as much as the fresh cocoa truffle. There’s a second branch in the departures lounge at Damascus International Airport.
Al-Sehhi (Map; 221 1555; Sharia al-Abed; meals S£200; 11am-midnight) This modest family restaurant, off Sharia 29 Mai, confines itself to the basics – mezze, grilled meats, and very good fatta (S£100); they eat every part of the sheep here (brains, testicles, tongue…) and be aware that the ‘fatta with hummus and meat’ is really hummus and tongue. There’s a separate ‘family area’ for women diners.
Al-Kamal (Map; 222 1494; Sharia 29 Mai; meals S£250; 11am-midnight) Located near the main tourist office, this place resembles a Parisian bistro. Regulars come for the good-value French plats du jour and home-style Syrian dishes including kabsa (spiced rice with chicken or lamb) and truly excellent fatta.
Downtown (Map; 332 2321; Sharia al-Amar Izzedin al-Jazzari; meals S£500;