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Passions Restaurant and Lounge may have taken three years to create but it was well worth the wait. The fantastic wallet-friendly restaurant serves up five-star intercontinental food in a serene environment.
The ambience is such that diners could be excused for feeling as though they were on holiday … without having to fork out on a plane ticket.
The three-storey venue, which can seat around 300 diners, is Adliya’s hidden treasure, tucked away in a tiny alley between Hash House and Coco’s Café.
Although it opened its doors to the public at the beginning of this month, the restaurant has received rave reviews from bloggers and has already recorded return custom.
It’s hard to believe that Passions used to be two old Bahraini-style houses. It has been cleverly reconstructed into one large Arabesque structure. A group of international investors put their blood, sweat and tears into making their dream a reality, collecting works of art, ethnic pieces and chic fixtures from across Asia.
Monika Gorzna, restaurant manager, said: “The investors have different restaurants around the world and they thought that Bahrain was a good market for something a little different. Their passion can be seen in every detail, from the food to the personal touches in the restaurant’s design. Then again, the name says it all.
“We want to offer quality food in a chilled atmosphere. The fixtures and pieces have been collected over the past three years from Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Egypt and, of course, Bahrain.”
The exterior is picturesque with large trees growing along the side of the property featuring a giant water wheel, a wooden seating arrangement and a large horse-drawn carriage.
The rustic décor continues inside with wagons, dim lighting, colourful lanterns and chandeliers, hanging baskets and drums complimented by more wheels and rattan weave seating.
The ground floor includes a dining area, a desserts section and a large kitchen where 10 international chefs are stationed.
The first floor is set up for functions and birthdays, with a terrace boasting views of Adliya. The second floor, which is the roof-top lounge, is the highlight with its Bali-inspired huts, a river winding under a bridge and a Tuc Tuc (an autorickshaw) parked between tables. Just when you think that’s all, there is another level including more tables and huts.
All the dishes are the brainchild of executive chef, Mohammad Nadeem Qureshi, 42, who now resides in Adliya, a celebrity in Pakistan for making popular cooking videos.
He said: “Timing is very important. Food should be delivered on time. If food is meant to be hot then it should be delivered to the table hot.”
My fiancé Sam started with a heart-warming chicken corn soup for BD1.500 while I tucked into the apple maple chicken salad at BD1.800, or as I like to call it, the leaning tower of apples.
The wasabi prawns for BD2.900 were another delight as well as the unusual yet tasty Passions salad for BD2.900. It’s the eatery’s signature salad that’s packed with explosive flavours.
For the main course, we ordered a grilled rib-eye steak for BD4.700 and another favourite that will have customers smiling, the sea bass fillet and tiger prawn on a bed of spinach and lemon risotto surrounded by cherry tomatoes, saffron composite and basil oil for BD3.200.
Because there is always room for dessert, it was death by molten chocolate cake and ice cream for BD2.500. The orange blossom, chocolate mousse cake with coconut shavings for BD1.400 was a special treat that accentuates the chef’s great culinary skills.
Everything was beautiful from the plating to the surroundings. There is no doubt about it, I am passionate about Passions and will be back. The restaurant is open from 11.30am to midnight throughout the week.
