Casual dining at its best

HUNGRY patrons are flocking to Charcoal Grill, situated by Bab Al Bahrain, one of the island’s most popular touristic destinations, for tasty Iftar meals full of spice and impressive helpings.

The cosy casual dining restaurant has been delighting diners with a flavourful range of starters, soups and main courses, alongside cost-effective platters and combos of Indian and Chinese cuisine.

The two-floor venue can seat 60 diners comfortably and is part of fine-dining restaurant Lanterns Group, which also has Little Chef Restaurant (Wholesale) under its umbrella.

The first Charcoal Grill opened in 1981 in Umm Al Hassam and remains popular but the corner restaurant in the heart of Manama has become a haven for office-goers wishing to break their fast during the holy month.

“People love our quality food here and our portions which are comparatively larger than your average restaurants,” said a company spokesman. “They also like the location.

“Our Iftar offering is a complete meal by itself that can also be ordered throughout the evening.

“We are also getting a large number of requests for deliveries of our large platters such as the vegetable snack platter, the mixed kebab platter, the chicken tikka biryani and chicken biryani.”

Charcoal Grill is known for its bountiful offerings and wallet-friendly prices, featuring combination packages such as the Bowl Meal in which customers can choose a main course of either Chinese or Indian cuisine costing BD1.500 and it comes with a drink as well.

The popular Iftar meal, priced at BD2, includes dates, a laban drink, a soft drink, a bottle of water and a large plate of chicken or mutton biryani. GulfWeekly decided to put it to the taste test.

Diners waited anxiously to break their fast while the kitchen’s four culinary chefs, from India and Bangladesh, and sous chefs, prepared the biryani. Savoury scents from the spiced dish wafted throughout the restaurant.

Before my meal arrived, a friendly server presented me with a small plate of dates and a drink, a Ramadan staple for breaking your fast.

Afterwards, a large plate of biryani appeared, the mutton neatly tucked under a mound of rice and herbs. It was heart-warming with every bite and full of flavour.

At one point, the heat from the spices was too much for me to handle. I poured raita, a vegetable yogurt, on my rice and gulped down the cooling laban.

Without question, the helping was enormous and was too much for a small woman like me. Although I was too full to stand, a walk through Manama’s souq was just what I needed.

Charcoal Grill’s Ramadan hours are from 5.30pm until midnight on weekdays and the restaurant is open until 1am on weekends.

There is also a Ramadan buffet at Lanterns in Adliya for BD7.900 net and in Budaiya it’s priced at BD5.900 net. There is an Iftar buffet at the Budaiya Little Chef Restaurant (Wholesale) as well for BD3.500 net.

To contact the Manama outlet, call 17223351 or Umm Al Hassam on 17729115.