Morag from Manama

I’m NOT a fan of take-away / fast food establishments but every now and then I cave in to the husband and our son when they have the need to feed their craving for anything that comes out of a paper wrapper.

So, after a particularly busy and stressful weekend, the option of not having to cook was pretty appealing. I quickly agreed and before I knew it we were pulling up to a new restaurant. We were instructed not to park immediately outside as the spaces were reserved for take-away customers only.

Not wanting to have a diva moment (that came later) we did as we were told. First impressions – the restaurant was big, bright and clean and there were plenty of staff members but no customers, so surely we’d get our food quickly?

The menu was great with a choice of healthier options too such as salads and shawarma wraps. Order placed, we sat down to wait for our food and wait we did … in fact we waited and waited.

OK, everything was being freshly cooked and I like that, so we patiently continued to wait and when our order finally arrived it was incorrect and incomplete. With that, I confess to having a diva moment.

It may have been brought on by hunger, hormones or frustration, possibly a combination of all three – not good! Then it all became clear. All those take-away parking spaces were now full and staff members were running around taking orders from the cars.

More customers had also pulled up at the back entrance of neighbouring outlets and were indeed awaiting their orders from the comfort of the inside of their cars and, yes, receiving their food before us.

I pointed this out to the manager, who offered us free ice-cream. I stubbornly refused whilst the others happily placed their orders for chocolate and vanilla treats. Yes, I did regret it later but I hadn’t gotten down from my diva box by then. I was still simmering!

My conclusion: I have to be fair, my shawarma was amazing – it really did ‘pack a punch’ and the chicken, marinated for 24 hours, was bursting with flavour. Our son professed that his burger was the best he had tasted in a very long time and the husband’s salad bowl was filled with sumptuous delicious beef that he will definitely make a return visit for. So, great food … but next time we’ll pull up for a takeaway.