Oman Restaurant Awards: And the winners are...
New entries pose tough competition; ‘Best Restaurant of the Year’ award was the surprise element of the evening
The 15th Oman Restaurant Awards (ORA), held at ShangriLa Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa on Thursday, was a celebration for many first-time finalists who swept the prestigious awards.
While Mint & Coco won in the category of ‘Best Newcomer’ and Charm Thai at Crowne Plaza Muscat OCEC won the ‘Best Asian’ restaurant award against strong competition, Jashn took the award in the ‘Best Indian’ category.
The 15th Oman Restaurant Awards, supported by African & Eastern with official water part- ners Acqua Panna and S.Pellegrino by Enhance, opened with the Arabic salutations of the host, Mark Rix, CEO of Apex Media.
Saleh Zakwani, Executive Chairman of Apex Media, welcomed the guests and the evening livened up with the music of Thanae and her band Pulse & Soul. Another highlight of the premium event was the raffle draw, which saw winners collect prizes from Nespresso, Harub Dental Surgery, Al Harub Medical Centre and Oman Air.
Woodlands, with its win in the ‘Best Independent Restaurant (Licensed)’ category, maintained its winning streak at ORA, as did other restaurants like Tuscany at Grand Hyatt Muscat for ‘Best Service’, The Restaurant at The Chedi Muscat for ‘Best Fine Dining’, and Al Ghazal Pub at InterContinental Muscat for ‘Best Pub Food’.
Second Cup won in the category of ‘Best Café’, while Papa John’s won in the category of ‘Best Pizza’. The ‘Best Ambience’ was awarded to Shahrazad at Shangri-La Al Husn Resort & Spa and the recipient of the ‘Best Independent Restaurant (Non Licensed)’ was The Steak Company.
Bait al Luban took the award for the ‘Best Middle Eastern’ restaurant and Bella Vista at Anantara al Jabal al Akhdar claimed the ‘Best Italian’ restaurant award.
Bella Vista also won the ‘Best Restaurant of the Year’- the final surprise award of the evening, added to mark the 15th anniversary of Oman Restaurant Awards.
THE 15TH OMAN RESTAURANT AWARDS HAD
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