Sicilia

The Italian restaurant, Sicilia, is located in the 5 star Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel near Discovery Gardens. Walking in from the hotel’s Great Hall we were greeted by the restaurant’s warm and friendly ambience. The staff are friendly and both my husband and I were pleased to be waited on by staff that were well trained without being overly attentive.

I started off the meal with a tasty beef carpaccio which is served with caramelized chanterelle mushrooms and my husband tried the swordfish which is thinly sliced and lightly smoked. Both dishes were a generous size and very well presented.

The kitchen is open which allows the diners to see the chef preparing their meals and it was great to see a chef so hands on with each dish coming out his kitchen.

For the main course I tried the grilled Tuna served with portabello mushrooms. The tuna, which I had asked to be medium, was cooked to perfection and the white wine and mushroom sauce complimented it well. Again the portion was quite large and I found myself struggling to finish and I still had desert to get through!

My husband is a seafood lover and was pleased with the Linguine alfrutti di mare which contained a generous portion of calmari, prawns, mussels and scallops. The pasta is homemade which added to the great flavour of the dish.

The desserts on offer will satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth. I ordered a dish that comprised of a trio of small desserts, cannelloni, panna cotta and a small pistachio flavoured cake filled with a sweet cream served with a chocolate sauce. Needless to say I had to rolled out of the restaurant after finishing it.

Sicilia is a lovely dining experience and I will hopefully be back soon to take advantage of the fabulous promotions that Ibn Battuta Gate has on offer!

Sicilia
Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel, The Gardens
Tel: +971 4 444 0000