Shakespeare had us eating our words

During many an afternoon stroll we’ve walked passed Shakespeare and Co at The Pearl looking at the busy tables and wondering what all the fuss is about. Our previous experiences at Dar Al Salem Mall have left us disappointed (rubbery, tasteless pancakes) and with a feeling that it’s all style (also questionable) oversubstance. My initial thoughts were ‘Pedestrian at best’. Ouch.

So, when we got invited to come and have dinner and try some new items on the menu we were more than a little skeptical about how enjoyable our experience would be. Yet we’re extremely pleased to report that our suspicions were totally unfounded. We left with happy faces and full stomachs (if you bring us extra food we are going to eat it).

Of course, they were expecting us, and yes we did receive bloggers treatment, but it did seem that the staff were very knowledgeable about their menus, efficient and courteous to all guests.

What we ate:

Piri piri prawns

Not as photogenic as our salad, but oh-so-tasty. Really. These plump prawns were served in a rich chilli and coriander butter dish and there were lots of them too, so you might want to share this dish with a friend, so that you can still enjoy a main dish and maybe even dessert if you’re gluttons like us.

Beetroot and squash salad

Bring colour to the table and you’ll definitely grab our attention. This dish looked healthy, vibrant and enticing. If I wasn’t eating with the Mr, I’d happily eat this as a main all to myself. With tasty feta, cinnamon-spiced squash and sweet beet it offers up a nice contrast of flavors and managed to be both refreshing and substantial.

Definitely not the usual so-so-salad.

Scaloppini al Limone

Seared beef medallions, a tangy lemon sauce, crispy rosti potato served with a green salad with bruschetta dressing. That’s how the menu described it. But we’d just say:
Delicious. We’re glad we heeded our waitress’s recommendation. She was right: we did love it. The beef was really tender, the sauce rich and the salad added some refreshing lightness. We’re definitely adding this dish to our favourites.

Fish Fillet

This looked extremely healthy: seared hammour, braised carrots, wilted spinach, ratatouille and herb and lemon emulsion. It tasted good too. The vegetables in the ratatouille had a nice bite to them and the whole dish was enjoyable and left you feeling rather virtuous, which is great but if you’re not counting calories or worried about eating red meat, then the Scaloppini is the real hands down winner.

Praline Cookie Jar

We ordered this on recommendation from our waitress, but it wasn’t really to our taste. Yes, we love ice cream, and praline, but the cookies were a little too sweet and the overall taste was a little too saccharine.

Granola Parfait

Although we didn’t order this, it was brought to our table on the insistence that we just had to try it. And we’re glad it came. New to the menu, this dessert could be eaten for breakfast. Honey-infused light and fluffy yogurt with fruit and crunchy granola gave us a sweet hit without being too much. The mixed textures and balance of ingredients ensured we ended our meal on a high.

Our whole experience was extremely relaxing: the temperature allowed us to enjoy the outdoor seating and look out onto the marina, the service was the right balance of helpfulness (not too intrusive), and the good food put us in an talkative mood. We left feeling like we’d taken a little holiday.

What we learnt the hard way: the garlic butter served up with the hot bread is a little too tasty, if we were ran out of bread we were prepared to eat it with spoons.