Iftar at Al Diwan, Jumeirah Beach Hotel

Living in Dubai during Ramadan it's almost an obligation to go and eat Iftar in one of the many hotels. Iftar is the evening meal when the Muslims break their fast after sunset. I have experienced three Ramadan month in UAE but still haven't been to an Iftar so I thought is was about time. I was recommended to go to Asateer in Atlantis but when they were full so I reserved a table for two at Jumeirah Beach hotel and their Al Diwan tent.
It was a three minutes outside walk from the actually hotel to the tent next to the beach. We were a bit dressed up so what seemed to be a short walk felt very long in the heat and the massive humidity. When we entered the tent, a bit soaked, we both got a bit disappointed with the ambience. It felt more like a conference hall then a dining room. Our table was placed next to the big windows so we, at least, had an amazing view over the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel which lit us up in all the colors of the rainbow.

19.10 the sun went down and we started with some fat, sweet dates that were already placed on our table.

Then we went to the buffet. Both I and C started with some classical middle east meze. I had hommous,  baba ganoush, mutabal, wine leaf dolma, fattoush, tabbouleh and various pickles. Everything tasty. In my glass I had laban, a yogurt drink that taste like a liquid goat cheese. Pretty good actually.

We continued with kebabs, falafel, lamb with mint and many other hot dishes. Also good but nothing that stood out.

A big selection of fruit tarts, panna cotta, cakes, dates and the super-sweet baklava were served in the end. I also tried Jalab, a drink made of dates and rose water. Tasted like drinking a perfume shop, not my favorite.

All the food at Al Diwan was good but nothing special. The staff were friendly but the un-cozy atmosphere really dragged down the experience, especially considering that it is one of the more expensive Iftar in town.