Quick meal in Muscat

Just a quick restaurant review. Here’s a little no name biryani place in old Muscat. I was starving the other day and saw the open door. He closes for lunch (get used to it if you’re in Muscat) but grumbled I could have some vegetable biryani if i took it to go.
I’m usually starving here as this hotel has nowhere to eat and nothing in the neighborhood, which must be escaped from daily, due to the horrific road work. So unless I have a big social lunch, I’m often driving around looking for anything decent to eat about 2.

I will call the proprietor Karim. I can’t remember. He’s Indian. I received a normal biryani container, with 5 side dishes........2 of them were moong dahl. One was the normal hulled and split variety, and perfectly seasoned, completely delicious, and the other was either a black dahl or the whole, green mung dahl. It’s cooked in some sort of turmeric/coconut/chili sauce and I kept thinking about it for days. went back three times without success, finding him closed, out or without food!





Two of the side dishes were vegetables--potatoes. One, a potato curry similar (but not exactly like) what you might find in a superlative dosa joint, and the other one a dry potato dish! It shocked me for some reason. They were small potatoes I think, and cut in little circles. maybe mixed with a mallow? That one I ate right out of the little container.
The last dish was a sambar and I don’t usually even like sambar but ate it like soup.
The meal was spicy in just the perfect amount that tickled my throat, and easily the best biryani I’ve had around here
It’s nothing like that pea and chopped carrot filled biryani you find everywhere. Just rice and spices.


He’s a little out of the way for most day to day business unless your business includes old Muscat. Go toward Ministry of Finance, and just before you turn in for parking on the left, before the roundabout that gives you a view of Al Aram Palace, turn right and then an immediate left. He’s on the right.

It’s the equivalent of being in Midtown Manhattan. He’s the delivery guy for that whole area. Everything is super fresh! And my entire meal, which is actually two meals, easily, is about 1.600 RO.