Enjoy an Italian iftar at Pompeii

Tucked away quietly among the imposing buildings of Jumeirah Lake Towers, Pompeii impresses you with its warm, inviting ambience, delicious menu and quick friendly service. This no-fuss eatery has plenty of surprises in store for the Italian food lover. At a glance you might see familiar sounding salads, soups, pastas and pizzas but what sets the large list on the menu card apart is the flavor, simplicity and zing that each dish is infused with. No wonder, I was pleasantly surprised when I went there for a meal recently.

Giving the regular salads a miss, my friend and I dived straight into the anti-pasti. The salmon caprese (grilled salmon with pesto topped with buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil) seemed tempting but I wanted to try something different in seafood and so opted for the mussels au gratin – oven-baked fresh, spicy mussels with garlic, parsley and parmesan cheese. The mussels tasted great since I love the garlicky flavor but there was too much parmesan in it for my liking. My vegetarian friend was happy with her choice – Parmigana di melanzane ( baked eggplant stuffed with plum tomatoes and with parmesan and mozzarella cheese and herbs of basil and oregano drizzled with pesto oil). It was once again a bit too cheesy but somehow it blended perfectly with the eggplant and tasted delicious.

The main course was easy enough - Risotto a la salmone (carnaroli rice topped with grilled salmon and herbs) and a melanzane pizza (mozzarella, eggplants, zucchini, bell pepper and onion rings). The risotto was blissful while the traditional wood fired pizza with its fresh ingredients was easily one of the best I had had in recent times. A dessert of the old favourite – tiramisu – rounded off what could be described a supremely satisfying meal.

But the good news doesn’t end there. Pompeii has a special three-course Italian set menu for Iftar this Ramadan consisting of an assortment of seasonal salads, lentil soup, freshly baked bread, pasta and dessert. A life pasta station includes a selection of penne arrabiata, trio mushroom fusilli, spaghetti Bolognese all at a reasonable amount of Dhs65 per person.

Indeed, quite a treat if you dig Italian fare for an iftar this Holy month.