Brunching for kids: Sofra at Shangri-La dishes up an experience that delivers

REVIEW: Abu Dhabi World sends writer David Young and his family to a family-friendly brunch where his kids’ oohs and aahs set the tone for a delightful afternoon.

words David Young

“Who lives in there?” my six-year-old daughter Greta asks as we approach the long incline leading up to the lofty entrance ofthe Shangri-L a, Qaryat Al Beri. “Is it a palace, Dad?”

The gradient of the ramped driveway does play with your perspective. By the time we reach the top, there is a barrage of oohs and the aahs from the back of the car and a jangle of questions about what lies in store for us.

Once inside, the captivation grows. My eight-year-old son, Harvey, enthralled by the chandelier and mezzanine, is in no rush to locate the brunch buffet. Instead, he wants to marvel at the lobby’s Arabesque architecture, imagining a Middle Eastern Hogwarts.

The hotel’s Arabesque style in all it’s glory.

I glance at the reception and a concierge smiles and signals a path to the Sofra restaurant on the floor below. Turning left, we encounter an extraordinarily wide staircase that could easily accommodate a royal entourage, magnified even more by the enormous wall-mounted mirrors.

With one final flight to go on our descent, the buffet comes into view. Standing on the turn, we view the span of Sofra’s dining room to the front, Maqta Canal in the background, and the Grand Mosque, presiding over matters, in the distance.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Wheeling around to the buffet side, we witness a fusion of food and dishes being whipped into shape for a horde of hungry diners, all behaving impeccably well, minding their Ps and Qs, and keeping their social distances.

In neat lines, they file from food station to station, pointing out their bounty, ably aided by a fleet of white-clad chefs and dapper hospitality managers. The exchanges are gentle and unobtrusive and choreographed to ensure a safe flow through the buffet, which they do.

Mouths open behind our masks, we arrive at the foot of the stairs and are promptly greeted and whisked to our table, given our bearings, and promised attention on tap. We take a moment to spectate our surroundings and appreciate the Sofra in full flight. Then we brace ourselves and enter the fray.

After circling the buffet stations a dozen times, my wife Fiona and I wave at each other, both being led by the hand by our six and eight year olds, and decide it’s time to anchor and ask for a plate. Be warned. The sugar beacon dessert booth in the buffet epicentre catches the attention of younger eyes, with gushing chocolate displays, a moon-sized ice-cream fridge, and a blush of cake treats.

The food stations generously yield their bounty.

Leaning away from this temptation, the first stop is the salad bar, where we contemplate filling our plates entirely with zesty, complex-looking garden combinations, and retiring early to our table. It looks that inviting.

You should know – the world of buffets has been revamped and this is where you’ll appreciate it first. Instead of you spooning your portions, a server kindly does it for you, due to Covid-19 safety restrictions. Let’s face it – they know more about portion sizes than we do (and can save you from exploding.)

Servers ready to dish up the flavours of the day.

What this really means is that everything is perfectly fresh, as if served as a starter directly to your table. The kitchen team relentlessly prepares fresh platters to meet the steady demand of diners. And so, bulk serving bowls no longer populate buffet fronts; in their place, you find bespoke displays being replenished right up to closing time.

The rewards are there to be tasted. Just try the Fattoush and savour the freshness of leaves cut per plate. Right alongside stands the sushi station and you ought to stop. Sofra has hit on a Japanese and Chinese fusion that’s more than worth the double take. ‘Peking Duck’ Sushi – a unique offering not found elsewhere teases your senses with the unexpected. (Note that the Shangri-La’s famed Shang Palace flanks one side of Sofra Bld.)

 

A little further along the salad and sushi line, you find phenomenal seafood – from Fine de Claire French oysters and huge orange crabs, boiled to take the scary look off them, to the delicacies of cold shrimp and octopus. If you prefer, you can simply defer to the much-loved lobster and oysters selection. Of course, there’s always tuna, bream and sea bass from the hot side of the house.

Phenomenal seafood is for the taking.

Nearby, take in the Chinese soup station, serving up a selection of noodles, before you stop at the international end, equipped with soups, pastas and homely roast lamb. Here too, for the adventurous, there is a must-try spaghetti and calamari-ink dish. Make sure you ask for it – the kids will love the blackened look.

The Tandoori oven awaits and its marinated chicken deserves a place on your plate. The vegetable curry and spiced lady fingers are too hard to leave behind, not to mention the Chicken Mandi dish next door. Look over your shoulder for Arabic Ouzi, with its incredibly slow-cooked lamb, served with nut-sprinkled rice.

At the charcoal, Sofra’s Syrian chef fires up marinated Iranian kebabs and his team hypnotizes the buffet queue line into a state of calm. Some of the audience haven’t even got an edge left on their shrinking plates, yet they pause to watch.

With no idea of how we’ll fit it all in, as a quartet, we proceed with an order for a pizza – to share, of course. Everyone nodding at each other, famished. Unprompted, our chef asks where we’re sitting seated and says he’ll find us and he does so, within minutes.

Leave space and time to navigate your return for the desserts. Tiered layers of fantasy wedge-shaped confections sit neatly next to the fun stuff – marshmallows and chocolate fountains. Spin around to other side and you can watch the dessert chef artfully fold crepes or flip pancakes and waffles onto your plate.

He can also tuck in a scoop of ice-cream if you like. With a spectrum of flavours to choose from, you will probably be only inches away from knocking yourself out.

Don’t worry. To get attention at the Sofra takes nothing more than the subtle nod or wink you’d spy at an art auction. I barely twitch an eyebrow and a tall, suited gent from the floor team, called Borja, turns our way and greets us as if we’re Friday regulars.

After a brief exchange with Harvey and Greta, Borja excuses himself, only to reappear moments later, with two virgin Margarita Frozé cocktails, a his and hers of lemon and cranberry, for the VIP guests. Cue celebrations and clinking of glasses by the juniors as if they’ve just won at Yas Marina Circuit.

As the brunch winds down at 4pm, we gather ourselves and head outdoors. With pool and beach access till sundown, we hit the sand first. Of course, Harvey and Greta have to test one of the pools before we’re done for the day. And as the sun sets and we gingerly make our way back down the Shangri-La’s sloping driveway, the oohs and aahs return.

“Imagine if we lived here,” comes a voice from the back of the car. My wife and I look at each other, thinking the same thing.

Yes, after a day like this, it would be idyllic.

Need to know

Sofra Friday Brunch is inclusive of beach and pool access:
AED 279 inclusive of soft beverages, AED 349 inclusive of grape, hops and mixes, AED 459 inclusive of bubbly. Children under the age of six can enjoy buffet meals free of charge. Children six years and older but below 12 years of age receive a 50% discount on the buffet price. Back to school promotion: for September and October, children up to the age of 12 eat free when accompanied by an adult (Two kids per paying adult).

Shangri-La Hotel Qaryat Al Beri, Abu Dhabi, contact: 02 509 8630,
email: reservations.slad@shangri-la.com 

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