Breakfast at Fujairah’s New Faseel Restaurant

Believing that breakfast is the best meal of the day and with many reasons to celebrate life we dined this morning at Fujairah’s newest eating house, the Faseel Restaurant, in the suburb of Faseel.

Location
The restaurant is on the ground floor of the new Siji Hotel Apartments which used to be called the Faseel Towers. It is part of the Siji Hotel in Fujairah’s main street.

Coming from Fujairah it is on Al Nakheel Road just before you get to the coffee pot roundabout and it is opposite the mosque. The restaurant has an access from the outside car park as well as internal doors for guests coming down from their apartments.

Fresh and Clean
Being only two months old the restaurant has a bright and clean appearance. The furniture, crockery and equipment are good quality. The waiters and chef are new to this facility and are eager to offer a pleasing and efficient service.

From the reception desk one looks to the end of the restaurant where there is an open kitchen at which you can order some cooked dishes that are part of the buffet breakfast.

Food
The chef cooked for us a tasty omelette and then some sausages and beef bacon. One of the distinctive things about this buffet is that less is precooked and sitting under warmers so one asks the chef to cook what you would like to eat. We were unsure what they will cook as part of the buffet but our question sprang from there being a small and unusual range of food under the warmers. They did have some delicious potato wedges. The range of bread and fruit was narrow compared with other breakfast buffets being offered in the city. The porridge was thin and watery as was the baked beans. The coffee was good.

Ambience
This is a small and intimate restaurant but it feels spacious when there are few diners. At 6.30am (on this Tuesday morning) there was only one other diner in the restaurant and most of the time we had the restaurant to ourselves. There is no signage on the outside announcing to the public the presence of the restaurant nor are there signs before each food warmer indicating what is inside.

Cost
The total cost of the buffet breakfast is Dh90.00 per person (Dh75.00 plus municipality taxes and service charges). As a contrast the Hilton Hotel, a stone’s throw away and with a view of the pool and beach, charges a total of Dh78.00 and the range of food there is much greater.

In Summary
Quality of food—Good
Menu selection/Variety—Inadequate to Average
Quality of Service—Excellent
Promptness of Service—Excellent
General Environment—Good
Value for Money—Low to average

Teething Issues
This restaurant is new so it may be going through some startup challenges with personnel learning to cater to an unpredictable and growing number of guests. The impression gained might be quite different on a second visit at a later date.

The Faseel Restaurant for breakfast is certainly worth checking out as a new eating establishment and to give a break from your regular spot. Try them out for lunch and dinner. The telephone number is 09 2232222 and email: sijiapt[@]emi.ae

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: Some shots of the Faseel Restaurant including my omelette and some delicious lychees that we had on our cereal and yoghurt.