MissKIA
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
Sanaa
I've been kind of dreading writing this review. This place just seems to be universally loved on here - especially the bread service.
First off, we had reservations right at 5pm when they opened for dinner. The restaurant was almost empty when we were seated, so we thought we for sure would get a coveted window seat. We did not. We were sat in the middle of the room about 4 tables back from the window. I was slightly disappointed but it wasn't that big of a deal. We could still see out the window, and we were staying at AKL anyway, so it's not like we didn't have chances to see animals at our hotel on a daily basis.
Our waiter was very informative. And when I say that, I mean he spent about 10 minutes explaining every item on the menu, whether we wanted him to or not. I actually felt like I was in a university lecture. It was helpful, but slightly overboard.
Disclaimer: We live in an area that is very populated with people from India. We have many Indian restaurants and stores surrounding us and we can get very good, authentic Indian food any time we want.
To start I ordered the bread service of course with all 9 dips and all traditional naan bread.
Indian-style Bread Service $12.00
Choice of Five Breads - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha, or Paneer Paratha. Choice of Three Accompaniments - Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chuntey, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle
This was quite good, as advertised. I found the naan bread a little crispier than I am used to which is a bit odd. The dips were all good. I liked the mango chutney and I'm not sure, it was either the Tamarind chutney or the coriander chutney, the best. They were all good though.
Carly ordered:
Seasonal Soup $8.00
with Chef's Accompaniments
This was just a tomato bisque if I recall correctly. I'm sorry, I don't remember any more about it!
My Mom ordered:
Shaved Cauliflower Salad $8.00
with crisp Chorizo and Lemon Vinaigrette
This was good. I enjoy interesting salads and this was interesting! The chorizo added a nice unexpected flavour.
These starters alone would have been enough food to get us by for the evening, but we still had our entrees to come!
My Mom and I both ordered:
Potjie Inspired $24.00
Choice of Two - Butter Chicken, Spicy Durban Shrimp, Chickpea Wat, Tomato-spiced Eggs, Paneer Tikka, Cilantro-Coconut Milk Seasonal Vegetables, Goan Seafood Curry, Braised Beef, Lentil Dhal, or Roasted Okra-Cashew-Tomato Stew served with Basmati Rice or Give-Grain Pilaf
We both chose the butter chicken and the braised beef. (sorry for the poor picture). This was good but not very exciting. Granted we probably ordered the least interesting items that are on the list, but there was really no kick or spice at all to either of these. I have had butter chicken countless times in my life and this was by far the most bland butter chicken I've ever had. If you are afraid to eat here because you think it will be too weird or too spicy, DO NOT fear. This is the least scary ethnic food ever. It was good, and I ate it all, but it certainly didn't "wow" me.
Carly ordered:
Braaivleis - South African Braai Sample Plate $32.00
Trio of Grilled Meats with Seasonal Accompaniments
I'm really kicking myself for not continuing to take notes as the week went on because I'm having a hard time now remembering details of some of the things we ate. I don't think she enjoyed too much on this plate, but I know that she ordered it wanting to go out of her comfort zone and try new things so she wasn't really disappointed or anything. She's glad she tried new things and now she knows what she liked and didn't like. I know she didn't like the sausage, but she doesn't generally like sausage anyway, so take that with a grain of salt. I wish the menu description had more info because I don't really remember what was all on this plate. I'm sorry, I'm a bad reviewer.
For dessert, I ordered:
Tapioca Pudding $7.00
Chai-spiced Berries
I love tapioca pudding! This was really good and it actually was interesting. Reading the menu description, I thought the berries were spiced but it was the actual pudding that was spiced. It kind of tasted like a chai tea latte. It was really good and light which I appreciated after so many rich desserts.
I THINK this is
Afrika Povu $7.00
Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse, Madagascar Vanilla Rum Caramel, Kenyan Coffee, and Kalahari Desert Salt
I don't even remember who ordered this, never mind what they thought of it. But here's a picture!
I think my Mom ordered the Tapioca pudding as well so that means Carly ordered this.
That's it for Sanaa. I didn't mind Sanaa, but for me it didn't really live up to the hype. It certainly wasn't bad in any way, (other than the extremely SLOOOWWW service ) but it just wasn't every thing I'd hoped it would be.
I realize the last couple of reviews have been a bit negative, but please don't hate me. It gets better.
Would I return to Sanaa? MAYBE
I wouldn't go out of my way to go there again, but would go if someone I was with wanted to try it out.
Up Next: 50's Prime Time and Carly's 21st Birthday!
I've been kind of dreading writing this review. This place just seems to be universally loved on here - especially the bread service.
First off, we had reservations right at 5pm when they opened for dinner. The restaurant was almost empty when we were seated, so we thought we for sure would get a coveted window seat. We did not. We were sat in the middle of the room about 4 tables back from the window. I was slightly disappointed but it wasn't that big of a deal. We could still see out the window, and we were staying at AKL anyway, so it's not like we didn't have chances to see animals at our hotel on a daily basis.
Our waiter was very informative. And when I say that, I mean he spent about 10 minutes explaining every item on the menu, whether we wanted him to or not. I actually felt like I was in a university lecture. It was helpful, but slightly overboard.
Disclaimer: We live in an area that is very populated with people from India. We have many Indian restaurants and stores surrounding us and we can get very good, authentic Indian food any time we want.
To start I ordered the bread service of course with all 9 dips and all traditional naan bread.
Indian-style Bread Service $12.00
Choice of Five Breads - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kucha, or Paneer Paratha. Choice of Three Accompaniments - Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chuntey, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle
This was quite good, as advertised. I found the naan bread a little crispier than I am used to which is a bit odd. The dips were all good. I liked the mango chutney and I'm not sure, it was either the Tamarind chutney or the coriander chutney, the best. They were all good though.
Carly ordered:
Seasonal Soup $8.00
with Chef's Accompaniments
This was just a tomato bisque if I recall correctly. I'm sorry, I don't remember any more about it!
My Mom ordered:
Shaved Cauliflower Salad $8.00
with crisp Chorizo and Lemon Vinaigrette
This was good. I enjoy interesting salads and this was interesting! The chorizo added a nice unexpected flavour.
These starters alone would have been enough food to get us by for the evening, but we still had our entrees to come!
My Mom and I both ordered:
Potjie Inspired $24.00
Choice of Two - Butter Chicken, Spicy Durban Shrimp, Chickpea Wat, Tomato-spiced Eggs, Paneer Tikka, Cilantro-Coconut Milk Seasonal Vegetables, Goan Seafood Curry, Braised Beef, Lentil Dhal, or Roasted Okra-Cashew-Tomato Stew served with Basmati Rice or Give-Grain Pilaf
We both chose the butter chicken and the braised beef. (sorry for the poor picture). This was good but not very exciting. Granted we probably ordered the least interesting items that are on the list, but there was really no kick or spice at all to either of these. I have had butter chicken countless times in my life and this was by far the most bland butter chicken I've ever had. If you are afraid to eat here because you think it will be too weird or too spicy, DO NOT fear. This is the least scary ethnic food ever. It was good, and I ate it all, but it certainly didn't "wow" me.
Carly ordered:
Braaivleis - South African Braai Sample Plate $32.00
Trio of Grilled Meats with Seasonal Accompaniments
I'm really kicking myself for not continuing to take notes as the week went on because I'm having a hard time now remembering details of some of the things we ate. I don't think she enjoyed too much on this plate, but I know that she ordered it wanting to go out of her comfort zone and try new things so she wasn't really disappointed or anything. She's glad she tried new things and now she knows what she liked and didn't like. I know she didn't like the sausage, but she doesn't generally like sausage anyway, so take that with a grain of salt. I wish the menu description had more info because I don't really remember what was all on this plate. I'm sorry, I'm a bad reviewer.
For dessert, I ordered:
Tapioca Pudding $7.00
Chai-spiced Berries
I love tapioca pudding! This was really good and it actually was interesting. Reading the menu description, I thought the berries were spiced but it was the actual pudding that was spiced. It kind of tasted like a chai tea latte. It was really good and light which I appreciated after so many rich desserts.
I THINK this is
Afrika Povu $7.00
Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse, Madagascar Vanilla Rum Caramel, Kenyan Coffee, and Kalahari Desert Salt
I don't even remember who ordered this, never mind what they thought of it. But here's a picture!
I think my Mom ordered the Tapioca pudding as well so that means Carly ordered this.
That's it for Sanaa. I didn't mind Sanaa, but for me it didn't really live up to the hype. It certainly wasn't bad in any way, (other than the extremely SLOOOWWW service ) but it just wasn't every thing I'd hoped it would be.
I realize the last couple of reviews have been a bit negative, but please don't hate me. It gets better.
Would I return to Sanaa? MAYBE
I wouldn't go out of my way to go there again, but would go if someone I was with wanted to try it out.
Up Next: 50's Prime Time and Carly's 21st Birthday!
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