Italian food in the Sahara desert? Can Serenity Resorts deliver on a high expectation of this very specific cuisine?
Restaurant Name: Al Dente, Italian Cuisine
Address: Serenity Fun City, 36 Km, Safaga Road, Makadi Bay, Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt
Note: This is an independent restaurant review based on my experience.
It should be pointed out before I start my review, I am a huge Italy fan – both cuisine and culture. That being said, here is my experience in Al Dente, an À la carte restaurant in the Serenity Fun City all inclusive hotel.
To learn how the specialty restaurants function, click here.
We arrived on time for our 7:30 pm reservation and were promptly greeted by our host; the entrance is warm and inviting. He led us to our table set in a charming brick walled dining room with open kitchen, high ceilings and soft lighting. I really like the charming atmosphere.
Our server introduced himself and promptly brought us a bread basket water and wine, as per our order. Moustafa deserves special recognition – he was remarkable. Our water was continuously refilled, always with a big smile. We noticed him often through out our stay, always friendly, outgoing and efficient. Thank you Moustafa for making our stay extra special. Now on to the food!
Salad
Caprese, pieces of tomatoes, mozarella cheese and herbs. Served with basil sauce and balsamic reduction – nice presentation, but flavourless.
Arugula, Shrimps and arugula salad with olive oil dressing – fresh and good, this is the one to choose
Soup
Tomato Cream with Basil – slightly spicy, satisfactory flavour
Minestrone – clear vegetable broth with vegetables, it was very good
Entrée
Pizza – choices include Margarita, Mushroom, Tuna or Vegetarian. We chose the Margarita which was very cheesy. For pizza lovers who have never been to Italy, you will probably like this house made pizza. For us, it was a very good pimped bread! (note: we snuck this in as a 3rd appetizer)
Petto de Polo al Fungi, Stuffed Chicken Breast with Mushroom, cheese Mozzarella, Sage – tasty, good but not great
Veal Piccata a la Lemon, served with Potato Puree and Grilled Zucchini – the young tender beef topped with a delightfully creamy lemon sauce was excellent. Grilled zucchini is always a favourite of mine and this did not disappoint. The mashed potatoes were possibly instant potatoes, but if they were not, good job.
Dessert
Tiramisu – light and fluffy, this is not as usually presented, but was non the less good. Coffee sprinkled white mousse topping chocolate cake – what’s not to like?
Ice Cream Fruit Salad – a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream on top of fresh fruit salad. Too boring for me, but my husband loves it!
On our first visit, yes, we enjoyed it enough to visit twice, special attention was given to the plating, resulting in beautiful works of food art delivered to the table. The chef showed true love for his job and for the guest experience.
On our second visit, the dining area was smoky, the food mediocre, the courses rushed and served incorrectly. We had ordered a pizza to share with our table of four as a third course, which was understood the first time, but it arrived with our entrees, thus our main meal ended up cold by the time we were ready to eat. Neither were the plates presented with the finesse of the first visit. Needless to say it was a disappointment compared to the first time and an embarrassment because we had told friends about how good it was.
Location: Africa > North East Africa > Middle East > Egypt > Hurghada > Makadi Bay > Serenity Hotels & Resorts > Serenity Fun City Hotel > Al Dente Italian Restaurant
