MANDARIN ORIENTAL MUSCAT
Oman
On the coastline of Shatti Al-Qurum, Mandarin Oriental, Muscat opened on 3 June 2024, with a dining offer built around Italian, Mediterranean and international cuisine. Silverfox Studios designed the hotel's food and beverage outlets: Rawya, the all-day restaurant, The Pool Bar, Essenza, the Italian restaurant and bar, and The Mandarin Cake Shop.
Rawya was designed as an elegant European café with subtle Eastern accents: casually elegant, lively and vibrant, and planned to handle volume across breakfast, lunch and dinner. Rather than one fixed room, the plan is divided into zones, each offering a different experience at different times of day, and connected to indoor and outdoor patios and gardens. Seating groups can be rearranged, and the semi-private areas work as extensions of the restaurant rather than separate rooms. Seating was maximised for breakfast and for Friday brunch.
Breakfast combines hot à la carte dishes with a cold buffet of premium cold cuts, cereals and cheeses, set out on a large contemporary marble table. Bread baskets go to the table straight from the oven. At lunch and dinner, warm breads arrive with dips such as hummus, mutabal and tzatziki.
Rawya's entrance is anchored by a juice bar and bakery serving artisanal bread, French patisserie, and freshly blended and squeezed seasonal juices. It sits within a black steel and glass structure with perforated metal panels and a marble-clad counter, over a black and white hexagonal mosaic floor that spells out "Welcome" at the threshold.
The dining hall is intended as an elegant, casual and chic place to unwind, with the feel of a boutique resort. It is set under a backlit timber ceiling crossed by dark beams, with an open kitchen in view of the tables. Black steel shelving holds plants and glassware, and woven chairs surround marble-topped tables on a geometric marble floor.
Along the edge of the restaurant, the veranda creates a different setting within the same outlet: a sloping timber ceiling, steel and glass framing, dense planting, a leaf-relief feature wall, and timber and rattan chairs. Beyond it sit a garden dining area, two private dining rooms and a children's ice cream area.
The Pool Bar is set by the resort's 30-metre infinity pool overlooking the Gulf of Oman, alongside a dedicated children's pool, private cabanas and the hotel's own stretch of beach. Open from sunrise to sunset, it serves light bites, fresh salads and handcrafted drinks through the day. From the pool area, guests can walk straight through to Essenza.
Essenza sits within an old section of the original building, a strong Italian stone mansion. The design retains the existing qualities of the mansion, with its exposed stone walls, whitewashed ceiling timbers and dark timber beams, and creates new bar and restaurant experiences within it, setting Essenza apart from a typical hotel dining offer.
The restaurant takes its cue from Italian regions such as Tuscany, interpreted in a modern, contemporary way, with high-end fittings and furnishings in a relaxed but sophisticated setting. Simple wood-topped tables with casual seating carry the Tuscan feel, and a terrace, separated from the interior by open bi-fold windows, meets the seasonal demand for outdoor seating. Guests can arrive through a foyer from the hotel or directly from the pool area.
Essenza's kitchen is open to the dining room and organised in four sections. An antipasti table at the entrance displays aperitivo dishes and first courses as guests walk in. A pastry and bakery section follows. The pass and hot kitchen are built around a charcoal grill and a wood-burning oven, with steaks flamed over olive stones. The main kitchen includes the barista, fresh juices and the service bar. A dedicated pizza oven and pasta room complete the line.
The menu was planned as light, seasonal Italian cooking rather than a traditionally heavy one: antipasti, flatbreads and pizza, saltimbocca and scaloppine, pasta and risotto, alongside Italian steakhouse and seafood dishes, served family-style.
On the level above the restaurant, Essenza Bar is arranged around a central bar island, with a balcony lounge wrapping around it. Wine is given prominent display for selection and sale. The mansion's exposed stone walls and timber beams continue from the restaurant below, furnished with walnut counters and leather and upholstered armchairs.
