Souryana Restaurant And Café

Souryana Restaurant And Cafe is a Syrian restaurant on the Ajman Corniche that has built a devoted following in its relatively short time open. The room is warm and theatrical without tipping into pastiche, with traditional textiles, an orange-tree fountain, lines of Nizar Qabbani's poetry on the walls and live Arabic music running most evenings. Hostesses in Syrian national dress meet guests at the door, and the general manager typically works the floor, which sets a tone of genuine hospitality from the first minute. The kitchen sits at the crossroads of classic Levantine cooking and modern crowd-pleasers. The mezze section is the place to start, with hummus, baba ghanouj, fattoush and the lentil soup all reliably well made, and the grilled dishes form the heart of the main course. The Souryana mixed grill, shish taouk, kebabs and lobster are the orders that get repeated most often, and the kunafa is the dessert to finish on. Portions are genuinely generous, the kitchen will happily pack leftovers to take away, and pricing is notably fair for the quality, generally landing around USD 35 to 40 per head. There is an outdoor shisha terrace for guests who want to linger, and a daily Ramadan buffet runs in season. Service is the other reason regulars return. The floor team is attentive without hovering, good at guiding first-time guests through the menu, and known for small grace notes such as complimentary tea and sweets at the end of the meal. Fair caveats: the music can run a little loud at peak hours, and a dish is occasionally sent out less than piping hot. Neither is enough to unsettle what is one of the more complete and characterful Syrian tables in the northern emirates.