Min Zaman Lebanese Restaurant

Min Zaman is the Lebanese restaurant at Al Ain Rotana and the city's most established destination for a proper Levantine dinner with live entertainment. The name translates to "a bygone era" and the room is styled accordingly, in warm woods and soft lamplight, with a second dining area on the garden terrace beside the pool that many regulars prefer for shisha. The signature evening runs long: dinner followed by an Arabic singer and belly dancer from around 11pm into the early hours on weekends, making it as much a late-night destination as a restaurant. The kitchen's strongest position is the Min Zaman Formula, a four-course set menu that opens with an elaborate cold-mezze spread, moves through hot mezze, then to a main course of choice, and closes with a fruit platter and dessert. Within that spread the kibbeh, raw kebbe, chicken livers in pomegranate molasses, babaghanoush (served with the aubergine left in chunks and scattered with pomegranate seeds), and the grilled halloumi are the standout plates. Main courses to order are the marinated lamb chops, the lamb kofta in grilled tomato sauce, and the mashawi seafood platter for larger groups. Portions are genuinely generous; three diners will eat comfortably from two mains. Prices sit above the street-level Lebanese places in Al Ain but remain fair for the setting, and the Rotana Rewards card improves the value materially. Service, anchored by managers Gaby (currently) and Ibrahim before him, with Issam, Amjad, Karim, Sayed and Assem recurring on the floor, and shisha masters Shahdat and Hussein notable for their attention to the coal, leans warm and professional. Two honest caveats: the smoke and live-music volume escalate sharply after 11pm so early diners should finish before then for a quieter evening, and the Christmas and New Year's Eve set-menu nights have drawn inconsistent feedback. Book the pool-terrace seating when weather allows.