Name: Solidaire
Price range: $$$
Rating: 4.4

Description

Solidaire is a Levantine restaurant and shisha cafe at Hili Mall in Al Ain, trading in the kind of expansive Lebanese, Syrian and Egyptian menu that draws families, friends and long weekend tables. The kitchen is led by Syrian chefs, and authenticity shows in the mezze and grills: hummus, fattoush, shanklish, waraq inab and fatteh anchor the cold and hot starters, while mains reach toward harder-to-find specialities like musakhan, mansaf and a signature roast lamb. The ouzi - filo-wrapped spiced rice with minced meat and pulled lamb - is a standout, and lamb chops and the shawarma platter are reliable orders. The weekday lunch offer, pairing two mezze, a salad and a main for a fixed price, delivers unusually generous portions and is the most sensible way in at lunchtime. Ingredients are fresh, seasoning leans toward the aromatic side of Levantine cooking (cardamom, clove) rather than heat, and the home-style presentation suits a long, shared meal. The room is large, high-ceilinged and split between a non-smoking interior and a covered patio given over to shisha. The shisha area is the bigger of the two, well-ventilated but unmistakably part of the experience; if you prefer a quieter seat, ask for a wall table away from the centre of the room, and note that scent occasionally drifts into the main dining area. Service is attentive and warm under a good floor manager, though a few visits report patchy pacing on dessert courses and timing that stretches when the room fills. Pricing sits toward the higher end for Al Ain, which is the most common caveat, but for a properly Levantine dinner with shisha and televised football on the side, Solidaire is among the more ambitious options in the city.

Guest Reviews

4.3

Excellent

26 reviews

amsherry5.0

4 days ago

Enjoyed a lovely Iftar with friends. Service staff was very attentive. Good food and drinks in a quiet atmosphere. Value Service Food Review collected in partnership with this restaurant

Praha L4.0

4 days ago

So basically this is a cafe/restaurant with Levant cuisine mainly and shisha. They have indoor seating if you don’t want to want to be in the smoking section. The outdoor part is not really ‘outdoors’. It’s a big closed patio-like area. The very high ceilings give the area a nice dramatic effect in addition to how well-ventilated the place is because of them. Now the food; that’s why I came here in the first place 😬 I was staying at a nearby hotel and wanted to have lunch. Looking at the menu, the waitress pointed out their lunch offer. A choice of two cold mezzes (appetizers) a salad and a main course for 55dhs. She mentioned they were small portions, enough for one person. I was in for a surprise... the appetizers were not that mini 🙈 and the main course was almighty full portion. I went for Hummus, waraq inab (stuffed vine leaves), and fattoush salad. For the main, I went with the waitress’ recommendation and ordered the ouzi (filo pastry stuffed with spiced rice, minced meat, and pulled lamb, then baked to crisp up the pastry) 😋 Taste test: passed with flying colours! The ouzi was amazing... the rice was spiced well (the way I like), - note: these are middle eastern spices: cardamom and cloves as opposed to hot chili, curry or cayenne... the side of cucumber yoghurt salad was a nice addition as well. The vine leaves were nice; rice and leaves cooked well. Hummus, nice. My only comment would be that the fattoush was a bit too soaked in the dressing, as I kind of like the veggies to be more on the crispy side. They apparently have another location in Al Jimi mall, which is probably closer if you are coming from Abu Dhabi, as Hili Mall is at the side going to Dubai. Also, I noticed they were on Talabat, so may be they can deliver if you’re staying at a hotel further from the two malls. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with my discovery of food, atmosphere and pleasant service. Note: the lunch offer runs from noon until 4:00 pm.

Dr.Ahmed Khairy1.0

4 days ago

My review is regarding JIMI mall branch. On their opening food was great and tasty plus plate portion was good. After our THIRD visit we started to notice that food portions became lesser and taste is not as good as before. I strongly do not recommend it at all

Solidaire

Description

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