Rainbow Steak House

Despite the name, Rainbow Steak House is a sprawling Sharjah buffet restaurant rather than a Western-style steakhouse - a long-running Abu Shagara institution that has been feeding the city's families, office groups and party tables since the early 2000s. The dining room is spacious and divided into curtained and panelled sections that give larger groups a measure of privacy, and the crowd leans local and regular. Recent renovations have freshened up the space, though the overall look remains more functional than fashionable. The buffet is the main event, running to roughly a hundred dishes that cross Arabic, Indian, Chinese and continental territory. The live grill is the section worth building a meal around - freshly fried prawns, salmon, squid and grilled-to-order shrimp are consistently the highlights, and it is worth flagging the chef at the counter and asking for them cooked spicier. Indian dishes carry a lot of the menu: biryani (the mandi biryani is a particular draw), tandoori chicken, phadi chicken tikka, dal and fresh breads are dependable. Salads are wide-ranging and attractively presented, and desserts include the Umm Ali, which regulars tend to single out, alongside mango mousse, kheer and gulab jamun. Expect to pay in the region of 69 to 89 AED per head, with soft drinks typically charged separately. Quality can be uneven. Several regulars of many years feel the buffet has thinned out a little over time - fewer premium items, the occasional dish that has sat under the heat lamp, seekh kebabs that turn firm late in service - and the seating can feel cramped during peak hours. Weekends fill up fast and queues at the grill form quickly, so arriving on the earlier side is the smarter play. Come for generous variety, strong live-grill seafood and honest value for a family gathering or group celebration rather than for refinement; on those terms, it still delivers.