Shamseen Bakeries

Shamseen Bakeries is a spacious, modern Arabic bakery and all-day bakehouse in Al Nahda, beside Al Ansar Mall, that covers an impressive amount of ground - manakish, fatayer, feteer, pizzas, Lebanese-style breads, Arabic sweets, cakes and patisserie all turn out of the same kitchen. The room is bright and family-friendly, with generous indoor seating and an outdoor terrace that comes into its own in the evenings, when the lighting and the steady flow of families give the place a warm, lived-in feel. Parking is straightforward, both in front and alongside the building. The bakery side is the clear strength. The live oven turns out a rotating stream of manakish and fatayer, with the Lahm b'Ajeen (meat-topped flatbread, no cheese) standing out for its crisp crust and well-judged spice mix. The sujuk bi ajeen, mixed-meat manakish roll and the feteer are all worth ordering fresh, and the Arabic sweets and freshly baked breads round out an unusually broad counter. Pizzas come in a wide range of toppings at accessible prices. A cup of Turkish coffee, prepared properly, is the logical companion. A few honest caveats. Service can be slow when the room fills up, with multiple regulars finding they need to flag down a server more than once during busy evenings. Consistency is the bigger question: while the manakish and fatayer coming straight from the oven are reliable, later-hour pizzas and some orders - particularly takeaway and custom requests - have turned out underbaked or carelessly assembled on off-days. The pastry counter is more of a mixed bag than the savoury side. Come for the fresh-from-oven Arabic breads and manakish, a slice of feteer, and a late-evening sweet - at peak bakery hours, that is what this kitchen does best.