The Garden Brunch offered by Bab Al Shams is one of those brunches where you see money well spent. The open air Garden Brunch at Bab Al Shams is a perfect choice for a family brunch where the kids and adults equally enjoy their brunch. A brunch which is not just about eating but rather an experience with plenty of entertainment on the way such as games, face painting, bouncy castle, a petting zoo, magician that entertains table by table, camel riding, pony rides and a LIVE band playing continuous music throughout the brunch. There was plenty to eat, with a vast selection of cuisines from all around the world, which also included a separate kids buffet and dessert section.
Pricing would be as follows:
- AED 385 per person, including soft beverages and fresh juices
- AED 575 per person, including house beverages
- AED 192.50 per child between 6 and 12 years old
- One nanny and children 5 years and under dine with compliments
Timing: Every Friday 1:00pm – 4:00pm
The brunch is actually hosted at Al Forsan restaurant in Bab Al Shams. It’s interesting to find a long stretch of grass in a Resort that is located deep in the desert. For activities such as came riding, horse riding, petting station you walk to the sands to enjoy them. Rest of the show such as the LIVE stage music, bouncy castle, LIVE cooking stations, eating happens on their garden. The spread of the buffet is so vast that you need to utilize the 3 hours available. The Asian cooking station is only one station found at the Garden, rest of the buffet spread is hosted inside. All BBQ and Grills also happens in open air. Diners also have the option to sit in the open air garden or can opt to sit inside. The outside seating is covered by shade so makes it convenient to eat on a sunny day. Considering the amount of crowd, the service has been efficient. The buffet was smooth flowing, the plates on tables were taken out on time and you always find the waiters when you need them.
Kids were happy to be part of The Garden Brunch. They had plenty to eat and play. Most of the time they would spend time trying to get their hands on the gaming console which is available as part of their open air entertainment. The next would be the bouncy castle. The petting station was another attraction for the kids where they get to play and touch the little animals. There were birds as well. The magician would visit table by table and entertain diners with his magic tricks. He is a comedian too, so it was a 2 in 1 show. His last act for the day was for everyone to enjoy together, where he imitates a pet in his hand which was really funny and those who were there had a great time laughing during the show. Often you can find kids up on the sand dunes running around or making sand castles. The popcorn and the candy station was another attraction for the kids in the garden.
The Indian station had an amazing array of starters and grills. The Indian station begins with a collection of Raita(atleast more than 10 varities of Raita). The paratas were really tempting and were of different kinds such as the plain, Aloo or paneer stuffed. I thoroughly enjoyed the chicken and the big cube shaped paneer tikka kebab. You also had a selection of traditional chat, pokoda and samosa. Along with the tikka kebabs, the mutton biriyani and the butter chicken were in high demand from the Indian Station.
Other specialties that we enjoyed at the Asian Station would be the Satays, dimsums and flavourful curries such as the green and red. Satays would be of chicken, prawn, beef, fish or vegetable. The satays were frequently skewered and grilled, but we never had to wait. The BBQ chicken bun dimsum was cute and heavy so we tried to share the dumplings so we have some space for the other parts of the buffet.
From the English Carvery, the braised beef cheeks, beef briskets and short ribs are a must try. The steaks here have been not very tender for some reason from this station, it was rather dry. You’ve got plenty of sauces to make your meats better such as creole, barbecue, ravigote, chimchurri, remoulate so on. There was also a rabbit stew which was an interesting one. I didn’t dare to try it but there were others who were quite excited to try it.
The Arabic Station had the classic cold Mezzeh and hot appetizers(kibbeh & Sambousek mainly). There were different kinds of Manakish. The shawarma meat was irresistible. You would also find skewers of Lamb, beef, Fish, chicken. It could be a kebab, Kofta or a Tauk. We enjoyed these Arabic skewers than the Asian Satay skewers. In the center of the station you find Arabic dishes in earthen pot such as the Fish Tagine, chicken Moghrabieh, Kafta Bil Saniyeh, Iranian rice and Couscous.
The cheese station was actually a paradise of Cheese. We haven’t seen such a big spread of cheese in a buffet. It was amazing. Cheese from different countries mainly from France, Italy and England. You would also find crackers, nut and fruits in here. The jams that were available for the cheese were luscious and made the cheese even better.
There was a big room dedicated just for green salads and along with a side dedicated just for dressing(French, Balsamic, 1000 island, honey mustard, olive oil, cocktail sauce etc). The vegetables were also beautiful cut and some with their roots intact which made them look so pretty. There were also plenty of Cold cuts such as Beef Bresaola Black Angus, Bresaola Di Tacchino, Pastrami, Carpaccio di Bresaola, Salame milano, Beef Spianata Picante, Tacchino Arrosto Lombardia, Mortadella, Truffle Chorizo, Salami Casalingo. Veal Prociutto, Beef Lomo Whole, Wagyu Peppercorn Salami, Wagyu Coppa, Wagyu Pancia, Wagyu Chorizo, Wagyu Bresaola.
There was a combination of hot and cold desserts. From the pastry table you would find different kinds of cakes, pies, tarts. They also had custom made chocolates. The blueberry cheese cake was a nice one. Also the Turkish Ice cream that was available in chocolate and vanilla flavour was a hot seller. If you visit the dessert counter in the last hour of the brunch there is a chance you could miss a few cause not all remain till the end. Surprisingly there isn’t any hot drinks covered in AED 385 brunch package. So there is an extra you had to pay if you wanted hot drinks. Overall, it has been a very satisfying family brunch. Click pictures below to see them in full screen view:
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