Restaurant review: The Pavilion

The Pavilion restaurant is located in MBD (near Jumbo Electronics), and it serves the choicest of Indian and Chinese dishes. Pavilion, which has a chain of restaurants in Dubai, diversified into Muscat earlier this year. The restaurant’s interior has a reflection of southern India, with intricate wooden carvings and bronze statues. The colourful lighting inside is done mostly to suit the Chinese-theme on its menu, in all probability.

Since we visited the restaurant on a weekend, most of the prime tables were booked. The rush was partly due to Ramadan-related ‘renovations’ being carried out by restaurants like Woodlands and Khyber in CBD. We were made to sit close to the main entrance, which was not too comfortable a place to sit on your first visit.

For starters, we had tandoori chicken and south-Indian fried prawns. The chicken was very delectable, and grilled to perfection. The prawns were densely coated with masala, and very spicy. My daughter was very disappointed. She likes the golden fried prawns at Golden Oryx, and expected something on those lines at Pavilion. Finally, she did manage to tuck in a few without the masala coating.

For main course, we ordered fish curry (hammour fish) and steamed rice. Fish curry was pungent and nicely done, and it had the Hyderabadi-touch to it. Lately, I have started a liking for hammour. Happy with tandoori chicken, we ordered more round, and it took an effort to polish if off (we were very full then). Daughter wanted a dessert, and so came in the luscious piping-hot gulab jamun.

We didn’t try any of the Chinese items. Most of the dishes are priced between RO1.8 and RO4.5. The portions are not huge, and may be a good eater can gobble up a plate of tandoori chicken, alone!

For three starters, two main course items, and a dessert, our bill came up to RO11.5. Not bad at all. The service was good and ambience very pleasing. Pavilion is in the same league as Woodlands in terms of pricing, and they don’t serve liquor unlike the latter.