(Updated again on October 28, 2011. Scroll down)

I love Andhra food and when my friend told me a few weeks back that a new Andhra restaurant was set to open in Al Khuwair, I was mighty thrilled. Back in Bangalore, I used to frequent the likes of Bheema’s, Nandhini and Nagarjuna quite often to savour the succulent chicken dum biriyani or the tangy chicken 65 or plain meal which comes with fiery chutneys and mouthwatering rasam. Not that I love super spicy food regularly, but somehow Andhra cuisine has been a favourite with me.

Sankranti is the new restaurant in town serving authentic Andha and other Indian cuisine. Located in Al Khuwair (behind McDonald’s), the restaurant is tastefully done in terms of décor, seating and lighting. I was very impressed with glass bangles decked as part of lighting on the ceiling along with colorful pieces of silk cloth with kancheepuram zari border to give the place an ethnic touch.

The restaurant has two floors including a party hall on the top, but as of now only the ground floor is operational. Sankranti is part of a chain which has restaurants in India and Singapore. Since we went for dinner on a weekend, the place was packed. We had to wait for sometime before we were led to a cozy corner of the restaurant.

We wanted to have Hyderabadi dum biriyani, but since it was a weekend and moreover we went there after 10pm, the waiter informed the biriyani was over. We settled for Bhojanam (veg meal), Sankranti Special (non-veg meal) and Malasa Tawa Fish Fry.

Veg meal had chapati, rice, different types of chutneys, curry, sambar, rasam and a small bowl of dessert. The non-veg meal is ditto except that it comes with egg masala and chicken curry. The meals were super tasty and reminded me of the Andhra restaurants in Bangalore. I was so impressed that I opted for extra servings of chutneys and rasam. The king fish fry was well made.

I checked with the waiter why the food was not spicy like they have it in restaurants in India. He said based on customer feedback over the last few days, they decided to go easy on the spices. The friendly waiter said they change the menu for meal everyday.

The food was very delectable and tasty – something different from the regular fares dished out by other Indian restaurants in town. Next time, I have decided to go early and try the dum biriyani and other Andhra-specific delicacies. Probably, their North Indian food will come last in my scheme of things.

The Bhojanam costs RO 2.5, Sankranti Special is RO 3 and the Masala Tawa Fish Fry is priced at RO 3.5. With friendly staff, neat ambience and tasty food, it is value for money deal. The restaurant is currently proving an inaugural discount of 10% on the bill.

If you like Andha food, then look no further. Sankranti is the place to be. Restaurant can be contacted at: 2448 8884.

Update (October 28, 2011)
We were at the restaurant today for lunch to try out chicken dum biriyani. The biriyani was decent, but the service sucked. We had to call out the waiter to take the order, to get mineral water and to get the bill finally. The waiter was available on call only. With a harassed look, the chap did the job like a robot, but finally refused get finger bowl towards the end saying he can’t get because the restaurant was crowded. Huh, this kind of attitude doesn’t serve well for a restaurant that is not even a month old.

When my friend said he would like to take me to a restaurant near Muscat City Centre (MCC) which offered great seafood, I quietly nodded. We landed up at Al Makan Café, located just next to MCC, on a sunny afternoon. This place is a well known name among shisha aficionados and I could see smokers enjoying their shisha pipes by watching a live soccer match which was being shown in a giant screen.

We made into a quiet corner of the hall. The air was filled with different shisha flavours emanating from dozens of pipes dotting the place. Since it was a working day, we decided to have a quick lunch. The waiter was pleasant, and unlike other Arabic restaurants in town, could converse well in English. We zeroed in on hammour grill, hammour fry and a couple of fruit juices.

First came the juices, and the food order took almost 20 minutes to arrive. The hammour grill was delicious and well made. It had along assorted veggies, fries and a dip. The hammour fry was crispy and nice. You get fries and a dip along with it. A plate of garlic bread came along with the order. I loved the grill and fry. Unlike other bland Arabic grills in town, the hammour grill and fry were mildly spiced and it worked wonders on the palette of a person from the sub-continent. The fruit punch was nice too. We were too full, and there was no scope for desserts.

On the whole, I liked the food at Al Makan Café. Only downside is that the place gets too smoky and I feel families with kids may find it tough to sit through the stuffy atmosphere for long. May be during winter, I should visit the place again and try to experience the shisha bit as well. The restaurant has a huge seating area outside, and that should be a perfect place to tuck into some nice grilled food in the cooler months.

Since my friend paid the bill, I not too sure of the exact prices. Juice costs around RO 2 while grill and fry were in the range of RO 3.5 or something. You should go to Al Makan Café for a quiet dinner with loads of time at your disposal. It is definitely not the place for quick working lunches.