Arab World Restaurant

Since I've been in Oman, people have raved about a Yemeni restaurant about 30 minutes from Muscat called the Arab World Restaurant. Maybe my expectations were just too high. The waitstaff could not converse in English, and their Arabic was incomprehensible. Don't expect to sit where you want or get what you order unless you speak Urdu. Inside it was hot and smelled like moldy rags (only a little..), so we opted to sit outside. The flies were the most aggressive I have even encountered. Swarming and persistent. The food was okay, but cheap. We didn't get what we ordered, got some things we didn't order, and fled as soon as possible to avoid getting eaten alive.

If you still want to eat there, it's about a kilometer from the Barka Lulu, closer to Muscat and on the coast side.

Bring a fly swatter and a translator!

Pavo Real, but Mexican Real?

Pavo Real is one of two Mexican restaurants in Muscat (and in Oman for that matter). Crazy, I know. The wait staff was unfortunately dressed in a uniform consisting of a cowboy hat, leather vest and jeans....but they were friendly and competent. Lit with very dim lights and table candles, it was a dark but romantic atmosphere, somewhat spoiled by a play list of "Home on the Range" and "My Achy Breaky Heart," which I certainly could have done without. The chips and salsa passed the homemade requirement, but we end up being charged for the first basket they brought (which was tiny), and for the second round which we ordered. Real Mexican restaurants have bottomless tortilla chips and salsa. That's just a must.
When the food came, it was good and served generously on big platters. It was too greasy and too heavy, but it was tasty. I did feel a bit ill after my camarones del mar seafood dish, but that might just be a result of overeating...
Over all, it was good, but not great. Certainly not worth the hype it's gotten and not worth the pretty penny it costs. Dinner for two without drinks or appetizers cost 18 riyals (almost $50). Considering that the Mexican dive that was my husband old high school hangout is just as tasty, has free chips and salsa, and costs 1/5 the amount, I think I'll pass next time. That said, it is one of two Mexican places in Oman, and it needed to be done once.