Desert BBQ Dinner at Al Liwan Pool Bar, Tilal Liwa Hotel

This delightful little venue sitting on the edge of the desert has some exciting hidden surprises to offer.

The Tilal Liwa Hotel in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, just outside the town of Madinat Zayed is a charming property perched atop a rise overlooking the majestic deserts of the Rub al Khali and has some exciting dining venues worth a visit.

We were over for a much-needed weekend staycation recently and had a fantastic time, among the dining options is Al Liwan which is a small little place just at the corner of the hotel overlooking the pool on one side and the open desert on the other.

Apart from their usual menu which has a decent selection of salads, snacks, pizza and some excellent burgers, they have a unique dessert BBQ on offer every weekend. It’s a fully licenced venue that also serves the popular shisha.

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The Venue

Don’t be taken by the pool bar in the name as Al Liwan is a hidden gem that offers much more, there is a fantastic Arabic style outdoor patio that turns into this magical Arabian Nights style venue at night under the stars that is hard to believe.

Inside the decor is classic old school Arabic with a wooden roof, traditional style metal filigree lamps and a small bar with a few groupings of tables.

There is a huge fire pit on one side with a roaring fire to keep the cold at bay, yes as it’s in the desert it does get cold a bit.

On the weekend the team at Al Liwan offer an amazing dessert BBQ that is absolutely out of this world, they even go to the extent of putting up a movie screen for keeping the kids entertained and all this in the open desert.

This is not your average BBQ where the food is cooked, and you just serve yourself but one where the BBQ is actually done by yourself to your liking, such a cool concept we just loved it.

As the sun starts to set the team is busy setting up Arabic majlis style seating floor seating far far apart form each other, social distancing could not be better, the next grouping of seats was around 50 meters away giving you full privacy to enjoy your BBQ.

As you settle in, the staff come over to take your drink orders and start the fire in your personal BBQ pit that is set right in front of you wile you lounge around enjoying yourself.

The Food

Soon the drinks arrive and with it a trolley laden with trays of marinated meats, seafood and veggies that are all ready to grill. They bring out a selection of salads to get you stated and lay out the plates, cutlery and the condiments for you on the side.

Once the coals are fully lit in the BBQ they will inform you when it’s ready then leave you to grill and enjoy your food, it’s such a unique concept, we can seriously get used to this pampering.

We start with the vegetable, there is corn on the cob, skewers of veggies, sliced aubergines, squash and onions which have all been marinated and seasoned by the team way in advance.

It’s such an immersive activity and the kids will love to get involved turning the skewers, flipping the onions and having a great time together.

The veggies are perfectly marinated, the corn was ready first, so we started with these and the two salads that were waiting to be tasted, the flavours were absolutely amazing.

Next up we grilled the plump and juice tiger prawns, in no time they were pink and ready to eat, they were fresh and sweet went down in record time, I guess when you are grilling yourself eating feels more rewarding.

The tray of huge Australian lamb chops were begging to be grilled, so they went on next, the sizzle and aroma of fresh meat hitting a hot grill is absolutely amazing, we loved how flavourful they were and admired how the chef had done different marinates for each item enhancing their flavours.

We put the shish tawook on next, the little cubes of red coloured chicken on the skewers with sliced peppers in between are a match made in heaven, the meet is soft, and the flavour is spot on.

Next on the grill go the lamb skewers, the distinct aroma of grilling lamb takes centre stage making our stomachs rumble, these take a bit longer, but the texture is absolutely met in your mouth.

We are almost stuffed by there is a tray of lamb kofta to grill, neatly shaped, well spiced, we can see the fresh coriander in the mix along with onions and more, The taste again is spot on, they are so soft that they were just falling apart on the grill, simply awesome.

If this is not all, the trolley is back soon with a refill of the drinks and individual trays of dessert for the party, what a way to end a spectacular desert BBQ. We are so stuffed, there is no way we are going to be able to get out of the floor level majlis without help.

The Verdict

We are absolutely in heaven with the unique BBQ concept. Firstly the setting is magical, then the drinks and food are absolutely amazing and not to mention the service, the head of F&B came over to talk to us and the head of revenue was there as well making guests feel at home, loved the attention.

Doing a BBQ is always fun but prepping the food, packing it and then cleaning up after is always a pain and here they have taken all this away leaving you with the pure pleasure of just grilling and eating the food while you enjoy the company of friends and family, absolutely magical.

The Contact

To enquire and book your desert BBQ please call +971 2 894 6111. The Desert BBQ is only on Friday nights and advance booking is required, so please do keep this in mind.