Vapiano (Italian)

Vapiano, located in the City Center, offers a different take on Italian dining.  

I've eaten here once before, but only for soup and salad. (See Review) My wife and I decided to go for pizza and a salad. You first collect a debit card and go to the counter you would like to order from; either pasta, Insalata or pizza.  Once you order, they will scan your card for you to pay after your meal. We ordered the Insalata Cesare (that's how they spell it) salad and the Capricciosa pizza.  The pizza comes with artichoke, olives and mushrooms.  We added the pepperoni to the order. The salad was huge and came with complimentary bread, which was nice and fresh.  The pizza was delicious. It was a hand tossed, thin crust, oven baked pizza.  It was hot and very cheesy, but required a knife and fork to eat.  Together with two diet cokes, the meal came to 9.3BD.  

Capricciosa Pizza 

 
Insalata Cesare Salad with Fresh Bread

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Tony Luke's (Update)

I recently visited the Tony Luke's location in Juffair (See review).  On that visit, I noticed changes in the bread on the sandwiches.  I decided to go back and visit the Tony Luke's in Riffa to see if the changes were limited to the Juffair location.  As it turns out, the Riffa location is also using the new bread in their sandwiches.  Don't get me wrong, the sandwiches are good, just not as good as before (See review).  Likewise, the fries are still awesome and recommend Tony Luke's for anyone.  Still the best Cheese Steaks in Bahrain. 

The Works Cheese Steak Sandwich

Caribou Coffee (Seasonal)

Good news for all the seasonal Latte fans out there.  Caribou Coffee is now serving the following new flavors: Salted Caramel Budino, Salted Caramel Mocha and Spicy Mocha.  I tried the Salted Caramel Budino—it was outstanding! 

Salted Caramel Budino Latte

 

Starbucks (Holiday)

I just left the Starbucks at City Center, but not before enjoying the new holiday flavors being offered.  I had Gingerbread Latte and my wife had the Toffee Nut Latte.  Both were delicious.  

Gingerbread and Toffee Nut Latte's 

House Boat (Asian)

The House Boat in Amwaj is one of my favorite restaurants in Bahrain.  House Boat offers a huge selection of Asian meals to include Japanese, Thai and Indian.  I really enjoy the different types of noodle dishes (see other review).  On this occasion, I tried the Pad Thai Noodles (Mix) which included chicken, beef and shrimp.  Once again, I was completely satisfied. The portions are very generous, most of the dishes can easily feed two people.  My wife ordered the Chili Beef with a side of Basmati rice and we shared an order of potato naan.  I was also able to use my buy one get one entree free coupon as well. Another great meal at the House Boat. 

Pad Thai Noodles

Chili Beef

Mooyah (Burgers)

There are some really good burger joints in Bahrain, such as Blaze, Elevation Burger Wisconsin and Johnny Rockets to name a few; however, there's a new contender on the block.  Mooyah, just opened up in American Alley in Juffair.  I was informed by a co-worker that he's been there several times since its opening, and he thought it was better than the Blaze.  So, my wife and I gave it a visit.  The staff was very friendly and inviting.  The attendant walked us through the menu and my wife and I both ordered the vegetable black bean burger.  I ordered it "Caliente" style, which came with pepper jack cheese, jalapeno's and a chipotle sauce on a wheat bun.  My wife custom ordered her sandwich with lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayonnaise and pepper jack cheese on a white bun.  The store makes all the buns locally in the restaurant. In addition, we ordered fries and onion rings.  The store has several condiments that are complimentary, including a bottle of vinegar. I like to drown my fries in vinegar…and where pretty good.  The onion rings were even better…and the sandwiches were a home-run! The entire meal was 10BD. They also serve the burgers in lettuce wraps and salads. Something for everyone.   

Vegetarian Black Bean Burgers with Fries and Onion Rings

Mooyah Juffair 

The Dome (Riffa)

I recently found a little shopping plaza that had a few restaurants, one of which was the Dome.  I've visited the Dome restaurant in Juffair, and they had a great Rueben sandwich.  However, I'm not a fan of the Juffair location because you have to go through the smoking section to get to the non-smoking section.  Anyway, my wife and I visited the Riffa location and I wanted to try the Rueben.  However, I was informed that they didn't have the ingredients for the Rueben.  I ordered the fish and chips instead, and my wife ordered the mini cheese burgers.  The fish and chips were very good.  The fish was nice and crisp and was served with a nice tasting tarter sauce.  My wife enjoyed the cheese burgers.  The cheese burgers had a nice char-grilled flavor and was a served with a tasty sauce.  I'm not sure if I would go back to the Juffair location, but would go back to the Riffa location if I'm in the area. 

Fish and Chips

Mini Cheese Burgers

Le Chocolat (Breakfast)

My wife and I have become fans of Le Chocolat.  Besides the great desserts, coffee and pizza, they also serve breakfast. The menu has a wide range of breakfast items including eggs, french toast and oatmeal, just to name a few. I opted for the Italian omelet (2.5BD) and my wife had the crunchy corn flake french toast (2.4BD).  My omelet was delicious.  It was a hearty plate that included an omelet with pesto on top of a bed of hash browns, mushrooms and toast. There was three pieces of toast, one included a nice walnut bread. My wife's french toast was made of wheat bread and low cholesterol egg, with fresh fruit on the side. Overall, great breakfast.  

Italian Omelet

Corn Flake French Toast

Tony Lukes (Juffair)

I finally made it to the much anticipated Tony Luke's in Juffair.  I'm a HUGE fan of the Tony Lukes in Riffa, so I've been talking up the Juffair location to all my friends for quite some time.  To my surprise, I've been hearing a lot of mediocre reviews from my friends since its opening.  I ordered home delivery, which showed up rather quickly.  I ordered my favorite, the cheese steak "Works" (with onion and peppers) and BBQ french fries.  What was different about this order, was they asked if I wanted wheat or white bread and if I wanted "wiz" cheese.  These were two options I don't recall having at the Riffa location.  The sandwich was smaller in length and was a different type of roll than what I had in Riffa.  Likewise, the sandwich was a little drier than what I'm used to.  In Riffa, the juices would run down your arm because it was so juicy.  The fries we great; but over all, I was disappointed with the sandwich.  It was still good, but I liked the sandwiches in Riffa much better.  My question now is if they changed the sandwich in Riffa.  I'll have to go out and visit to find out. 

The Works Cheese Steak

Casereccio (Italian)

Casereccio's is another Italian restaurant that is now open in Amwaj. The reviews I've been hearing from others have been less than stellar; however, all the Facebook advertisements I've been getting made me want to try it for myself.  The menu has a large selection of multiple course entree's at reasonable prices.  Our friends ordered the calzone, onion soup in a bread bowl and an order of potato strips. Although my friend made it clear when he ordered that he only wanted pepperoni and cheese in the calzone, it came back with mushrooms and asparagus. The kind waiter returned the calzone and returned in short time with the correctly ordered calzone.  My wife and I opted for pasta with fried calamari.  I had the Arrabbiata Penne pasta and my wife had the Siciliana Fettuccine.  I was disappointed with the calamari. The calamari was mostly fried breading and the portion was pretty small (6 small pieces) for 3.8BD.  However, the pasta dishes were very good.  Nice size portions and priced right at 3.0BD each.  The atmosphere was very nice and comfortable, with outside and inside seating available.  I would go back for the pasta.   

Arrabbiata Penne Pasta 

Siciliana Fettuccine  

 

Potatos 

Calzone

 

Fried Calamari

 

Onion Soup in Bread Bowl 

Complimentary Appetizer

 

Iskenderun Grill

Back to a local favorite this week.  I'm a big fan of the Lamb Tikka and my wife enjoys the Lamb Chops. 

An order of hummus will top off the meal perfectly.  The place opens at 6pm during the week and is a place you can eat for two for around 5BD. The are located over in the Expedition/Diplomat area.     

 Lamb Tikka

 Lamb Chops

Hummus and Bread