With the waterfront views from The Beach House, you’re guaranteed a relaxed and casual dining experience. Serving traditional seafood favourites blended with signature dishes the beachside haunt offers something for all tastes, including tapas, Italian and surf & turf. Sunset really brings out the best of this property as you can relax and watch the sun set over the Arabian Gulf.

My experience was typically Anantara, which means excellent service, relaxed staff and exceptional food. It’s always a relief and a comfort when a beachfront restaurant does justice to the delights of the sea, made evident by the venue’s signature calamari rings. With batter seasoned to perfection and a citrus chili dip to complement the starter, it’s no surprise this is one of the most popular options.

A word of warning, however. When the waitress says the portion is “quite big”, she isn’t kidding. The burrata salad was exceptional, delicately balancing the fresh Italian cheese with watermelon and tomato, a new concept for me and one I’ll endeavour to replicate at home – it’s always worth a try. The staff were of course fantastic and truly paid attention to our experience, ensuring we had everything we needed. In the cast of the calamari, we sometimes had too much of what we needed.

It was nice to take a pause between courses – an intermission of sorts – and enjoy the chilled ambiance of the restaurant without feeling rushed, or like they were trying to turn tables. whole experience had a far-flung island-dining feel, where nothing seems to be a problem and life moves at a less frantic pace. I increasinbly felt as though I was on vacation and I even considered booking a room at the hotel and spending the night… but the thought of tomorrow’s morning meetings diffused the temptation.

When ordering the main course, the word from the kitchen was to try the grilled spatchcock chicken; when a chef makes a recommendation I accept without hesitation as it is clearly something they take pride in. Act two has the chicken marinated in a harissa pepper rub, which is made from a spicy chili from North Africa. To say I was worried about the heat would be an understatement but you can tell the chef had taken care with the marinade to ensure it was not too spicy but flavoured and enhanced the dish.

Served with a beautiful homemade tzatziki it really balanced the meal and brought the whole dish together. I ordered a side of order of focaccia, which complimented this nicely, and next time I may ask for some pita bread – I say next time as I’m already planning to return.

The final act of the show was dessert, and as a coffee lover I couldn’t resist the tiramisu chased down with an espresso. It’s tough for me to think of one without the other, like Bonnie without Clyde or the Waldorfs without the Astorias. The tiramisu was served in a jar, further in keeping with the laid-back theme of the venue. It was delicious. A good tiramisu for me comes down to the ladyfinger sponge layer and if the sponge has been given enough time to properly absorb the coffee. Having taken my first spoonful I could instantly derive that this has been done well and, as expected, I saw the whole thing off.

Having now finished the show, it reminds me of a saying that “you need three things in theatre – the play, the actors and the audience and each must give something.” I believe the same is true for restaurants. You need the food, the ambience and the service. For me, this underrated restaurant has got it right. For good food in a casual dining setting with great service, you won't go wrong with The Beach House.