AFRICAN
Outer Space Restaurant: 24702793
Ruwi
This popular café, near the Ridha Mosque, serves Zanzibari food such as kachori and mandazi.

Zanzibar Island Restaurant and Coffee Shop: 24497783
Near Porsche showroom, Al Ghubrah
Open 9am–4.30pm and 6pm–11pm, this  cheerful restaurant is decorated with zebra prints and East African art to complement the Zanzibari cuisine, which also has influences from Kerala. In the evening, the restaurant serves a buffet (RO2.5 per head).
RO2.5 l

CAFES
Abala Café:  24695903
Bareeq al Shatti

This new addition to Bareeq al Shatti serves international cuisine. Aimed at the young, attractive crowd, the café serves food such as honey-fried calamari, beetroot and feta cheese salad, hallomi on ciabatta and entrecote steak. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Abala is open Sat–Thur, 7.30am to 11pm and on Fridays is open 9am to 10.30pm.
RO6, veg friendly

Al Fursan: 24603555
Ramada Beach Hotel

Al Maha: 24 487123
Muscat Holiday Inn
Open 24 hours a day, Al Maha offers a buffet and an à la carte menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is open 5.30am to 10.30am and 12 noon to 3.30pmand again 6pm to 11pm. It seats up to 70 people at a time.
RO6 ll

Al Makan Café
Muscat City Centre – 24545311
Shatti al Qurm – 24404200
Al Makan is designed as a blend of cultures and exhibits an ambience that is a combination of traditional Omani and a modern café and is a perfect setting for seesha. The clientele, reflecting the décor, is multinational. Specialising in Arabic cuisine, Al Makan also serves Continental dishes such as pasta. They recommend their Arabic maza and the mixed grill. While the Qurm outlet is open 10.30am–1am, their Seeb outlet is open, 10.30am–2am.
RO5 veg-friendly, licensed

Art Café: 24 558176
Muscat City Centre
A smart, vital addition to the hospitality scene in Oman, the Art Café raises the bar for the industry with an unbeatable mix of fabulous interiors, excellent food and attentive service. Done up, as one diner put it, like “an American interpretation of a French bistro,” the café serves everything from salads to steaks to ice creams to coffees. The café isn’t cheap, with the main dishes averaging between five and seven rials. The Santa Fe Salad (RO2.600) comes in a big bowl and is, like the rest of the food here, healthy and modern, with a light yogurt-based dressing. The Chicken Florentine (RO4.900) comes with a light creamy sauce, spinach and potato, and is good but straightforward. Try the Perfect Steak instead, which comes as a handful of chunks of grilled meat with a sauce accompaniment. Mashed potato comes mixed with strong mustard, perhaps too aggressive. Ours was a bit on the sour side. The apple pie is all right; the fried ice cream is better.
RO10 l

Atrium Tea Lounge:  24764000
Al Bustan Palace
Renowned for its English High Tea, the Atrium serves a variety of uniquely flavoured teas infusing a modern twist into this traditional indulgence. Open all day from 8am.

Barista: 24 571531
Sabco Centre, Qurm
The Italian coffee at Barista is good, and the menu also features pastries, cakes, ice cream and milkshakes. Barista is open Saturday to Thursday, 9am–10pm, and Friday, 4.30–10pm.
RO2.5 l

BreadTalk: 24603033
Bareeq al Shatti
BreadTalk, an international boutique bakery chain, has opened its Muscat outlet at the Bareeq al Shatti. In addition to the baked delicacies such as oven-fresh breads, Danish, croissants, cakes, toasts and sandwiches, Bread-Talk’s signature dishes include Flosss – a soft, light bread subtly flavoured with egg cream and topped with chicken floss, Applewerm – apple chunks rolled into dough and browned to perfection, Brothers – light airy buns topped with chicken floss and Curry Dozo – chicken-potato-carrot curry wrapped in a crisp golden crust.

Bread and Co: 95204250
Shatti al Qurm
At Oasis by the Sea, this newly opened Bakery Cafe features interesting combinations of sandwiches, croissants, salads, pizzas, tartines, Viennoiseries and American pastry on its menu.
RO1.5 l

Café Barbera: 24603505
Next to Al Shatti Cinema
Café Barbera is open daily, 8am–12pm, serving food and coffees. Favourites include roast beef in a baguette and the Sirloin steak.

Café Céramique: 24566617
Al Araimi Complex
This diverting café in Qurm brings a concept  new to Oman: pottery painting. Artistic-minded visitors can select a piece of unglazed pottery and then paint it at leisure – paints are provided and the subsequent glazing and firing are included in the price of each pottery piece. Decorating your plate or bowl (or whatever else; there is a huge range of items to choose from) is a pleasurable, time-consuming activity – ideal for hot summer days. The menu is pretty extensive, too, ranging from drinks (coffee, tea and fruit smoothies) to bagels, salads, snacks and puddings, as well as the more substantial ‘chef’s specialities’. The café is open daily, 9am–11pm. Sampled May 2008

Café de Lotus: 24560439
Al Khamis Plaza
In addition to sandwiches and salads, Café de Lotus serves coffee, teas and other drinks. It is open 9am–1.30pm and 4.30–10pm.
RO2 l

Café G Patisserie: .99531999
Madinat as Sultan Qaboos
This patisserie sells sandwiches, salads and homemade cakes, as well as teas and coffees.

Café Samaharam: 24707207
Haffa House Hotel
Opposite the Khimji Rolex showroom, the hotel is a pleasant surprise at the end of a tree-lined lane. The café itself is elegantly designed, decorated in shades of soft white. Their lightly grilled fillet of hammour, which is fresh and juicy, is  served with a lemon-butter sauce.
RO6

Café Torque: 24500773
Azaiba

Casa de Café: 24499565
Midan Hotel Suites
This Latin-themed lounge serves coffee and fresh fruit juices and has Wifi throughout the hotel.

Cinnzeo: 24699660
Al Masa Mall, As Sarooj
The menu at Cinnzeo features melt-in-the-mouth Pecarolls, Cinnamon Sticks, Dippers and Twists. Also available are sandwiches, salads and croissants. It is open 8am–12pm.
RO2

Coffee Republic: 24470739
Qurum City Centre

Columbian Aroma: 24693131
Bareeq al Shatti

Costa Coffee
Lulu, Bausher 24503861
Madinat as Sultan Qaboos 24692858
MBD: 24793169
Muscat City Centre: 24535895
Oasis by the Sea: 24605574
Seeb International Airport 24519734

Costa Coffee has succeeded in taking the generic coffee-shop concept and giving it a flavour and twist all its own. The artworks on the walls make an agreeable backdrop to the coffee and snacks.
RO3 l

D’Arcy’s Kitchen
Jawaharat A’Shatti Complex 24600234
Madinat as Sultan Qaboos 24699119
Although D’Arcy’s Kitchen is open until late (last orders are at 9.45pm), its sunny, upbeat character makes it a good place to have breakfast – the English breakfast costs R03.5. The winner of the Best Café category in the Oman Today Restaurant Awards 2006, D’Arcy’s Kitchen also has an excellent à la carte menu, and the sandwiches, steaks and omelettes are first class. Such food is great fuel for shopping in the Jawaharat A’Shatti Complex. D’Arcy’s Kitchen has a lively atmosphere, and is appealing to look at, decorated with colour-coordinated details that range from the awnings outside to the hardcover menu. It is open daily, from 8.30am.
RO3 l

Dunkin’ Donuts: 96177967
Ghala
Madinat as Sultan Qaboos
Shatti Cinema
This international brand is new to Oman, and serves drinks such as coffee and tea alongside a wide variety of doughnuts and pastries.

Glacier Café
Markaz al Bahja: 24540200
Zakher Mall: 24489245
Glacier Café has an extensive menu that stretches over 16 pages. The selection features 28 hot beverages, from Mocaccino Maison with caramel to rosehip and hibiscus herbal tea. There are 32 varieties of pure-origin coffees and more than 65 cold drinks, with names such as Ice Karkadih and Windless Hurricane, and a sweet Swahili number called Malaika. Glacier Café also sells tins of the prized Rombouts brand of coffee. Waffles are served in a variety of ways. Glacier Café is open Saturday to Tuesday, 9am–10pm, Wednesday and Thursday, 9am–11pm, and Friday, 4pm–10pm.

GOLDEN BEAN CAFÉ: 24564773, 96969645
Al Araimi Complex, Qurm

Golden Bean Café offers a variety of specialty coffees and other beverages. Its menu includes burgers, crêpes and sandwiches. You can also enjoy a relaxed meal with an assortment of pastas, salads and platters and make sure to order the mint lemonade, a perfect accompaniment. The café is open Saturday to Thursday, 10am–10pm and 5pm–10pm on Friday.

Grind Floor: 24487777
Radisson Blu Hotel
This coffee bar in the Radisson Blu hotel serves drinks and snacks and is open daily from 7am to 11pm.

Le Mermaid Café: 24602327
Shatti al Qurm beach, adjacent to the Grand Hyatt Muscat
Le Mermaid Café is a great place to enjoy the sea view. The café is simply furnished with wooden benches and a mermaid fountain. There is a television to catch up with favourite programmes, too.
In the summer, the place is enclosed in a clear, air-conditioned tent, so visitors can enjoy the feeling of being under the stars without the oppressive heat.
RO3

Majlis al Shams: 24680000
InterContinental Muscat
Majlis al Shams is open for coffee and light snacks from 8am until 10pm.
RO5

Mood Café

Madinat Plaza: 92125639
Markaz al Bahja: 24538752

Mood Café serves regular café food such as salads, sandwiches, pastries, bakery items and hot and cold beverages. Boasting a menu with more than 100 hot, cold, fresh and iced items, the café recommends its chicken salad sandwich, mousse au chocolate, caramel latte, mood mocha frappe and its green salad. Mood Café, open 7am to 11pm, also has a Wi-fi zone.

Mokha Café: 24776666
Al Bandar Hotel, Shangri-La’s Barr al Jissah Resort and Spa
Mokha Café serves coffees, teas and a selection of ice creams, and has magazines, newspapers and books in the library section. It is open from 7am until 1am.
RO6

Patisserie: 24521234
Risail Complex, As Seeb
RO1

Petit Café: 24603555
Ramada Beach Hotel
Petit Café has a good breakfast buffet.
RO4

Pooldeck: 24680000
InterContinental Muscat
The bar is open for snacks from 8am to 7pm.
RO2 l

Rumours Café: 24692121
Coral Hotel Muscat
This café serves food such as sandwiches, pasta and omelettes from 7am until midnight.

Second Cup: 24566616
Al Shatti
In addition to coffee and other drinks, Second Cup serves sandwiches, pastries and cakes. The chocolate brownies are delicious and enormous, as are the equally large millefeuilles. Second Cup is open from 7am until midnight.
RO2

Shalashil Café: 24498008
Star Hotel Apartments, Al Ghubrah
The café, open 7am–10pm, starts with breakfast and offers light meals revolving around salads, sandwiches, cakes, bread and coffee through the day. Meals can cost around a couple of rials, and you can also look forward to waffles, eggs, pancakes and fresh juices, in addition to everything you might expect from a bakery:  rolls, baguettes, rye and brown bread, Danish pastries, croissants and, best of all, cheesecakes.
RO2.5

Sirj Tea Lounge: 24641234
Grand Hyatt Muscat
Sirj Tea Lounge serves drinks including Arabic coffee and English tea, as well as pastries and snacks. During the evenings in the winter months, a pianist performs on the grand Pegasus piano. The café is open 8am–12.30am.

Starbucks
Ernst and Young building, Qurm: 24567644
Muscat City Centre: 24558861
Jawaharat A’Shatti Complex: 24601457
Madinat as Sultan Qaboos: 24699367

Four-times winner of Best Café award in the Oman Today Best Restaurant Awards, Starbucks needs no introduction – in many ways it embodies the modern, urban coffee culture of the late 20th and 21st centuries, replacing the classic café all round the world. The Muscat branches are open daily, from 7.30am until midnight.
RO2 l

Surf Café: 24776666
Al Waha Hotel, Shangri-La’s Barr al Jissah Resort and Spa
Surf Café combines quick, casual dining with Internet access and television screens. On offer from 8am to 10pm are salads and sandwiches.
RO7

Trio Café: 99568682
Al Masa Mall
Trio Café sells pasta, sandwiches, salads, soups, pastries and cakes, many made using organic ingredients. It is open Saturday to Thursday, 8am to midnight; and Friday, from 10am.