Oman Today Restaurant Awards 2007 resounding success

Now in its sixth year, the Oman Today Restaurant Awards have come to be regarded as the standard by which the food and beverage establishments in the country are rated.

The event on December 5, 2007 "saw the leaders of the hospitality industry in Oman gather to celebrate the very best", said Saleh Zakwani, publisher of Oman Today magazine. The gala black-tie event hosted more than 400 guests, who sat down to a four-course dinner at the Al Bandar Ballroom that is itself regarded as one of the finest the country has to offer.

In spite of the fact that a few hotels were under renovation and some were undergoing restoration after being adversely affected by the cyclone, the 2007 Awards still polled an impressive 66,788 votes. Diners were invited to vote for their favourite restaurants in each of the 11 categories on voting forms that were available at participating restaurants, hotels and sponsors' outlets. Voting was open for two months, after which the list of finalists was passed on to a panel of judges.

Each of the four judges individually visited all of the finalists to rate them on pre-determined criteria and their votes were collated to arrive at the final list of winners in each category. To ensure a fair process, the identity of the judges was withheld not just from the public but even from each other.

Oman Today is grateful to Bank Sohar, the main sponsor of the Awards and co-sponsor Al Madina A'Zarqa. For the second year running, the event was supported by African and Eastern.

The winners of the Oman Today Restaurant Awards 2007 are:

Buffet
Samba, Shangri-La's Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa

Café
Caffé Vergnano

Far Eastern
Silk Route

Fast Food
McDonald's

Indian
Mumtaz Mahal

International
Chili's

Italian
Tuscany, Grand Hyatt Muscat

Middle Eastern
Al Tanoor, Shangri-La's Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa

Pub Food
Al Ghazal Pub, Hotel InterContinental Muscat

Ambience
Shahrazad, Shangri-La's Barr al Jissa Resort and Spa

Service
Woodlands