Dining in Oman

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As in other Arab countries, in Oman it is not customary to eat with cutlery but with the right hand and not necessarily from your own plate. Great attention is paid to hygiene. You wash your hands thoroughly in a designated area before every meal. If there is no running water nearby, guests are given a water bowl to clean their right hand. In restaurants, however, tourists are usually given cutlery & their own plate without being asked - if not, you can always ask for cutlery.

As the standard of hygiene in the country is very high and the state controls of restaurants are taken very seriously, you can also eat in remote, small and inexpensive restaurants without hesitation. Here you usually have a choice between chicken and fish, always in combination with rice, vegetables and salad. Even if the ambience is very simple and the stools are rusty, both the salad and fresh fruit can be eaten without hesitation. Rice is the staple food of the Omani population and is always available, usually as biryani rice flavoured with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and turmeric.

Tap water (drinking water quality, but slightly chlorinated) or still bottled mineral water is served with meals in simple restaurants.

Restaurants with many Omani visitors often have so-called family rooms for families or couples. These are separate rooms that are partitioned off by a wall or at least a privacy screen and are occasionally designed for eating on the floor. A pastry tablecloth is then spread on the carpet by the waiter. Omani families, especially women, prefer this privacy. These can of course also be used by tourist families/couples as soon as women are present;

There are often no menus, sometimes you can even look directly at the plates to put together your own menu. Only in the "better" restaurants do you order from the menu. These are often surprisingly extensive and offer Arabic, Indian and Asian dishes.

We highly recommend freshly squeezed fruit cocktails (mango, banana, pomegranate...), which are offered in many places. The classic is "Lemon Mint" and consists of lime, mint with ice cubes and sugar.