Located just across from the Souk Al Shati on Abu Baheyyah Al Ghazarey Street is the relatively new Lebanese Roody’s, a strange name for a Lebanese diner we thought, unless perhaps we were missing something. The venue appears from the outside much like a foreign franchise with bright neon lights. Inside shiny colored tiles, and polished tables sparkle under the bright spot lights, a testament to their youth; a large juice bar is located to the right with what seems an infinite choice of fruits.
At the center of Roody’s are the cashiers/ordering point and a large menu hangs above the counter, which, although mind bogglingly extensive, is only available in Arabic.
Further to the left is the brick-lined oven where fresh manaeeshs are baked to perfection. There are a variety of Lebanese and Middle Eastern favourites on the menu, everything from the relatively simple liver sandwich, all the way up to delicious stews and mixed grill platters.
However, the majority of customers on our visit seemed to be going for the shawarma. With such a broad menu and little to go on, we decided to follow suit, ordering both the chicken and meat shawarmas, a liver sandwich, some iskander kebabs, and avocado and guava juice to wash it all down.
Paying at the counter we were given a receipt which let us then move on to the Juice Bar to collect our drinks before sitting down and waiting for our order.
About 15 to 20 minutes later, our order was ready. Unwrapping the selection back at home, it was clear that particular attention had been given to the liver sandwich wrapper, branded with the Roody’s logo in a colorful green and white, and the packaging impressed. Unfortunately, less attention seemed to have been given to the contents of the liver sandwich itself. The liver was hardly present in the sandwich; it was too chewy and firm with more bread than anything else, thus overall a bit of a dismal experience.
The shawarma, however, was the complete opposite, not much to look at from the outside — being served in basic but functional aluminum packaging which kept the food warm. In terms of taste and filling, the shawarmas were far superior to the liver sandwiches. Wrapped in freshly baked saj, the doughy bread was a pleasure to eat, and sliced for convenience, the small bite-sized pieces will appeal to those who don’t like to get their hands dirty. As for the chicken filling, this was quite greasy with a light touch of garlic sauce and more available in the takeout box should you wish to add more. The meat shawarma was even better, lean meat, a little salty but considerably less greasy than the chicken and therefore possibly better for the waistline.
Last and disappointingly least were the iskander kebabs, kofta-like kebabs sliced down their centre, so one ended up with slithers of oily kofta-like meat that was practically dripping. These kebabs sat on gravy soaked cubes of bread and were also served with a side portion of yoghurt.
To be honest, they were anything but lean, and the sausage-like mix and overall oilyness was slightly off-putting. Having said that, the breaded cubes were good but since they had soaked up the meat juices, they were probably far from healthy!
Small round pieces of bread were also served with our takeout order and they were good and appeared to have been freshly baked. There are numerous items on the menu, and we only managed to scratch the surface on our visit. I wouldn’t order the iskander kebab or liver sandwich again, but would be happy to try the meat shawarma and fresh juices should the opportunity arise. The avocado and guava juice was great and I regretted erring on the side of caution and ordering little. The juice was so good I would drop back again for it alone!
Tel: 02 6919126
Opening hours: 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Location: Opposite Souk Al Shati, Abu Baheyyah Al Ghazarey Srteet
Website: http://www.roodysksa.com
