This restaurant is promoted by the hotel to be a ‘fine dining’ experience in comparison to the excellent buffet at Al Tanoor, so our expectations were high.
We had booked a table outside 2 days in advance but were given one inside as the others were already taken. So already we were off to a poor start. The menu looked fishy which was the reason for booking and my wife and I ordered soft shell crab and pan fried scallops to start and ‘smash and grab’ (whole bass baked in salt for two persons) and a bottle of white wine to accompany.
The starters arrived within 2 minutes just as we’d taken a sip of our Riesling and the crab was not in a tempura type batter but in a captain birds eye version and there the similarities didn’t end. It really could have been goujons or skinny fish fingers out of a packet with a little tomato salsa on the side at £20 a plate.
The scallops came in the shell and were perfectly cooked but very oddly delivered in a vast bowl that looked something akin to a foot bath from the nearby spa and even more strangely on a bed of crushed ice!!
Why would you serve a warm starter on crushed ice??
Clearly the aesthetic overtook the rationale and a very confused dish was the result.
At no point did any staff member ask us if we were happy with our food or offered to pour our wine, which we are perfectly capable of but not something you would expect in an a la carte restaurant in a five star hotel.
Within 3 minutes of our plates being cleared the main course arrived which again gave the impression that food had already been cooked earlier in the evening and then reheated as you have to bear in mind we had been seated for under 15 minutes by that point and we had taken 5 minutes deciding what to eat and drink.
This is really a fast food place with buffet standard service.
The fish was served to us and it looked like it was just dumped on the plates. No finesse or attention to appearance was attempted and the portions were enormous and could have easily fed a table of four or five but it all ended up on our plates though we were both intimidated by the vast portions!
I have to admit the fish was delicious but our enjoyment was considerably lessened by the rather imposing size and the school dinner approach to the serving.
Again service was brusque and impersonal and once served we were ignored. Our plates sat before us for a full 25 minutes before being cleared and it had then become so bad we had to laugh.
I would recommend to anyone staying to avoid this place. At £200 for 2 people and a less than enjoyable dinner we would have been happier eating at al tanoor where at least the food is good and you know not to expect too much in service standard as with all buffers across the world.
3/10

Best dishes and service I have had during trip to Oman. We were a group of 10 and everyone truly enjoyed their meal. One of the best touches was - everyones meal was brought at the same time by cohesive team of excellent staff. So no one had to wait for each other and we enjoyed the setting, the food and the conversations we had. The service at Bait Al Bahr was excellent throughout.

High quality food, amazing location overlooking the beach. One of the best meals ever eaten, if menu suits you. Exceptional.

I have visited the restaurant during my visit in the shangri-la.
We wanted to reserve a table for 8 pm - impossible. So we took a place at 9 pm. Since we were starving, we came at 8:30pm. 3/4 of the restaurant was empty, but when asked they needed to check whether our table was free. Surprise there was a free table, but without sea view as requested beforehand. Moreover one level above there was a third class dj playing loud disco music which has not made us happier. We wanted still water to start, without a notice that there are three kinds of water, for 2, 3.5 and some other prices, we got the expensive one. They haven’t explained anything about the catch of the day and there have been more such things, but to sum it up, we never had the feeling to be welcome.

So we ended up having a soup and an expensive super luxury water and left this place.

I want to emphasize that I am not complaining about the food, the soup was alright. We came with some expectations about the location and the service, because of its locations in a 5* hotel (which is also a ridiculous rating - however) and how it is advertised.
The location is awesome, but the service has not fulfilled our expectations at all. Therefore we cannot recommend this restaurant.

We had dinner here while staying at the Al Jissah resort and this is worthy of a separate review. I never take pictures of food but this was a worthy exception. Pictures is the sashimi starter I had with pickled ginger and soy. Delicious. We had a table on the outside looking out to sea (most do) and it’s very peaceful. Start are good, introducing their special fish of the day when you arrive and explaining its texture, firmness etc. If you go for one of the daily fish you can choose it to be cooked any way you like, with two sides and vegetables. I had tuna off the menu (which came like a fillet steak as a stack, medium to well, firm and juicy) and my husband had a fish of the day pan-fried and filleted at the table to remove bones.

About 115 Omar Rials including wine, tea and one dessert. Definitely recommend. One of the jewels in the shangri-la resort.