What to Eat in Muscat: A Food Guide

What to eat in Muscat

• Shuwa

  Slow-roasted spiced lamb cooked underground for 24 hours — Eid and celebration dish.

• Machboos Omani

  Spiced rice with fish or lamb — the everyday Omani staple.

• Halwa Omani

  Rosewater-and-cardamom sweet served with kahwa (Omani coffee) — welcome ritual.

What to drink

Alcohol is legally served in licensed hotel bars and restaurants to guests aged 21+. Tap water is desalinated and generally safe but bottled is the local norm.

Dining etiquette and practicalities

• Modest dress — shoulders and knees covered in public.

• Grand Mosque requires long sleeves, trousers and headscarf for women.

• Right hand for eating and greeting; remove shoes before entering homes.

Where to eat in Muscat

• Mutrah

  Old harbour, Mutrah Souq, Corniche promenade and the fish market.

• Old Muscat

  Al Alam Palace, Al Jalali and Al Mirani Portuguese forts, National Museum.

• Shatti Al Qurum & Al Khuwair

  Beach hotels, embassies and Royal Opera House Muscat.

• Al Mouj / The Wave

  Marina district — Kempinski, boutique dining and beachfront apartments.