Lots of people rave about the location of this place, on the corner right opposite the base in Juffair. Personally, I’ve never been convinced. But a couple of hours early evening spent on the outside terrace and I can see why.

It’s a great spot for people watching, from the Arab taxi drivers gathered at the rank opposite drinking coffee to the young lads leaving the base and girls in their party finery heading up to American Alley, I wouldn’t say all Bahrain life is here but it’s certainly an interesting view.

And the swing and Motown classics drifting from the open doors add nicely to the atmosphere.

The menu’s massive with everything from breakfasts to an impressive deserts selection and it took us a good few minutes to choose.

Deciding on a couple of safe standards, we opted to share spicy chicken wings and cheesy garlic bread to start – my colleague found the wings a bit over-zealous but, having tried the rocket fuel version last week, I was well up for the challenge and thought they were tasty and tender, just the right side of hot.

The garlic bread was another good choice – much larger slices than usual with a generous topping of yummy melted cheese.

For our entrees we again played safe opting for grilled chicken for my pal and ribeye steak for me.

Both were tender and tasty and served with piping hot, lightly-spiced wedges and a good portion of salad with a selection of various leaves, red peppers and tomatoes.

Two small criticisms though, I wish they hadn’t put the dressing straight on the salad, I prefer mine naked so it would have been better to have the choice.

And, since the waitress had checked that we wanted the starters and entrees separately, why then bring the mains while we were clearly still munching our way through the appetizers – that said, I was impressed enough with the spicy wings that I managed to polish them off in record time so the wedges wouldn’t get cold.

Generous portions left us both too full for desert but, purely in the interests of research on your behalf, I took a chocolate fondant to go.

A light sponge bomb with a melting chocolate sauce centre, I must admit I found the first few mouthfuls slightly overpoweringly chocolatey (which is never a bad thing) but, once I’d got accustomed to the strength of the dark chocolate, the mixed berry topping made the perfect accompaniment and I finished my meal with a big smile on my face.

The bill (for two)
Cheese bread BD1.300
Chicken wings BD2.600
Grilled chicken BD3.700
Ribeye steak BD5.800
Chocolate fondant BD2.000
Sparkling water x 2 BD2.000
Cappuccino BD1.500
Total (inc service) BD18.900