"Give the gang of Lebanese fellas eternaally smoking al fresco a big "Marhaba" as you head inside. The main dining room is a pleasant, modern affair, peopled by fans of the falafel. It really is the star of the show here, bang on with the spices and good enough for carnivores to enjoy as well as veggies."

Savouring the taste of home

By Ken Doherty

 "The Rotana Cafe: We visited this lovely middle-eastern cafe and restaurant owned by a Lebanese chef Mohammed when we happened upon it for lunch a week ago. It is delightful, authentic, spotlessly clean and the food is delicious. Middle-eastern food at its best. We had a mezze for three (which would have done four people for a little over twenty euro fora plate of mixed starters). We had the smokiest baba ganoush, that’s roast aubergine whizzed usually with tahini, a sesame seed paste – and it tasted as if we were sitting up a chimney eating it. It was as good as any The Gobbler ate in Jerusalem. They sat next to little daschund burgers, well that’s what we called them: dark fried meat in a sausage with spices,an ugly cousin to the aubergine but yummy. We had five of the best falling-off-the-bone meatiest chicken wings in a spicy sauce; a roll of Labneh, a cheese made from drained yogurt served with homemade flat breads for dipping and lots of other morsels that were just splendid. "

"We visited this lovely middle eastern cafe and restaurant owned by a Lebanese chef Mohammed. It is delightful, authentic, spotlessly clean and the food is delicious. Middle-esatern food at its best. The ingredient werer excellent, everything was home-made and servings were generous".

By Aingeala Flannery

"Where do you take a heavily medicated teetotaller for lunch? Rotana, to be fair, has a broader appeal than that. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the fact it doesn't serve alcohol, it struck me as one of the most socially inclusive places around, falling between Beirut and Bundoran."

By Aingeala Flannery

"(...) Rotana is clean and bright and comfortable. There's a coffee bar, with a dessert fridge packed with pretty honey and nut dainties. To the rear, mezzes and hot plates are prepared to order. Arabic, French and English convertsation collide, the local crowd come for soup, the Arabs drink espresso and read the papers. Rotana would be a great place for eating lunch alone and for people-watching."