Al Mandi Al Dhahabi

Top choice in Nizwa


A popular venue with Western expats and visitors, this friendly restaurant serves standard Middle Eastern fare despite its billing as a specialist in Omani and Zanzibari food. That said the mandi (rice-and-meat) dishes are authentic and all meals are delicious. Tables on the roadside terrace make the best of the souq view.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Nizwa attractions

1. Livestock Market

0.1 MILES

If you’re not put off by the smell of heaving bulls and irritable goats, the livestock souq is well worth a look. The livestock market occupies a small…

2. Nizwa Souq

0.11 MILES

The site of one of the oldest souqs in the country, this extensive marketplace is dedicated mostly to fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, all of which…

3. Al Qala'a Mosque

0.2 MILES

Nizwa was once a major centre for Islamic scholarship, and two aged mosques, among the oldest in the world, have survived since the early 7th century…

4. Nizwa Fort

0.23 MILES

Built over 12 years in the 17th century by Sultan Bin Saif Al Yaruba, the first imam of the Yaruba dynasty, Nizwa Fort is famed for its distinctive 40m…

5. Falaj Daris Park

2.91 MILES

At 7990m in length, Falaj Daris is one of the biggest irrigation channels in Oman and one of six such channels in Oman collectively honoured as a Unesco…

6. Nizwa Gateway

3.78 MILES

This grand double-arched gateway straddles Hwy 21, along the original Muscat–Nizwa road. The watchtowers that form the uprights of the gateway seem aged,…

7. Bait Al Radidah

8.47 MILES

Renovated but as yet closed to visitors, the attractive 17th-century fort is much photographed as it is perfectly framed against the massif of Jebel…

8. Old Village

8.67 MILES

This crumbling old quarter is loosely strewn over the hill behind modern Birkat Al Mawz and makes a fascinating place to wander around. Some…