Saturday 20 / April / 2024
One busy Friday night, my colleagues and I found ourselves in celebration mode and desperately in need of a really cool place to blow-off some steam after a particularly stressful week at work. But where? We began brainstorming.
Ideas flew like snowballs until someone mentioned the massive billboard that sits on the Expressway, unavoidably visible to anyone driving towards Ghala. It simply says “Laval” with an arrow pointing to the left. I’d heard great reviews about the place, and after a bit more discussion, we decided it was well worth checking out for ourselves.
I got a bit turned around after exiting in Ghala, but eventually found a small service road and followed it towards the trippy glow of lights at the distance. As I got closer, I realised that the lights were emanating from a small building surrounded by the green of a golf course. From the crest of the hill, it looked like a chateau tucked away in it’s own valley. This must be the place, I thought.
Before I was close enough to see the sign for the Golf Club, I could hear the bass of the music, which had us all moving our shoulders to the tune before we even stepped out of the car.
Outside it was so nice and chilly that I didn’t want to go in, but my colleagues were excited to explore the restaurant and far too hungry to loiter in the parking lot, so I marched inside directly.
The outside of the Golf Club space doesn’t do justice to what lies in wait at the actual restaurant inside. The posh and elegant restaurant lounge is set in the back of the space, large wooden doors opening up to a modern, minimalist space. At the entrance, we were warmly greeted by two attendants who led me into the space, while sending the shorts-clad member of our group back out to the car to change into something more appropriate. They were pretty serious about maintaining class.
Upon entering the restaurant, I saw an ultra-cool bar setup where the manager, Richard, was flair-tending with such style that I found it impossible to take my eyes off him. The crowd cheered as he showed-off fancy drink flips and tricks. At that moment, I knew we had picked the right place.
As lively and stylish as the interior of the restaurant was, I was delighted to see the softly lit outdoor seating arrangement. The downstairs dining area was full, but at the top of the stairs, I found a rooftop lounge and a table facing the dance floor where a DJ had set up his booth and had started playing some upbeat tunes to set the mood. That dark, cool evening, the place was bustling — youngsters in a big, riotous group, couples enjoying not-so-quiet, but still very romantic dinners, and a few small families having dinner and swaying to the music.
Below us, the outdoor dining area overlooked the beautifully illuminated green golf course and the surrounding mountains. I felt that I was sitting in a secluded valley, not just off the Expressway. From where I sat, all I could see was distant mountains, a stretch of green, and a little pond where I saw a huge crane sleeping. I was later told that this feeling was the inspiration behind the name, which means “valley” in Greek. The rest of our group soon arrived, and my silent valley ponderings were replaced by loud, hilarious conversations as we shouted over and laughed over the thumping music.
Our food arrived and we attacked it like we hadn’t eaten anything for months, inhaling more than chewing. We ordered another round and, as the night ripened, the music grew louder, the dance floor grew fuller, and we all headed to the floor to share awkward moments of what probably shouldn’t pass as dance between rounds of food and drink.
We ate, we drank, we danced and the energy and the vibe of the place just kept getting better. We decided to call it a night around 1:30am — the stress that had accumulated over the past few weeks of work had been effectively busted. I knew that I had to come back to this haven, and soon.
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The following Thursday afternoon, I was invited to a tasting at Laval. I didn’t feel that I’d properly tasted the culinary offerings on my first visit, as I’d been so hungry I could have been eating cardboard and still enjoyed it. So I was excited to sample the menu in the light of day, with a slightly less ravenous appetite.
The vibe at one in the afternoon was so different than the evening ambiance, that at first I thought I was in the wrong place. The space that had oozed energy and effervescence in the evening had transformed into a leisurely, super-chill restaurant by-day. The greenery of the golf course was vivid and I saw the crane I’d thought I’d hallucinated on the last visit. He was drinking water out of the heart-shaped pool. The mountains stood tall around this Ghala “valley”.
Seated upstairs under a shade, I imagined coming back with my girlfriends for a lazy Friday afternoon of gossip and breathtaking views. Snapping back to the task at hand, I turned my attention to the dish that had been placed in front of me. The Crab Mille-feuille, a beautifully layered dish of crab salad, avocado, goat cheese, and grapefruit is by far one of the most refreshing dishes I’ve ever tasted. I could have it first thing in the morning to kickstart my day or as a light supper. Basically, anytime at all.
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Heavier, but just as pleasant a surprise was the roasted pistachio-crusted lamb chops served with artichokes and mashed potatoes with a super-juicy fig sauce. The artichoke hearts were cut into heart shapes, cute right?
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The grilled zucchini with sun dried tomato salad was a great side dish and the Napolitano sauce took it to the next level. By the time I had finished the zucchini, I had already started holding my tummy and wishing I had worn something looser. Then, the seafood platter arrived. Hey, you can never say no to food that looks that amazing. I dug-in to the lobster, shrimp, stuffed calamari, fish fillet, and octopus, all perfectly cooked, and addictively flavourful.
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I ate many delicious things that afternoon, but it was the Chicken Involtini that totally stole my heart. That’s because it combined the two most irresistible things in the world to me in one dish: Cheese and chicken. As I bit into the crispy, shallow-fried chicken, Ementhal cheese oozed out, and I was smitten.
It seems that Laval really has it all. The food is creative, gourmet, and as beautiful to look at as it is to eat. In the daytime it is the sort of place you want to lazily pass the hours, and at night it is a spot where you can have a romantic meal, relax under the stars, share stories and laughter with friends, dance to the sounds of world-class DJs, and party, in whatever style you please, until the early morning hours. Laval is the answer to that ever-recurring question of what we should do tonight. —[email protected]
Laval Restaurant Lounge
Ghala Golf Club
+968 2450 5112
lavalrestaurant.com
(Reservations recommended)
Hours
Saturday-Wednesday
2pm to 1am
Thursday-Friday
12pm to 2am
