Really not the place to be on a Friday night: Trader’s Vic Restaurant & Bar @ The Ritz Carlton Hotel (3. November 2017)
Trader’s Vic is one of these restaurants which is spread all over the world. And on a Friday evening, what you find here is approximately 50% Saudi men and approximately 40% hookers. The other 10% are occupied by ‘foreigners who didn’t know better’. So, in terms of atmosphere, the bar at the Trader’s Vic is not really a place to go. Which is – by the way – aggravated that the service is horrible. At first, we tried to get a table but the staff was basically ignoring us. Nice.
After we had finally conquered a table, the next challenge was to let the waitress know that we wanted to order, respectively to make her bring us the menu. Took quite some time! Finally, the menu arrived and we were able to place the order after – once more – waving excessively at the waitress. The “Aroy (cucumber, honey, citruses and vodka)” (4.70 BHD) is actually quite tasty! I liked it a lot!
After we had our pre-dinner drinks, we moved to the restaurant and I went for the “Oriental Duck Salad (mixed salad, duck breast, bean sprouts, mango, mint, hoisin, ginger vinaigrette)” (5.90 BHD) as a starter …
… which was prepared for me on the plate. And it was great. As the combination with the kale and mango made the duck breast truly delicious. Definitely can recommend!
As a main, I went for the “Trob Char Kreoung Sach Ko (‘spicy beef with eggplant’ – pan seared spicy beef, Thai eggplant, lemon grass & kale leaves)” (8.90 BHD) and that was also quite delicious. So, while the bar of the Trader’s Vic is not really the place to go, the restaurant is in terms of food.
When it comes to the atmosphere, the place is not the best though – rather old-fashioned and with sofa cushions which aren’t too comfortable really. The waiter did a good job as he had spotted the cork in the wine twice. But he was a bit over the top – jokes are cool, for some time. But after a while you’re like “dude, chill, you’re not funny anymore”. But that seemed to be something where the self-awareness hadn’t kicked in yet.
All in all, the restaurant Trader’s Vic is something I can recommend for dinner. However, when it comes to drinks, I’d prefer another bar as it isn’t really the place I would consider ‘worth going to’. When we were about to leave, two guys had just started fighting.
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Contact Details:
Trader’s Vic Restaurant & Bar @ The Ritz Carlton Hotel
The Ritz-Carlton Bahrain, Hotel & Spa
Seef Area
Manama (BH)
Tel.: +973 17 58 65 55
Homepage: http://www.tradervics.com.bh
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
